Error repeaters a cause for concern, and more takeaways from Patriots-49ers

10 things we learned about the Patriots in Week 4 of the NFL season.

The New England Patriots entered Week 4 as clear underdogs to the San Francisco 49ers and, predictably, were blown out on Sunday. Losing a third straight game, and second in which they have not been competitive especially on offense, they were beaten with a final score of 30-13.

Without further ado, let’s get into our takeaways from the Patriots’ defeat in Santa Clara — starting with a look some error repeaters.

1. The defensive edge is a problem, and not in a good way: The Patriots have spoken repeatedly about being able to keep quarterbacks contained in the pocket, and on Sunday again failed to accomplish that task. Their opening drive alone saw Brock Purdy break contain on three occasions, all resulting in third down conversions.

On those particular plays, Keion White (twice) and Deatrich Wise Jr. (once) were to blame for a lack of stability on the perimeter. Additionally, missing Anfernee Jennings with a shoulder injury also was a big detriment — especially since his replacement was Josh Uche.

On Sunday, Uche could not set the edge to save his life; look no further than Jordan Mason’s third quarter touchdown run to extend San Francisco’s lead to 27-10.

“It’s a frustrating thing. Sometimes you tell guys over and over and over, ‘Look, the stove’s hot, the stove’s hot,’ and they still touch the stove,” said head coach Jerod Mayo. “The players will tell you, it’s on them to go out there and set the edge, this is your job. Do your job and we’ll be okay.”

The Patriots need improvement across the board to address this issue. They also have to hope that Jennings can be back soon, because Josh Uche has shown he cannot be a proper three-down defender.

2. Rhamondre Stevenson needs to be fixed: Rhamondre Stevenson has now fumbled in each of the first four games this season, including back-to-back that were recovered by the opposition. The Patriots know they cannot afford to turn the ball over, and yet they did it three times on Sunday.

Stevenson’s fumble might have been the most frustrating of those turnovers, because of his history and because he is probably the most talented player on offense. That said, he cannot continue putting the ball on the ground or else the Patriots are going to have to try to rely on someone else to carry the load for them moving forward.

Either way, the fifth-year man needs to be fixed.

“Here’s no one out there more disappointed than Rhamondre as far as his ball security issues are concerned,” said Mayo. “It is what it is. Change the page and let’s move forward.”

3. Ja’Lynn Polk is trending up: The Patriots have issues at wide receiver right now. Tyquan Thornton’s solid training camp seems to have been a mirage, and none of the other pieces have done much to instill confidence in the fans or the coaching staff either. One player, however, showed just what he could be capable of in the future.

Second-round rookie Ja’Lynn Polk only finished the game with three catches for 30 yards, but he showed the type of playmaker he can be with a contested catch on the sideline at the end of the game. He was ruled out of bounds, so the catch didn’t count, but he was double-covered and simply ripped the ball away from the safety over the top.

“It’s just giving our guys a chance,” explained quarterback Jacoby Brissett. “I’m trying to give us the best chance to make plays. They were starting to sit on us a lot and not backing up a little bit and Polk had made a couple good catches down the field. So, just trying to go up and give him another chance.”

It’s the exact type of play you want to see Polk make, and he showed an ability to do it late in the game on Sunday. The hope is that he will see more opportunities come his way as the weeks progress.

4. Jacoby Brissett will remain the starter for the foreseeable future: The Patriots’ passing offense is extremely limited with Jacoby Brissett playing quarterback, but it’s hard to imagine the team making a change anytime soon. The most important thing this season is to get Drake Maye ready to be the starter, after all, and putting him behind this offensive line without any real weapons would, frankly, be a terrible idea.

You have to feel for Brissett, who keeps getting relentlessly pressured in the pocket and just keeps getting back up. But he’s going to take the hits so Maye doesn’t have to. It’s not a great situation for anyone, but staying the course is the right move for now.

5. Christian Gonzalez continues to be an eraser: It doesn’t matter what Pro Football Focus has to say, Christian Gonzalez is a truly elite cornerback. For the fourth straight game, he completely erased a top-flight receiver in the NFL.

Brandon Aiyuk ended the game with two catches for 48 yards, but Gonzalez wasn’t the main defender on his 38-yard reception, which means he gave up just one catch for 10 yards to Aiyuk. The Patriots do need some help at corner moving forward, but it looks like they have a stud as their top option.

6. The coaching is better than the Patriots get credit for: Patriots fans are already starting to turn on Jerod Mayo for the team’s poor performance the last two games, but the coaching has been better than he and the rest of his staff are getting credit for. It needs to be remembered that Mayo, Alex Van Pelt, and DeMarcus Covington are all rookies too. There have been some questionable decisions, but the team hasn’t given up yet.

The determination to continue and work hard until the end of every game is a reflection of the coaching staff. Not everything is going to be perfect, but there were some bright spots as well: the fourth down touchdown pass to Austin Hooper was a great call, as was the third down lateral that was called back due to a penalty; the decision to kick off short to start the second half was a good one as well; the defense played a pretty good overall game despite surrendering some big plays and 23 points.

There are going to be growing pains, but I believe that the Patriots are in a pretty good position with the coaches they have in place right now. Patience is the key.

7. The Patriots do have a weapon on offense, sort of: Perhaps the biggest weapon the Patriots have on offense is Joe Slye. He boomed two more kicks this week, one from 63 and the other from 54. The Patriots may have whiffed on their pick of Chad Ryland, but they have found a reliable kicker with a heck of a leg in Slye.

8. Bryce Baringer should be an All-Pro: Speaking of weapons, Bryce Baringer continues to be absolutely incredible this season. He is averaging just under 50 yards per punt this season, had another one over 60 yards no Sunday, and all four of his kicks pinned the 49ers inside their own 20 on Sunday.

The sophomore has been on of the best punters in the league, and is deserving of the recognition that he should get by the end of the season.

9. The injury bug keeps biting the Patriots: The Patriots don’t have a ton of talent on this roster, and it keeps getting worse because key players continue to go down with injuries. On Sunday, it was David Andrews and Kyle Dugger as well as backup offensive tackle Caedan Wallace.

The offensive line in particular has been hit hard by those injuries, and losing the starting center was a massive blow on Sunday. Dugger, on the other hand, is one of the their better players on defense, and him not being there contributed to some of the 49ers’ biggest plays; one has to wonder whether the 6-foot-3 safety could have broken up the touchdown pass form Brock Purdy to George Kittle in Quarter 2.

“We sustained a few injuries to some warriors out there,” said Jerod Mayo. “Some big injuries — well, not big, but big in as far as who it was. Those guys will come in [Monday] and do their injury checks, so I’m not sure how serious or not serious the injuries are. But those guys that couldn’t finish the game are obviously a big part of what we do.”

The Patriots are already short-handed and need all the help they can get. Losing Andrews or Dugger for an extended period of time would be catastrophic.

10. A banged-up Dolphins team awaits: The Patriots aren’t a good team, but they should have a chance to compete against the visiting Dolphins next week at home. The Dolphins will be coming off a Monday Night Football game, which means they will have a short week to prepare, and they are on their third different starting quarterback this season. They also have a bunch of injuries on defense as well.

The Patriots shouldn’t be writing in any games as wins right now. They should be able to keep this particular game close, though, and be competitive against a team more on their level than the 49ers were on Sunday.