It’s difficult to know how to feel about the New England Patriots after Sunday’s 30-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
On one hand, the Patriots offense looked like a discombobulated mess and committed three turnovers while the defense gave up multiple explosive plays.
On the other hand, the offense drove into 49ers territory five times and had opportunities to put more points on the board, and the defense battled and played much better than the score indicates.
Regardless, New England, which lost three more players to injuries (David Andrews, Kyle Dugger, and Caedan Wallace), looked completely overmatched in San Francisco. The coaching staff also had a rough day, with bad play calls, an ill-advised challenge, and substitution issues contributing to an overall sloppy performance.
Patriots Lose Week 4 Outing in San Francisco
It was another anemic showing for Jacoby Brissett, who completed 19 of 32 passes for just 168 yards — 50 of which came on a check down to Antonio Gibson — and one touchdown while committing two turnovers.
He and the rest of the offense couldn’t get anything going behind a patchwork line that surrendered five sacks.
This is where things stood midway through the third quarter:
The #Patriots have run 39 offensive plays.
18 have gone for negative yards or no gain.
— Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) September 29, 2024
Austin Hooper scored the Patriots’ only touchdown, while Rhamondre Stevenson (who fumbled again) posted 43 rushing yards and Joey Slye kicked a pair of long field goals.
The Patriots racked up just 216 yards and 12 first downs compared to 431 yards and 19 first downs for the 49ers.
Brock Purdy was solid for San Francisco, completing 15 of 27 passes for 288 yards and one TD. He also threw an end-zone pick to Jabrill Peppers. Jauan Jennings led 49ers pass-catchers with three catches for 88 yards, while Jordan Mason totaled 123 yards and one TD on 24 rushes.
The Patriots dropped to 1-3 with the loss, while the 49ers improved to 2-2 with the victory. New England now will lick its wounds before hosting the Miami Dolphins next Sunday.
Let’s look at three studs and three duds from a rough day at Levi’s Stadium.
Best Players for the Patriots in the Loss to the 49ers
CB Christian Gonzalez
This was Christian Gonzalez’s best game of the season.
The second-year corner gave up just one catch, a 10-yard completion to Brandon Aiyuk on third down. The Fox broadcast dinged Gonzalez for Aiyuk’s 38-yarder in the first quarter, but that play looked like a coverage bust that Gonzalez had nothing to do with.
Regardless, Gonzalez was all over the field, covering both Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel Sr. outside and in the slot. He was excellent from start to finish and looked like a true No. 1 corner.
K Joey Slye
Slye earned a spot on this list after ending the first half with a 63-yard field goal, the longest field goal in Patriots history. Stephen Gostkowski set the previous Patriots record with a 62-yard in 2017.
Take a look:
Joey Slye sets a new team record!
đź“ş: FOX pic.twitter.com/QHz302KRzv
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 29, 2024
Slye, who added a 54-yarder in the fourth quarter, now has made eight of his nine field goal attempts this season, and the only missed kick was blocked. He’s been a solid addition.
P Bryce Baringer
The second-year punter’s strong season continued.
Bryce Baringer entered Week 4 ranked fourth in total punt average (52.3 yards) and third in net punt average (45.6), with just one of his 10 punts resulting in a touchback. He was excellent again on Sunday, averaging 49 yards on four punts with a long of 61 and zero touchbacks.
As Jeremy Springer said last week, Baringer is “a weapon.”
Honorable mentions: Ja’Lynn Polk, Jabrill Peppers, Christian Elliss, Austin Hooper, Marcus Jones
Who Struggled for the Patriots in the Loss to the 49ers?
QB Jacoby Brissett
Brissett deserves slack for playing behind a bad offensive line, and pressure again was an issue in this game. He was hit on seven of his 14 dropbacks in the first half.
But the veteran QB didn’t play well on Sunday, including when he had a clean pocket. Exhibit A: This awful interception to Fred Warner, who took it to the house.
Fred doing Fred things đź’Ş
đź“ş #NEvsSF on FOX
NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4nCVJ pic.twitter.com/6FglMdkuEe— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) September 29, 2024
Brissett had DeMario Douglas and Ja’Lynn Polk breaking open on that play. Instead, he stared down Tyquan Thornton and telegraphed the throw to Warner. Just an awful play.
MORE: Simulate the Rest of the NFL Season Using PFN’s Playoff Predictor
Brissett, who lost a fumble in the fourth, also took multiple big sacks when he should’ve either checked it down to a running back or thrown the ball away. He clearly wasn’t seeing the field well.
In my opinion, the Patriots shouldn’t start Drake Maye until Brissett plays poorly for consecutive weeks. If he submits another dud next weekend, the calls for Maye will become deafening.
RB Rhamondre Stevenson
Stevenson officially has a fumbling problem.
The star running back fumbled for the fourth straight game, with the last two resulting in recoveries for the opposition. His first-quarter fumble on Sunday came at a brutal time, as New England’s defense had just held the Niners to a field goal after a long drive and needed longer rest.
Stevenson, who saw more carries throughout the game, wasn’t permanently benched. But he’s on thin ice.
Jerod Mayo chatting with Rhamondre Stevenson on the sidelines with Antonio Gibson on the field for this drive.
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) September 29, 2024
Alex Van Pelt
This is three straight games in which Alex Van Pelt seemed in over his head as an offensive play-caller.
Yes, he’s limited by his personnel. But Van Pelt also hasn’t shown much creativity and his play sequencing has left much to be desired. Everything is just so vanilla and conservative.
Van Pelt rightly was criticized by Fox broadcaster Greg Olsen for his approach to a failed fourth-down try in the second quarter.
Facing 4th-and-1, Van Pelt had the offense bluff a QB sneak to try to draw the Niners offsides. After calling a timeout, Van Pelt put Wallace on the field as a jumbo tight end only to call a Stevenson run to the opposite side. The play was blown up, and Wallace suffered an ankle injury that ended his afternoon.
Fred Warner with the nasty 4th down stop.
I wasn’t kidding when I said he’s the best player in football right now. 🔥🔥 https://t.co/IO2RsCjKNL pic.twitter.com/1nuRsytmJo
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) September 29, 2024
To Van Pelt’s credit, he adjusted and made a better call in the third quarter when Brissett hit Hooper for an easy touchdown on 4th-and-1. And the third-down trick play in the second half also was a nice call. Still, those were outliers.
Again, Van Pelt isn’t working with any great players. But he also has been part of the problem.
Honorable mentions: Joshua Uche, offensive line, Jerod Mayo, Jahlani Tavai, Daniel Ekuale, Jonathan Jones