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Some thoughts coming off of Sunday’s disappointing 30-13 showing out in San Francisco:
1) All things considered, Demontrey Jacobs played surprisingly well at left tackle on Sunday, which saw the Patriots start yet another player on that side of the line just four games into this 2024 campaign.
Watching this one back, he provided reasonably good protection throughout most of the game, at least until Nick Bosa started coming after Jacoby Brissett more and more frequently as the score started to get out of hand. Why Jacobs didn’t get more help against someone of Bosa’s caliber is somewhat of a mystery, but regardless, he put together an admirable showing.
Rookie Caedan Wallace got the nod at left tackle last week and also wasn’t terrible, but he was nicked up late against the Jets and was limited all week ahead of this one. As a result, the club leaned on Jacobs against the 49ers, which went certainly better than expected. Wallace came into the game on multiple occasions as an extra lineman but reportedly injured his ankle on Sunday, with reports saying he left the stadium in a walking boot.
2) This was not a great game for Brissett, who, after taking a second look at the film, had reasonably good protection on Sunday.
The line provided a better pocket than what we saw 10 days ago at MetLife, with Brissett allotted more time to throw this week against San Francisco’s defense. However, his decision-making certainly wasn’t ideal and his pick-six on Sunday was a play that was certainly puzzling.
That one came as Brissett sat in the back of a clean pocket and was late getting the football out. As Brissett’s back foot hit, Tyquan Thornton was coming out of his break, but Brissett hesitated, and linebacker Fred Warner read it perfectly, leaping up and making the grab after Brissett finally tried to throw it over him. Warner was then off to the races, taking it back 45 yards the other way for the touchdown.
Brissett also took a shot on that turnover, but Jacobs held Maliek Collins at bay for most of the play, with Brissett’s hesitation extending that battle before Collins finally got around Jacobs and in Brissett’s face as he released the football.
Overall, watching it back, quite a few of those times Brissett was under duress came after he held onto the football longer than he should have, with the veteran clearly uncertain about getting the ball out. Granted, there were a couple of jailbreaks where the 49ers brought the house and the Patriots couldn’t block it up, but there were a fair amount of plays left out there.
Head coach Jerod Mayo alluded to that after the game when asked about the hits Brissett has been taking and whether or not any changes need to be made.
“Well, I think there’s a combination of, schematically, we got to do a better job of getting the ball out of our hand right now,” said Mayo. “It’s easy on some of those sacks, you go back and watch the film, the ball should be out. It’d be easy for you guys and everyone else to say, ‘Well, the offensive line should have did that.’ I wouldn’t rush to that conclusion.”
3) Mike Onwenu and Layden Robinson continue to struggle on the right side. Collins gave Onwenu a run for his money, blowing past him on multiple occasions, while Robinson – like fellow rookie Caedan Wallace – needs to continue building strength to be able to deal with guys of Collins’ caliber.
After getting the ball at the 49ers 39-yard line, the San Francisco defensive lineman single-handedly spoiled any shot the Patriots had at getting points at the end of the half. He started things off on first down by bull-rushing Robinson straight back into Brissett, coming up with a big hit on the quarterback as Brissett was trying to get the ball out to Ja’Mycal Hasty in the flat, which fell incomplete.
He also blew by Robinson on the next play, tossing him aside as he slipped past and got to Brissett again, this time taking him down for a sack. Collins finished the game with 1.5 sacks, and he made life difficult all day up front. Fellow tackle Kevin Givens also ended up with 2.5 sacks, but Collins was behind those problems and the Patriots had a tough time dealing with him.
4) Keion White is a good player, but he’s still got some work to do. The second-year defensive player didn’t do a great job in terms of being disciplined coming off the edge, running past Brock Purdy repeatedly early in the game. That allowed Purdy to get outside and pick up a couple of first downs with his feet, with the 49ers QB converting two third downs after picking up seven on a 3rd-and-3, along with five more on a 3rd-and-4. White had similar issues the previous week against Aaron Rodgers, which played a role in that loss.
Fortunately, he seemed to finally get the message as the game went on, but that remains an area that Mayo continued to talk about after this one.
“Defensively, keeping the quarterback in the pocket continues to be an issue,” said Mayo. “It’s a frustrating thing. Sometimes you tell guys over and over and over, ‘Look, the stove’s hot, the stove’s hot,’ and they still touch the stove. So today, it was just mirrored.”
However, the Patriots did have a tough time getting to Purdy Sunday, sacking him just once while hitting him four times, with White coming up with two of those hits. Deatrich Wise Jr. finished with the Patriots’ lone sack.
5) George Kittle’s touchdown reception was just ridiculous. Kittle had Marcus Jones, Jonathan Jones, and Dell Pettus all there as the ball arrived, with Kittle leaping up and high-ponting the football over the three defenders, with none of them able to knock the ball from his hands.
Jonathan Jones tried, but his arm wasn’t long enough to swat the football out, and Kittle maintained possession as he hit the ground. Just a tremendous play, and all you can do is tip your hat to him.
6) It took four games, but the Patriots finally got their first interception of the year on defense. Jabrill Peppers came up with the turnover on a tremendous leaping grab in front of Brandon Aiyuk in the end zone, spoiling what appeared to be another potential scoring play as the 49ers tried to add to their 27-13 lead.
Instead, Peppers came away with the football and added to what ended up being a productive day for the veteran. He finished tied for the team lead in tackles with seven, along with his turnover and two passes defended.
7) Speaking of the defense, the 49ers had no issue striking back anytime the Patriots had any positive moments on offense.
They went deep twice in that situation, hitting Deebo Samuel on a 53-yard bomb following New England’s touchdown to start the second half, which led to a score of their own for the 49ers.
They did it again after the Patriots got points on Joey Slye’s field 53-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, with Purdy hitting Jauan Jennings for 45 yards before Peppers ended that drive with his interception.
It will be interesting to see if anyone else adopts that mindset against this defense in the coming weeks. Former safety Devin McCourty used to talk about the ‘get the f*** back’ mindest the club had on that side of the ball when it came to giving up big plays. That’s clearly a mindset they need to get back to after what we saw on Sunday.
8) Special teams continues to be the lone bright spot for the Patriots, with both Bryce Baringer and Joey Slye continuing to get off to a solid start.
Baringer was spectacular again on Sunday, punting four times for 196 yards and dropping all of them inside the 20, flipping the field on more than one occasion after the offense sputtered.
Meanwhile, Slye hit both of his field goal attempts, including a franchise record 63-yarder to close out the first half. That field goal eclipsed the previous franchise long of 62 yards held by former kicker Stephen Gostkowksi. Slye later hit another one from 54-yards out in the fourth quarter.
Both players have been terrific. It’s just too bad they haven’t been able to consistently get anything going offensively to compliment those efforts.
9) Running back Rhamondre Stevenson has now fumbled in four straight games, losing his second one in as many games on Sunday out in San Francisco.
The veteran was sat down briefly after the turnover but returned to the game and ended up becoming a little more careful with the football. Following the miscue, Stevenson was spotted getting both arms around the ball as defenders closed in for the remainder of the contest.
It’s possible that coming into this game, Stevenson may have felt his fumble issues were a bit of a fluke and maybe he didn’t take it as seriously as he should have. However, after having lost the football twice in two games, he was noticeably more aware as the game went on and hopefully it’s the final wake up call for him heading into the remainder of the season.
10) Injuries are going to be something to watch, and the club sustained some tough ones on Sunday.
Safety Kyle Dugger was carted off the field with an ankle injury, while veteran David Andrews left the contest with a reported shoulder injury. That’s two big leaders gone from both sides of the football, which Mayo said after the game was tough, especially considering their contributions.
“We sustained a few injuries to some warriors out there today,” said Mayo. “Some big injuries. Well, not big, big as far as who it was. Those guys will come in tomorrow and do their injury check. I’m not sure how serious or not serious the injuries are, but those guys that couldn’t finish the game, obviously, are a big part of what we do.”
Overall, Mayo was somewhat positive during his press conference about some of their issues, but this marks the second-straight week where the score has gotten away from them. He can point to all the bright spots he wants to and while there were indeed a few they can point to, it doesn’t change the fact this is a team that continues to make mental errors and miscues.
With a weakened Miami team set to come into Gillette Stadium next Sunday, it’s a game where the Patriots should potentially be able to end their three-game skid.
“Yeah, it’s a huge game for us, a divisional game, and you always want to win those,” said Mayo. “We want to take the good things that we did today and carry those over and get rid of the bad football. And that’s my job.”
However, if these issues continue, it’s going to be a rough ride and Mayo is likely going to hear the frustration loud and clear in front of the home crowd next weekend if things don’t start taking a turn for the better.
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So, if Wallace is healthy enough to play right tackle, is it time to kick Onwenu in to RG, his natural position?