We all saw this one coming, right?
The Patriots were the biggest underdog in the NFL (+10.5) heading into their Week 4 game against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Niners, despite having a losing record heading into Week 4, have the best odds to win Super Bowl LIX in the NFC (+700). By contrast, the Patriots are in a four-way tie for the second longest odds in all of football (+30000).
The stage was set for David vs. Goliath, and both teams fell right into character as San Francisco blew the doors off of New England 30-13.
Here are your “Ups & Downs” from a blowout loss in Santa Clara, CA. Let’s start positive:
Ups
- Bryce Baringer: Yep, I’m going with the punter to lead this section off for a second consecutive week.
On his first punt of the game, after the offense was called for a delay of game on 4th and 3 after two first downs on their opening drive, Baringer perfectly pinned the 49ers on their own 7 yard line on a lofty 39-yard punt.
On his second punt of the game, Baringer boomed a ball 61 yards to the Niners 6 yard line. The ball had just enough hangtime for the Patriots to cover the punt perfectly, and returner Jacob Cowing was bottled up at their own 13.
On his third attempt of the game, Baringer perfectly placed a ball on the 49ers 11 yard line on a 40-yard punt. The punt had enough loft to give the coverage team enough time for great coverage, only giving up a 1-yard return.
On his fourth and final punt of the ballgame, Baringer kicked the ball 56 yards to the San Francisco 9 yard line. After multiple issues holding the football on special teams this season, the 49ers put their sure-handed fullback Kyle Juszczyk back to receive. He barreled ahead for an 8-yard return. Had a “normal” returner been back to receive the punt, it’s likely that the ball would have been fair caught.
To say he’s one of the three best players on the roster is not hyperbole.
- Joey Slye: With 3 seconds left in the first half down 20-0, head coach Jerod Mayo called a timeout to set-up the six-year veteran for a 63-yard field goal attempt.
And he nailed it.
Slye’s 63-yarder is the longest field goal in franchise history, surpassing Stephen Gostkowski’s 62-yarder from 2017.
This was also Slye’s career long, surpassing the 61-yarder he nailed with Washington last season.
Maybe most impressive of all, this successful attempt from 63 put Slye in a six-way tie for the fourth longest field goal in NFL history.
In the fourth quarter, Slye hit his second field goal of the day from 54 yards out to make it a 27-13 game with 13:26 remaining in the ballgame.
You can make a real case for Slye as the team’s most dangerous weapon through four games this year.
- Christian Gonzalez: While the 49ers offense was able to do their thing all game long, the second-year cornerback lived up to his shutdown billing in Week 4.
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was able to do almost all of his damage through a combination of dicing up the defense underneath, as well as exposing the deep zone of the Patriots secondary (more on that in “Downs”).
But when Gonzalez was in man coverage, he was dominant.
All of this success for Purdy was in spite of this great performance for Gonzalez. This blowout loss was not the fault of the 2023 first round pick.
Downs
- Jacoby Brissett: Anytime you throw a pick-6, you’re going to be listed at the top of the “Downs” section.
I don’t make the rules, folks.
On the second play of the second quarter, Brissett was picked off by All-World linebacker Fred Warner, who took the ball 45 yards to the house to give the Niners a 13-0 lead.
Brissett thought he was hitting a wide open Tyquan Thornton, not accounting for Warner’s athleticism. But the seven-year veteran leaped up from his position in zone coverage, and outran New England up the right sideline for six.
When you’ve been brought in to be the steady-hand veteran QB to show rookie Drake Maye the ropes as he continues to develop, this can’t be a part of your repertoire.
And while the offensive line was bad again today, they dealt with injuries to both their starting center and tackle in David Andrews and Caedan Wallace - injuries that took both players out of the game.
With that said, the patchwork offensive line held their own for a big chunk of the first half. It was Brissett that held the ball too long on multiple occasions, leading to both sacks and pressures where he took some hard hits.
Things got ugly as the game went along, but Brissett did not do them any favors.
- Rhamondre Stevenson: It almost pains me to put Stevenson in this section, as he’s been one of the few bright spots of this offense in 2024. But for the fourth consecutive game, the fourth-year running back fumbled the football.
This time, it came on the first play of the Patriots’ second offensive series, as defensive tackle Sam Okuayinonu punched the ball out of Stevenson’s hands behind the line of scrimmage.
San Francisco recovered the football at their own 30 yard line, and five plays later they kicked their second field goal of the game to go up 6-0 with 6 seconds left in the first quarter.
If Stevenson is going to be paid like one of the top players at his position in the league, he has to become wholly more dependable carrying the football. Nothing else matters for a running back if he can’t hold onto the ball, plain and simple.
- Third Down Defense: On the opening drive of the ballgame, the 49ers went 90 yards on 15 plays over almost eight minutes of gametime.
Three of those 15 plays were third down conversions by the Niners offense. And two of those three conversions came off of quarterback Brock Purdy scrambling after not finding anyone open downfield.
If the secondary is going to do their job by locking up an explosive group of 49ers skill position players, the linebackers need to be able to contain Purdy. We’re not talking about the second coming of Michael Vick here, you guys.
This drive resulted in San Francisco’s first points of the ballgame, and set the tone for the day that the 49ers were going to do what they wanted at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.
On San Francisco’s third series of the game, the 49ers had two touchdowns nullified by penalties on the offense. A combination of the Patriots defense and the officials had the Niners in a 3rd and 10 from the New England 12-yard line.
No problem for Purdy, who bought time behind the line of scrimmage and found All-World tight end George Kittle in the corner of the end zone on a jump ball. Kittle out-jumped a group of defenders, and gave the 49ers a 20-0 lead.
If New England had been able to hold San Francisco to a field goal here, I probably would have added “Red Zone Defense” to the “Ups” section. But that didn’t happen, so here we are.
- The Offensive Line: For the first time this season, the offensive line was not the main reason for the team’s offensive woes.
Progress!
I do feel badly for this unit today, as they lost nine-year center David Andrews during their first series with a shoulder injury. And in the second quarter, tackle Caedan Wallace limped off the field with an ankle injury.
With the team already down two tackles with Vederian Lowe injured and Chuks Okorafor leaving the team for undisclosed reasons, there was just no way this unit was going to be able to hold up against one of the best front sevens in football.
They held their own for much of the first half, but it became loud and clear on the last two series of the second quarter that Brissett was going to have a long day behind a group of guys figuring it out on the fly.
So was it bad again today for the O-line? Absolutely.
But was it completely their fault? Absolutely not.
A group that could not afford any injuries got hit with the bug, and it was over.
Brissett was sacked six times in the losing effort.
- Jonathan Jones: The Patriots opened the second half with a surprise possession, as 49ers return man Isaac Guerendo fumbled the kickoff to give New England an extra offensive series from the San Francisco 27 yard line.
Five plays later, Brissett hit tight end Austin Hooper on 4th and 1 for a 5-yard touchdown.
Just like that, the score was 20-10 and New England had life!
On the next offensive play of the game, Purdy hit All-World wideout Deebo Samuel downfield for a 53-yard catch that set up a 49ers touchdown three plays later.
Just like that, 20-10 became 27-10.
Samuel absolutely burned corner Jonathan Jones on that play. As soon as the ball was snapped, Samuel was behind the longest-tenured member of the Patriots defense. And with no safety help over the top, Samuel had all the room he needed to make the beautiful catch in stride.
As a veteran leader on this team, New England needed a better effort from Jones to help capitalize on the glimmer of hope they had after the Hooper touchdown. For a team that hasn’t had any momentum since their Week 1 upset in Cincinnati, that was their chance to capture some.
Tip of the Cap
Let’s end with some positivity after another ugly week of football, shall we?
- Jabrill Peppers: Picked off Purdy in the endzone in the fourth quarter to keep the Patriots on life support.
- Antonio Gibson: The veteran running back had his requisite big catch of the season, catching a ball in the flats and bringing it to the San Francisco 18 yard line for a gain of 50 yards. It didn’t result in points, but it was nice to see this effort late in a blowout.
The 1-3 Patriots head back home for Week 5, as they’ll host the Miami Dolphins (1-2). Miami plays their Week 4 game on Monday Night Football as they host the Titans.
Will Week 5 mark the debut of Drake Maye as starting quarterback for the Patriots?