7 winners and losers from the Patriots’ loss to the 49ers

Here is who caught our eye, for better or worse, in the Patriots’ loss on Sunday.

The New England Patriots dropped their Week 4 contest 30-13 to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday to fall to 1-3 on the year.

Here is who caught our eye for better or worse upon live viewing.

Loser: QB Jacoby Brissett. New England’s quarterback was under siege yet again, but it was another game with too many bad quarterback plays when opportunities presented themselves. The worst came on his first quarter pick six, when Brissett stared down Tyquan Thornton to his left which took Fred Warner right into the passing lane. In total, Brissett finished in the 10th percentile with -0.34 EPA/play.

Loser: RB Rhamondre Stevenson. Another game, another fumble for New England’s top back. Stevenson now has four fumbles through the first four games and lost his second on Sunday — helping build the early deficit. Stevenson also averaged just 3.3 yards per carry on his 13 attempts as New England could generate just a 32 percent success rate on the ground.

Winner: Special teams. The top bright spot for the Patriots came via Jeremy Springer’s unit, specifically due to Joey Slye, Bryce Baringer, and Christian Elliss.

Slye continued his strong start to the season by connecting on 63- and 54-yard field goals, the first setting a Patriots franchise record. Baringer saw all four of his punts downed inside the 20 — multiple due to continued strong coverage from Brenden Schooler. One was also due to a tackle from Elliss, who additionally forced a fumble on the opening second-half kickoff to help setup the Patriots lone touchdown.

Loser: OG Layden Robinson and OT Demontrey Jacobs. As mentioned above, Brissett was again under heavy pressure despite Alex Van Pelt dialing up more quick game concepts. In total, the quarterback was sacked six times and pressured on over 50 percent of his drop backs for the second straight week.

The biggest problems appeared to come from rookie Layden Robinson and left tackle Demontrey Jacobs, who was thrusted into an impossible spot in his first ever NFL action. Jacobs seemed to wear down as the game went on as Nick Bosa took over, while Robinson’s issues in pass protection continued. The rookie specifically had issues against Maliek Collins, who beat him on back-to-back plays late in the first half and caved in the line on the earlier fourth-down stuff.

Loser: WR K.J. Osborn. The Patriots top veteran receiver saw five targets on Sunday but managed to haul in just one for 3 yards. Osborn, like the rest of the group, struggled to consistently separate throughout the afternoon — including on two quick game targets from Brissett. In the good news department, Kendrick Bourne (PUP) is expected to start practicing next week.

Winner: CB Christian Gonzalez. New England’s pass defense continued to give up explosive plays on Sunday, but it again did not come at the expense of Christian Gonzalez. While the 2023 first rounder did not shadow any 49er receiver, he limited Brandon Aiyuk to just one catch for 10 yards in 13 coverage snaps. In total, Gonzalez allowed just two receptions for 12 yards on five total targets, according to NextGenStats. He also made a strong play to work through the defense and bring down Deebo Samuel near the goal line.

Honorable mentions:

• While New England’s receivers struggled, rookie Ja’Lynn Polk brought a dose of optimism. He showed his strong hands on a 21-yard back shoulder ball and almost caught a spectacular deep ball between two defenders that was ruled out of bounds.
• Austin Hooper has been a reliable No. 2 tight end for this team and found the end zone on a well-designed play-action pass on fourth-down.
• Keion White continues to be a bright spot on defense, recording a career-high seven pressures. Some of Brock Purdy’s key third-down conversions did seem to be a result of poor pass rush discipline on White and Deatrich Wise’s side, however.
• New England’s defense deserves credit for their fight in the second half, while limiting San Francisco’s high-powered offense to 23 points is deserving of credit. But, they allowed five explosive pass plays and continued to have issues keeping the QB in the pocket.
• Injuries piled up yet again with David Andrews (shoulder), Caedan Wallace (ankle), and Kyle Dugger (ankle) not finishing the game. Both Wallace and Dugger were seen in walking boots after the game with Wallace also using crutches.
• Jerod Mayo’s decision on the opening drive to punt on 4th-and-3 from the San Francisco 41-yard line was questionable. The preference here would have been a more aggressive decision as a 10.5 point underdog on the road.