Patriots Week 4 Report Card In Loss To San Francisco

The Patriots had another blowout loss this week in San Francisco, which wasn’t a real surprise. The 49ers were favored by 10 points leading up to the game. They were at home and got a lot of offensive weapons back. Other than Christian McCaffrey, they operated with a full complement of offensive weapons… and it showed.

While the defense gave up some big plays in the passing game, it didn’t play badly, especially considering the offense gifted San Francisco 10 points. They didn’t play great either, and we’ll delve into that below.

The offense is a train wreck, and frustration is already starting to seep in. They managed only 216 yards of offense in the game. There was very little production out of the running game and even less in the passing game.

The offense is struggling enough that the team can’t afford to give opponents ten points and expect to win.

So, here are our grades this week for the Patriots-49ers game.

Quarterback: D+

Jacoby Brissett has been battered in four games this season and at times it is surprising that he gets up after the hits he’s taken. He was sacked six times and hit ten times on Sunday. According to Next Gen Stats, he was pressured on 53.8 percent of his dropbacks against the Niners.

Brissett finished 19-32 for 168 yards with one touchdown and one interception for a passer rating of 70.8, but 50 of those yards came on one play.

But while we can sympathize with his plight, I wonder if the pounding he’s taking affects him even when he’s not getting hit. Case in point, the pick-six he threw that Fred Warner returned for a touchdown.

Brissett had a great play called and Tyquan Thornton was open, but instead of looking off the defense, Brissett stared him down. Warner watched his eyes and made a great return for a touchdown. There were other plays missed as well.

Running Backs: D

Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson, and JaMycal Hasty were bottled up on Sunday and had a combined 70 yards on 22 carries, which isn’t nearly enough. When a team’s identity is to be a running team, that number has to be doubled to be effective.

Rhamondre Stevenson had his fourth fumble in four games, putting the Niners in scoring position. After San Francisco went on a 15-play drive for a field goal to make it 3-0, the Patriots started on their 30. Stevenson fumbled, and the Niners recovered at the 30, and it was quickly 6-0. On the ensuing drive, Brissett threw a pick six and at 13-0, the lead looked insurmountable.

Gibson’s impressive 50-yard reception in the fourth quarter and big 45-yard play against the Seahawks suggest that they have something with him. They need to start getting him the ball more in the passing game.

Wide Receivers: D

The wide receivers’ produced a combined eight catches for 57 yards. Compared to the 49ers combined… no, let’s not even go there, because there is no comparison.

One player who is trending up is rookie WR Ja’Lynn Polk. While his stat line of three catches for 30 yards won’t set the world on fire, he’s shown glimpses of the player he can become. His best play was a deep sideline throw from Brissett that looked like it would be picked off. But Polk fought for the ball and came down with it but was ruled out of bounds. It was close. Polk insisted that he was in bounds on the play.

K.J. Osborn and Tyquan Thornton’s grades are incomplete. Being the intermediate/deep threats for the team, it his hard to judge when the quarterback doesn’t have any time to throw the ball. But they have to be better quickly.

Tight Ends: C-

Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper combined for four catches for 25 yards and a touchdown on five targets. It’s nothing special, but Hooper’s catch on a fourth down for a touchdown was a great play call and executed very well.

Those are the types of play calls the team needs much more of.

Offensive Line: F

The offensive line was a sieve once again. As stated above, Brissett was sacked six times, hit ten times, and was pressured on 53.8 percent of his dropbacks. And the team started a different left tackle for the fourth consecutive game. The results speak for themselves. And the pressures and the sacks are across the board, not on any one player or position.

To worsen the situation, David Andrews and Caedan Wallace were injured during the game and didn’t return.

Defensive Line: C-

Setting the edge continues to be a problem. During the Niners’ first drive, they allowed Brock Purdy to escape containment three times to convert first downs and extend the drive. Deatrich Wise and Keion White were involved in the breakdown of the containment.

The DL could contain the Niners’ rushing attack. Jordan Mason continued his hot start of the season by rushing 24 times for 123 yards and a touchdown. Overall, San Francisco rushed for 148 yards.

Deatrich Wise had six tackles, a sack, a TFL, a pass defensed, and a QB hit. Keion White had three tackles, a TFL, and two QB hits.

Linebackers: C-

The linebackers were without Anfernee Jennings, their best edge-setter in the running game. This forced Josh Uche into a starting role, and the old issues with him being a liability in the running game resurfaced. On the Niners’ touchdown that put them up 27-10, Uche took a wide, arcing path that Mason cut inside a huge gap for a too-easy touchdown.

Raekwon McMillan tied for the team lead with seven tackles. Jahlani Tavai had four tackles and a TFL. Uche had three tackles and a QB hit.

Secondary: C

Brock Purdy hit several chunk plays down the field and averaged over 10 yards per pass with the talented receiving group of Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, Brandon Aiyuk, and tight end George Kittle.

But lost in the overall picture was that the Patriots’ offense handed San Francisco ten points. The defense allowed just 20 points that can be attributed to them. While the Niners got more chunk plays than the team would want, which must be cut down, it wasn’t as bad as the score would indicate. Kyle Dugger was injured early in the game and didn’t return. That factor may have played into some of the bigger plays allowed.

Christian Gonzalez continues his stellar play. Jabrill Peppers tied for the team lead with seven, including an end zone interception that ended a drive early in the fourth quarter. Dugger’s injury will bear watching this week.

Special Teams: A

The ST units were outstanding. If there was one area that the Patriots shined it was the Special Teams units. Joey Slye set a new personal and team record with a 63-yard field goal at the end of the first half, breaking Stephen Gostkowski’s record of 62, but that one was in Mexico City, which is about 2,000 feet higher than Denver. He also made a 54-yard field goal later in the game.

Bryce Barringer was outstanding as well. All four of his punts landed inside the 20, and he averaged 49 yards per punt, with a long of 61. The coverage units were good. They got a 30-yard kickoff return by JaMycal Hasty, while Marcus Jones averaged 13 yards on his three punt returns.

Coaches: C

The coaching staff had some head-scatching calls, but weren’t quite as bad as one would think. The call on the 4th down touchdown to Hooper was a great one. The lateral that was called back due to penalty, even the pick-six, was a good call. If Brissett didn’t stare down Thornton, that play was there.

Despite the criticism leveled at AVP, many of the play calls are there but the underlying issue of the OL has derailed them.

However, the decision to run, run, run in the fourth quarter while huddling up and down just two scores with 11 minutes and change left was baffling. There was no sense of urgency there. Did anyone believe they would score two touchdowns at that point? No, but they have to approach it as an opportunity.

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We’re on to Miami and the beat-up 1-3 Dolphins. Consider this… as bad as the Patriots’ offense has been, they’ve scored just 52 points. Miami, with all its star players, has scored just 45 points at this point.

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About Steve Balestrieri

A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)

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