The 49ers returned home to face a team they had not beaten since 1995. A beleaguered New England team showed up hoping history was on their side. They hoped to steal a win. Instead, the 49ers took the Patriots to the woodshed.
Needs Improvement
The 49ers still have issues to fix. This is the third week in a row the 49ers have struggled with special teams. Before the 2nd half ended, Mitch Wishnowski executed a poor punt giving the Patriots enough field position to kick a 63-yard field goal. Then, to open the second half, rookie running back Isaac Guerendo fumbled away the kickoff return. The Patriots capitalized on the short field and scored their only touchdown of the game.
The referees in this game were horrible. George Kittle was called for holding on a Jordan Mason run for a touchdown. He didn’t hold. He grabbed the jersey within the framework of the body of the defender and stayed in front of the player. Grabbing is allowed inside the body.
The ref’s second major gaff occurred when they flagged the 49ers for two players moving at the same time at the snap. That didn’t happen. George Kittle waved his hands to change the set. Then the receiver moved to his assigned position. That is not a penalty. This flag wiped away another touchdown.
The last example was a pass interference call against Deommodore Lenoir. Late in the third quarter, the Patriots were driving. Jacoby Brissett threw a go route to his receiver. Lenoir and the receiver were both looking back at the ball. In fact, the receiver had his hands on Lenoir preventing him from making an interception, yet it was Lenoir that was flagged.
Overall, the referees were terrible for this game. There were more bad calls, but these are the three I chose to highlight. Mike Pereira also commented on the aforementioned plays and agreed that they were not penalties. The referees in the NFL are paid a small fortune. They must do a better job.
The next needs improvement is for the 49er’s safeties. Ji’ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha are both young players. Brown and Mustapha had their chance to snag interceptions today and failed to secure the catch. They both played well, but they need to spend some time on the jugs machine.
The final needs improvement rests with the 49ers red-zone offense. They failed to score touchdowns their first two trips into the redzone today. At the moment, the 49ers rank 30th in red-zone offense, whereas last year they were consistently in the top five. During their third drive they perhaps made up for their lack of production with three touchdowns in one possession (more on that later). The Niners must execute when they hit the red-zone. I expect this will improve as Trent Williams and Brandon Aiyuk continue to get in shape for the season.
The Good
Brock Purdy was dealing today. He connected with six of seven receivers targeted today. Purdy had throws down the field of 53, 45, 38, 32 and 24 yards. Two of his passes to Jauan Jennings were 45 and 32-yard connections. Purdy’s lone interception was a fluke play where Jennings stopped on his route rather than complete the slant. Throughout the game, Purdy was flushed from the pocket several times. Twice he converted third and shorts with his legs. He played with his usual poise, grit and intelligence.
Resilience
The whole offense was resilient today. Late in the 2nd quarter, the 49ers scored three touchdowns on the same possession. Yes, you read that right. On a second and six, Jordan Mason caught a short slant and ran it in for a 38-yard touchdown reception. The play was called back due to the aforementioned holding call against Kittle. Since the holding occurred down field near the end-zone, the first down conversion counted.
Two plays later, Purdy finds Kyle Juszczyk in the endzone for a touchdown pass. This play was called back due to an illegal procedure flag. Finally, Purdy finds Kittle in the corner of the end-zone. Kittle had a step, but he jumped and high pointed the ball as three defenders converged on him.
The 49ers offense held it together. They didn’t get down. The players didn’t let their frustration with the ref’s rule their play. They went out and they executed.
Coordinators Improved
Coach Kyle Shanahan stayed committed to the run game. He also ran a very balanced attack, calling 26 runs against 32 pass plays. The stat sheet shows 27 pass attempts by Purdy, but there were five other plays he dropped back to pass and was forced to run the ball.
Coach Sorenson is learning his defense. This week he ran a heavy rotation on the defensive line front to keep players fresh. This allowed Nick Bosa to be relentless in the pass rush. Coach Sorenson didn’t call one play requiring a defensive lineman to drop in coverage. Finally, the defense rallied when their leader was held out in the second half. Fred Warner was sidelined with a minor ankle injury, and the backup linebackers performed very well.
The Keys to Victory
The New England Patriots are a banged-up team that lacks depth and talent. The 49ers needed to come out and dominate today. They did. The 49er defensive line lived in the Patriots backfield. They pressured Jacoby Brissett, sacking him six times. If the Niners didn’t sack Brissett they hit him. Jacoby Brissett was slow to pick himself off the turf almost every play. Ultimately the defensive line executed exceptionally well.
The 49ers offense pass protected a little better today. Purdy usually had time to read the defense and deliver the ball. The run game was varied and on point. Though Aiyuk continues his slow start to the season, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Jauan Jennings all had tremendous showings today.
Today’s game was a must win game for the 49ers to regain their confidence. This team continues to ramp itself up for the season ahead. They are not running on all cylinders just yet. Additionally, the special teams must improve drastically if the 49ers are going to appear in this season’s Super Bowl again. Despite the adversity of losing key players to injury amidst a slow start, the 49ers are working with what they have. Today’s victory is a spark of hope for the remainder of the season.
