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Expectations were not high for the New England Patriots coming into Levi’s Stadium to face the San Francisco 49ers. They had lost two straight. One was an overtime defeat to the Seahawks and the other was an embarrassment against the Jets on Thursday Night Football. In those two games, the team failed to record 150 or more passing yards. Although the Patriots did a little bit better than 150 today, it was more of the same as Jacoby Brissett still only threw for 169 yards. Top that with three players at key positions getting injured, and it was another tough game for New England.
Rhamondre’s Fumbles
Rhamondre Stevenson had a rough day on the field, losing a fumble on the first play of the Patriots’ second drive. This is Stevenson’s fourth fumble in four games this season. If Belichick was still coaching this team, the running back would almost be off the team and definitely would not be getting as many carries. Jerod Mayo seems to have a little more patience with players.
To be a successful starting running back in the NFL, you simply cannot turn the ball over every game. If Stevenson keeps fumbling, he could likely lose the starting job to Antonio Gibson, who has looked solid in the plays that I’ve seen from him. Gibson led the team in receiving this game. It is a very low bar given the current Patriots receiving core but he did pull off a great catch-and-run of 50 yards late in the fourth quarter. Needless to say, that was the Pats’ biggest play of the day. The former Commander has carried the ball 23 times for 143 yards and an impressive 6.2 yards per carry. Be careful Rhamondre, you’ve got Antonio Gibson breathing down your back.
The Patriots’ Many Injuries
New England’s squad had some costly injuries in this game. Out of the three injuries, two of them happened to captains. Veteran center David Andrews left the game with a shoulder injury. Safety Kyle Dugger left the game on a cart with an ankle injury. Rookie offensive tackle and third-round pick Caedan Wallace suffered an ankle injury. He was seen after the game on crutches and with a boot on his left foot. None of them returned to the game. Coming into this matchup with the 49ers, the most key inactive player was linebacker Anfernee Jennings who was out with a shoulder injury. Jennings has recorded 14 total tackles this season.
The injuries to Andrews and Wallace thinned out an already abysmal offensive line. Caedan Wallace was already filling in for starting left tackle Vederian Lowe. Dugger has been one of the Patriots’ best defensive players and was recently named a captain so if he were to miss more time, it would be a devastating blow for the secondary. Let’s hope the injuries to Andrews, Wallace, Lowe, and Dugger aren’t serious because New England doesn’t need any more things to be going wrong this season. This continues a trend of key players getting injured as Matthew Judon and Christian Gonzalez suffered season-ending injuries in 2023 along with Kendrick Bourne.
Brissett Continues To Underperform
Jacoby Brissett hasn’t been terrible this season, but he certainly hasn’t been good. In every game this season, Brissett has failed to throw for over 200 yards. He is not good at avoiding sacks and he rarely throws the ball downfield. Granted, he is not getting a lot of help as the Patriots have one of the weakest receiving cores in the league and a terrible offensive line. However, some of the blame is on him.
His biggest mistake of the season came today when he threw an interception to linebacker Fred Warner, who ran it back 45 yards for a pick-six. Another turnover of Brissett’s came when Nick Bosa knocked the ball out of the quarterback’s hand with 2:44 left in the fourth quarter. That was the Patriots’ final possession of the game. Brissett is now on the hot seat. He’s never really played well this season but after a three-game losing streak, the Patriots should be considering putting Drake Maye in. It does not look like that is going to happen next week however as Jerod Mayo said Brissett is still the starting quarterback in the postgame press conference.
Final Thoughts
With all the Patriots’ woes in this game, let’s still give credit to the 49ers. They’re a great team even with Christian McCaffrey out. Jordan Mason has been quite the backup, recording 100+ rushing yards in three out of his four games. George Kittle has also been awesome and is one of the best tight ends in football, if not the best. It was a rough game for the Patriots but let’s not forget that they were playing against the NFC Champions. Does that mean that they’ll be competitive against less skilled teams? Not necessarily, but it gives some perspective.
We’ve all seen what Jacoby Brissett can do, and without taking into account the disastrous offensive line and subpar receivers, he is nowhere near good enough to lead this team. Throwing for 150 yards and one touchdown is not going to get it done in the NFL surprisingly. Start Drake Maye. He probably will not be the fix for all of the offense’s problems but at least give him a chance. Maye getting injured is a lot of people’s concern, but look, injuries are simply a part of the game. The team can’t be so scared to start him because of that. Maye is a more mobile quarterback than Brissett and has a stronger arm. Give the guy a chance. Use the guy you took third overall in this year’s draft.
In my game predictions article, I correctly predicted the Patriots to lose to the 49ers. This wasn’t one of the harder games to predict. I am now 3-1 with Patriots predictions on the season.
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