The San Francisco 49ers continued their downward spiral with a 30-17 loss to the New England Patriots, losing their ninth straight game and tying a franchise record. This dubious record comes on the day that the Niners honored beloved former owner and Hall of Famer, Eddie DeBartolo, Jr.
All in all, it was an ugly, rainy day at Levi’s Stadium, and the stands had more Patriots fans than Niner fans. On top of that, it was a homecoming for San Mateo native and Patriots’ Quarterback Tom Brady. Although he struggled at times, ultimately Brady was Hall of Fame Brady, leading the Patriots to 17 unanswered 4th quarter points and the easy victory, finishing the game 24 of 40 for 280 yards and four touchdowns, one in every quarter.
“That’s why he’s a Hall of Fame quarterback,” said 49ers’ Head Coach Chip Kelly. “He’s not the fastest quarterback out there, but I would argue that he’s as good as anybody when it comes to being able to move within the pocket…His ability to keep plays alive, he’s as good as anybody and I think people get misconception that he’s not Mike Vick, keeps plays alive scrambling and all those other things. He’s not like that but his ability in the pocket is as good as anybody’s that’s ever played the game.”
For the 49ers, it was the same story, different day. The 49ers came out looking competitive in the first half, only to fold in the second, both on offense and defense.
“We have to do a better job of executing,” said Quarterback Colin Kaepernick. “We got into a little bit of a rut. We got out of rhythm, weren’t stringing plays together like we were earlier in the game.”
Kaepernick was eight of nine for 116 yards and a touchdown in the first half, finishing the day 16 of 30 for 206 yards and two touchdowns. At one point in the second half, Kaepernick threw nine straight incompletions. And he was sacked five times.
“…I think in this game the third quarter was an entirely different quarter than anybody’s played all year long with the amount of rain we had on both sides of the ball,” said Kelly. “It turned into a little bit of a rain game both ways. Then when the skies opened up a little bit we were behind and we have to throw it every down. We’re not good enough to throw it every down.”
Wide Receiver Torrey Smith missed the game with a shoulder injury, which put a lot of pressure on an already slim wide receiving corps. As a group, the receivers had four receptions, two for Chris Harper and two for Quinton Patton. That is not good.
“Torrey wasn’t in today,” said Kelly. “We don’t have a go to wide receiver that’s going to elicit double coverage and then all of a sudden you’re going to get single matchups across the ball and then we can line up in empty sets all day long and throw the ball all over the lot. That’s just not the way we’re built right now.”
And then there’s that Niner defense. After doing such a good job against the run last week, the Niner run defense was business as usual, giving up 124 yards to Running Back LaGarrette Blount and 171 rushing yards total. Between that and Brady, the Niners were completely outmatched on defense. It doesn’t help matters that Cornerback Jimmie Ward left the game with a concussion, and Safety Eric Reid left with, what is being reported as, a potential biceps tear. Reid will have an MRI tomorrow.
On the plus side, Kicker Phil Dawson got his 400th career field goal, and Running Back Carlos Hyde looked more like himself. He rushed for 86 yards and had 24 receiving yards. He also played a physical game, running people over to keep plays alive. So, those are your positives.
“In a team game, it’s hard to feel good about individual accomplishments,” said Dawson. “…My focus today was not on the 400, but trying to help this team win a game, and we came up short in that area.”
Now, the 49ers are off to Miami to take on the red hot Dolphins, who have won five straight games. They are due for a loss and the Niners are due for a win, so maybe.
It can’t be easy, but the guys in the red and gold come back to work on Tuesday to get ready.
“Well, that’s our job,” said Kelly. “I think they practice well. They’re engaged. They want to win. They’re not excited about where we are at right now in terms of where we’re at loss-wise, but we’ve got to go back to work. That’s the only thing that you can do in this situation.”
Kaepernick had the same sentiments as Kelly.
“I think this team is continuing to fight,” said Kaepernick. “Trying to figure out how to fix our problems and make sure we go out and compete every week and try to get a win.”
Back to work they go to #BeattheDolphins. Go Niners.