After a 30-13 embarrassment in San Francisco, the Patriots find themselves 1-3 in the midst of a 3-game losing streak. There were not many positives to take away from this game if you're a Patriots fan so let's get right into the good, the bad and the very ugly.
The Good
Secondary
The best group of the game was the Patriots secondary, who had their best complete game of the season. Brock Purdy has been one of the best Quarterbacks of the season so far and was limited to a 89.7 passer rating, a 55.6% completion % and an interception thrown.
Special Teams
Another bright spot on the day was the continued form of Kicker Joey Slye. In the second-quarter Joey Slye hit a field goal for the team's first points to make the score 20-3 at the half. No ordinary field goal however, Slye hit the longest field goal in Patriots history at 63 yards. Slye has been almost perfect so far this year, making all 4 XP and kicking 8/9 on field goals with his only miss coming by way of a block. Legitimately in the running for kicker of the year, Slye has had a tremendous start to the season.
Hard to say this but... that is all I got for positives. The Patriots played their toughest opponent of the season on the road in the other side of the country and got whooped. Let's take a deeper look into what went wrong against the 49ers. An extra piece of Special Team success was Bryce Baringer being on point, having to punt 4 times and leaving them all inside of the 20-yard line.
The Bad
Run Game
The first negative to go over is the run game for the Patriots. Over the last two games the Patriots rush attack has severely slowed down from the first two weeks. Their 73 yards rushing on 3 YPC marks season-lowest for both stats. Supposed best offensive-option Rhamondre Stevenson has accumulated 66 yards on 19 carries and fumbled the ball twice in the last two games. A far cry from his 100-yard and TD average he set in his first to games, Stevenson needs to get back to form if this Patriots' offense hopes to have any chance this season.
Scoring
One way to say it would be that the Patriots are averaging at least a TD in every game so far this season. Another way to say it is that they have only scored 4 TDs this season which is tied for last in the league. Matching their season-average for points scored, the average score of a Patriots game this season is 21.7 to 13 in favor of the opponents. If the Patriots are to string together any more wins this season they'll need to start punching in the ball instead of settling for field goals. Their red zone-TD percentage so far this season is a measly 36% which is 3rd worst in the league.
The Ugly
Passing
The ugliest parts of this team so far this season has to do with the passing game of the Patriots. Much of the controversy for this team this year has been around the QB choice of starting Jacoby Brissett over rookie Drake Maye. While Brissett has had flashes of being an above-average game manager, the team ranks dead last in passing yards this season with an average of 139 pass yards per game. While reports say Maye is not ready for the starting job just yet, Brissett hasn't proven to be the man either at least in games.
Offensive Line
Brissett has a decent excuse for his poor play however, being tied for the 3rd-most sacked QB in the league and being tied for 4th-most times being knocked down. The pass blocking from this team has been awful, with an average PFF-pass blocking grade of 57.1. A harsh fact to face is the Pats' O-line is bottom-5 in the league. Truth be told, Brissett may not be a great starting QB but with the poor play of the O-line it is better not to start the rookie to let him progress his mechanics in practice without the pressure of running for his life at such a young age.
Looking Ahead
One good thing about the Pats' future is a weak schedule upcoming. With home games against the Dolphins, Texans and Jets and road games against the Jaguars, Titans, and Bears in their next 6 games, the Patriots have some very winnable games as midseason approaches.
The team will have to improve on their offense particularly their O-line to take advantage of their schedule. With their defense still doing well, a bit of better play from their offense will make all the difference in the world and could easily have them winning 3 of their next 6 games.
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-Z.D.
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