For the first time in his career, Tom Brady has played a game in San Francisco (or Santa Clara if we’re being specific). The New England Patriots defeated the San Francisco 49ers 30 to 17 in a game that featured down pouring rain.
Neither teams quarterback were able to reach 300 passing yards, but Colin Kaepernick threw two touchdowns with no interceptions, while Brady threw four touchdowns and no interceptions as well.
LeGarrette Blount was unable to find the end zone, but ran 19 times for 124 yards, with an average of 6.5 yards per a carry. Malcolm Mitchell lead the patriots in receiving yards, and scored a touchdown in place of an injured Chris Hogan.
What It Means
After suffering there second loss of the season at home, the Patriots delivered a strong on the road performance against there NFC West opponent. While the offence couldn’t get anything going in the third quarter, the finished strong in the fourth with 17 points. They still have a strong lead on the AFC East, and maintain a hold on the first seed in the AFC as a whole.
New England was able to get five sacks on Kaepernick. Since there pass rush had been so awful the last few games, this is a huge improvement. Taking out Jabaal Sheard might have been the right thing to do.
Chip Kelly was able to upset the Patriots last year as the head coach of the eagles, but failed to do so as the 49ers head coach. He is now 1-9 with San Francisco this year. He might be one and done as there head coach if he can’t finish the season strong.
Stats of the Game
From an NFL standpoint, a new record was set for the most missed extra point attempts league wide, with 12 missed on Sunday. Stephen Gostkowski was a part of that trend. You have to wonder when the Patriots will start looking into a new kicker.
The Patriots forced five fumbles, but were unable to recover any of them. In tighter games the Patriots have to learn to capitalize on turnovers, as one missed fumble could be a make or break moment for the team.
Unsung Hero
Malcom Mitchell played very well in place of Chris Hogan, replacing him as the teams deep threat. Mitchell might pan out to be what the Patriots wanted Aaron Dobson to be, as long as he can stay healthy.
Noteworthy
Dion Lewis returned! While LeGarrette Blount continued to be the starter, Lewis’s return opens up a lot of possibility’s. James White is good, but Lewis can make an entire defense miss. This might be the best running back fore the Patriots have had in a very long time. Expect his playing time to increase as we get later into the regular season.
What’s Next
The Patriots will take on the New York Jets in the Meadow Lands at 4:25 PM Eastern Standard time. The AFC East rivalry matchup will be broadcasted locally on your CBS affiliate, or streamed through NFL Sunday Ticket.
