49ers Wilson Jr. Crush the Patriots Defense
San Francisco 49ers running back Jeff Wilson Jr. gains yardage against the New England Patriots in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
2020.10.25 – Jeff Wilson Jr. rushed for a career-high three touchdowns and 112 yards before leaving with an ankle injury and the San Francisco 49ers crushed New England Patriots 33-6 on Sunday.
Now everybody wanted to see Jimmy Garoppolo, the guy who helped hand the Patriots their worst home loss under Bill Belichick. He was once considered to be the man in waiting to take over at quarterback in New England for Tom Brady.
Garoppolo finished 20 of 25 for 277 yards with two interceptions in his first game against his former team. San Francisco (4-3) has followed back-to-back losses with consecutive wins and is 3-0 on the road.
2020.10.25 – The Playbook – San Francisco 49ers vs. NE Patriots (Video)
2020.10.25 – The Playbook – San Francisco 49ers vs. NE Patriots (Video)
“It was an exciting night. Lot of emotions. Couldn’t imagine it going any better than this,” Garoppolo said.
The Patriots’ 27-point loss was their largest at home under Belichick. They had gone 286 games without a three-game losing streak, the longest span between three-game slides in NFL history. New England fell to 2-4 for the first since Belichick’s first season in 2000, when the Patriots went 5-11.
New England was out-gained 467-241 in total yards.
“We were clearly out-coached, outplayed. Just out-everything,” Belichick said. “We’re still a long way from where we need to be. That’s obvious.”
San Francisco’s Brandon Aiyuk had six catches for 115 yards and Deebo Samuel had five catches for 65 yards before leaving the game with a hamstring injury.
“When we got them down, we got to keep them down, don’t want to give them any chance to breathe. I thought we did that tonight,” Garoppolo said. “Started from the first snap and carried its way throughout the whole game.”
2020.10.25 – San Francisco 49ers vs. New England Patriots (Video)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo passes against the New England Patriots in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
2020.10.25 – San Francisco 49ers vs. New England Patriots (Video)
Cam Newton struggled for the Patriots, completing 9 of 15 passes for 98 yards and three interceptions before being replaced by Jarrett Stidham in the fourth quarter. Stidham was 6 of 10 for 64 yards and an interception.
Belichick said his plan is to keep Newton as the starter.
“Yeah, absolutely,” he said.
Newton was out of sync from the outset, making poor reads and poorer throws. Garoppolo, meanwhile, was successful in spreading out New England’s defense with a steady diet of passes behind the line of scrimmage and jet sweeps to get the ball into the hands of Wilson, Samuel and tight end George Kittle.
San Francisco dominated the first half, taking a 23-3 lead, holding the ball for 22:30 and racking up a 301-59 advantage in total yards. The Patriots managed four first downs to the 49ers’ 18.
The Niners took just over five minutes and nine plays to march 75 yards and take a 7-0 lead on 3-yard run by Wilson. It was the first time the Patriots have allowed a touchdown on an opponent’s opening drive at home since Week 4 of 2016 against Buffalo.
Following a Patriots punt, San Francisco was pinned inside its 15. Long completions by Garoppolo helped erase some early penalty losses before he missed high on a pass for Kittle and was intercepted by Devin McCourty.
San Francisco’s defense limited the damage, yielding a 40-yard field goal by Nick Folk.
That wasn’t the case for the Patriots later in the second quarter.
Trailing 10-3, Newton made a bad play worse when he tried to dump off the ball on the run to receiver Jakobi Meyers. It was picked off by linebacker Fred Warner. Five plays later, the 49ers capitalized on a 4-yard touchdown run by Kyle Juszczyk.
The lead grew to 23-3 with just under a minute to go before halftime on a 16-yard run by Wilson.
“D just played impressive the whole day. I thought special teams and offense did, too. It was an extremely physical game,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “It was fun to watch.”
INJURIES
49ers: WR Richie James left with an ankle injury. … Wilson had just crossed into the end zone following his third TD when his leg twisted as he was tackled. He stayed down on the field before walking off under his own power. Shanahan said the tentative diagnosis is a high ankle sprain. “Not sounding great right now,” he said.
Patriots: WR N’Keal Harry left with a head injury and did not return. … LG Joe Thuney departed with an ankle injury. … RT Justin Herron also left with an ankle injury.
2020.10.25 – En español : El programa “Los 49ers” (Video)
2020.10.25 – En español : El programa “Los 49ers” (Video)
NEWTON’S MILESTONE
With an 11-yard pass to Jakobi Meyers in the third quarter, Newton became the 48th NFL quarterback to reach the 30,000-yard plateau.
He also became the first NFL player to pass for 30,000 yards and rush for 5,000 yards in his career.
UP NEXT
The 49ers head to Seattle (5-1) next Sunday for the annual showdown on Nov. 1, a Thursday night affair against Green Bay on Nov. 5, and road trips to the New Orleans and Rams. A Week 11 bye precedes the rematch with the Rams (5-1).
The Patriots visit Buffalo.
Related – See below: 49ers get groove back headed to Seattle showdown
Related – See: Garoppolo Back on Top – 49ers beat Rams
Read more at: San Francisco 49ers Media Services / More AP NFL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
For more on the San Francisco 49ers, see the blog at www.EMIsportsCentral.com
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49ers get groove back headed to Seattle showdown
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo passes against the New England Patriots in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
2020.10.25 – When the San Francisco 49ers lost back-to-back home games to Philadelphia and Miami it appeared as if the season could be spiraling out of control for the defending NFC champions.
Coach Kyle Shanahan saw enough glimmers of hope in those two losses to believe a turnaround was possible and the team has done just that with convincing wins the past two weeks over the Rams and New England.
“I understood why we didn’t win those games, but it wasn’t anything to panic about,” Shanahan said Monday a day after San Francisco beat the Patriots 33-6.
“It was just frustrating. We let a game get away from us I thought we should have won. Then the Miami game, obviously, we shouldn’t have won that game. We got blown out. It was a very embarrassing loss. But when you watch that tape and I wasn’t trying to BS the players, there was a lot of things to be encouraged about.”
Those things have been very apparent the past two weeks as the Niners (4-3) have used an overpowering running game and a stingy defense to get back into contention in the ultra-tough NFC West.
The task doesn’t get any easier with a game coming up Sunday at Seattle against the first-place Seahawks. But the 49ers believe the way they responded from the 43-17 loss to Miami two weeks ago bodes well for the future.
“I think that’s just what we needed, that wake-up call to really spark a fire underneath us and get that sense of urgency back because we know what we’re capable of,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “That wasn’t who we were that week and obviously we’ve been able to put back-to-back performances on where we played dominant defense so we’ve just got to keep it going, stay humble and put our nose to the grindstone once again.”
2020.10.25 – San Francisco 49ers vs. New England Patriots (Video)
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, center, watches from the sideline in the first half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
2020.10.25 – San Francisco 49ers vs. New England Patriots (Video)
WHAT’S WORKING
Running game. The Niners relied heavily on the run for a second straight week with 37 carries in back-to-back games. They were quite productive with 197 yards and four TDs on the ground. That was the second-most TD runs and fourth-most yards rushing in Shanahan’s four seasons in San Francisco.
WHAT NEEDS HELP
When a team scores on six of its first eight possessions, doesn’t punt until going up 27 points late in the fourth quarter and doesn’t allow a touchdown all game, there isn’t much that needs help. Rookie Javon Kinlaw did allow pressure that led to a blocked extra point.
STOCK UP
Brandon Aiyuk. The rookie receiver had six catches for 115 yards in his most productive game yet. That was the fourth-most yards receiving for a 49ers rookie in a game since the 1970 merger.
STOCK DOWN
Jerick McKinnon. After playing a big role early in the season in place of Raheem Mostert, McKinnon has struggled to get going the past few weeks. He played 66 snaps in Week 4 against Philadelphia, the most for a 49ers halfback since Frank Gore had 66 in the 2013 opener. Since then, McKinnon has 10 carries for 17 yards in three games.
INJURED
RB Jeff Wilson Jr. left the game with a high ankle sprain and is headed to injured reserve. … WR Deebo Samuel will likely miss the next two games after straining his hamstring. … WR Richie James Jr. (ankle) also left the game but could be back this week. … Shanahan is hoping to get RB Tevin Coleman back from a knee injury that sidelined him in Week 2.
KEY NUMBER
27. The 27-point margin of victory was the biggest ever against a Bill Belichick-coached Patriots team in Foxborough. The previous time New England lost by more at home came in a 41-10 loss to Atlanta in 1998.
NEXT STEPS
Visit Seattle on Sunday.
Related – See: 49ers Devastating Victory Lose Bosa and Thomas
Read more at: San Francisco 49ers Media Services / More AP NFL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
For more on the San Francisco 49ers, see the blog at www.EMIsportsCentral.com
49ERS FIT – Free 4-Day Pass
EMI Sports Central – EMI Sports Bay Area: Join the conversation on sports news for SF Bay Area teams: Follow @EMIsports on Twitter, “Like” us on Facebook and sign up for our FREE email newsletters.