Courtesy of Terrell Lloyd/San Francisco 49ers
SANTA CLARA — The sky isn't falling in Santa Clara.
The San Francisco 49ers' defense dominated the hapless New England Patriots in a 30-13 victory on a beautiful sunny afternoon at Levi's Stadium.
"If you've looked from an outsider's perspective or looked online, you'd think the building was burning down. I told the D-line guys in our meeting last night that we've lost some guys, but I haven't lost confidence in this group one bit," 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa said.
The 49ers snapped their two-game losing streak as they improved to 2-2 on the season. Both of their wins have come at Levi's Stadium. New England has now lost three games in a row since its upset win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1.
San Francisco went up 6-0 in the first quarter on two Jake Moody field goals. However, the 49ers' offense was frustrated, having two possessions inside the red zone but failing to reach the end zone, thanks to New England's defense that bent but did not break.
The game pivoted in favor of the red and gold early in the second quarter. On a 3rd-and-5 from the New England 35-yard line, Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett overthrew a pass intended for Tyquan Thornton. 49ers All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner made a spectacular leaping catch to intercept the ball. Despite being winded, Warner got up and ran 45 yards for his first touchdown of the season, giving San Francisco a 13-0 first-half lead.
"As soon as I got up, I found some green grass," Warner said of his journey to the end zone. "You know I'm excited to go back and watch it to see the effort my guys gave. You don't get into the end zone if your teammates don't have your back in that situation."
Warner wasn't the only one to make an amazing catch in the second quarter for the 49ers.
Quarterback Brock Purdy threw up a prayer on a 3rd-and-10 play from the Patriots' 12-yard line into a sea of triple coverage near the left sideline of the end zone. Tight end George Kittle somehow brought the ball into his hands, falling while maintaining possession for a touchdown that seemed to have divine intervention written all over it.
"It felt fantastic," Kittle said of his improbable catch. "I wasn't really confident in the play call because it was something we called earlier from way farther out. When he called it from the 10 (yard line), I had to double-check with Brock (Purdy) to make sure we called the right play. And I was like, alright, ok, man, just throw it. And he just threw it, so it was pretty fun."
The Patriots finally got on the scoreboard when kicker Joey Slye ended the first half with a 63-yard field goal, the longest of his career and just three yards shy of the NFL record.
Momentum seemed to have shifted to New England's side when 49ers rookie running back Issac Guerendo fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half, with the Patriots recovering the ball at the 49ers' 27-yard line.
Brissett finished off the five-play drive with a five-yard touchdown pass to tight end Austin Hooper, giving New England its first touchdown of the game and bringing them within ten points, raising hopes for a competitive game.
However, those hopes were short-lived as San Francisco needed just four plays on their ensuing possession to regain a 17-point lead. The catalyst for the drive was the first play when Purdy connected with wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who returned from injury after missing the previous game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Samuel caught a deep ball down the middle in stride for a 53-yard reception, setting up the 49ers at the Patriots' 17-yard line. Three plays later, running back Jordan Mason ran a sweep to the left for a four-yard touchdown, his third of the season.
San Francisco's defensive line, led by Nick Bosa, made life difficult for Brissett in the second half, as the 49ers pressured him inside the pocket and prevented him from extending plays. Despite losing Javon Hargrave for the season with a torn triceps, the 49ers sacked Brissett six times and forced him to throw the ball away numerous times.
"It's like I said, it's hard to play against yourself and the defense at the same time. I think we put ourselves in a terrible situation, obviously with the turnovers and things like that," Brissett said.
Despite Brissett's poor play and the struggles of his offensive line, Patriots rookie head coach Jerod Mayo still believes in Brissett's ability to lead an offense that continues to struggle to score points.
"At this point, Jacoby (Brissett) is our starting quarterback. I haven't watched any film or anything like that. He's been a great leader. He just broke the huddle down after I talked to the guys," Mayo said.
Brissett finished 19-of-32 for 168 yards, with one touchdown and one interception, for a rating of 70.8. Rhamondre Stevenson managed just 43 yards on 13 carries in a quiet performance. Running back Antonio Gibson was the Patriots' leading receiver with three catches for 67 yards.
On the flip side, Purdy had an efficient game, going 15-of-27 for 288 yards, with one touchdown, one interception, and a rating of 89.7. Mason led all rushers with one of his best performances of the season, gaining 123 yards on 24 carries, along with a rushing touchdown. Jauan Jennings led the 49ers' receivers with three catches for 88 yards. Kittle contributed four catches on four targets for 45 yards. Aside from Samuel's 53-yard reception, he had only two other catches for five yards.
San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan was pleased with how the defense played from start to finish, allowing just 216 net yards on the day as New England converted only 31 percent of its third-down attempts.
"From what I saw out there, it seemed like they dominated the run and the pass game. I was really excited with them, especially losing Hargrave last week. We really needed to step it up," Shanahan said. "Then losing Jordan in this game too just made them down a man, and I thought they played well throughout the game, from the first quarter to the fourth."
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