Randy Moss points to the fans after hauling in a 66-yard TD pass in the first quarter. Getty Photo.

The Result
Last year I told you in the second week that the team was something special.  This year the team is going to be harder to pin down on exactly who and what they are.  Basically in a nutshell they won a game on the road they should have won, which is a good thing.  Big picture wise I still can’t make any type of declaration on this squad.  Some weeks they do certain things well and other things not so well, the next week things they did well they don’t do well and they improve on their weaknesses.

Rodney Harrison snagged one of three INTs on the day for the Patriots defense. It was the 36th of his career. Getty Photo. Two weeks ago they were awful on both sides of the ball.  This week there was improvement but this isn’t the Tom Brady Patriots that’s for sure.  They gave up a slew of sacks, five in all, some you can pin on the offensive line, some you can pin on Matt Cassel’s inexperience.  At times they ran the ball well, most of the game they seemed to do well in the passing game, that is when Cassel wasn’t on his back or running for his life.  On defense their pass coverage was porous at best as twice Isaac Bruce had TD’s with little or no opposing coverage.  They also gave up wide open pass plays out over the middle of the field much like they did against Miami only not to that extent.  But yet they picked off J.T. O’Sullivan three times but sacked him only once and this was against a team that had yielded 19 sacks in the first four weeks.

Special teams didn’t have their best performance especially in the punting department.  I’d really like to see a different punter as they just fail to execute when they need to.

But don’t get me wrong it wasn’t all gloom and doom and it shouldn’t be as Cassel did open up a bit throwing a long 66-yard TD pass to Randy Moss and tried to go long another time to Moss but got picked when  he underthrew the ball.  Wes Welker as well as Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris all had good games as well and you can even throw Jabar Gaffney in that category.

They also dominated the time of possession just shy of 2:1 by having the ball a whopping 39:52 of the 60:00 minutes.  They had more than twice as many first downs (25 to 12) and nearly twice as many total yards (377 to 199).

I saw some good things today and now they need to build on that, also a win is a win so they’re 3-1 and off to San Diego to face the Chargers next Sunday.

Scoring Plays

PATRIOTS 7 10 7 6 30
49ERS 14 0 0 7 21

1st Quarter

  • SF – O’Sullivan 15 yard TD pass to Gore – Nedney PAT
  • NE – Cassel 66 yard TD pass to Moss – Gostkowski PAT
  • SF – O’Sullivan 7 yard TD pass to Bruce – Nedney PAT

2nd Quarter

  • NE – Gostkowski 35 yard FG
  • NE – Faulk 2 yard run – Gostkowski PAT

3rd Quarter

  • NE – Faulk 2 yard run – Gostkowski PAT

4th Quarter

  • NE – Gostkowski 40 yard FG
  • SF – O’Sullivan 5 yard TD pass to Bruce – Nedney PAT
  • NE – Gostkowski 49 yard FG

Offensive Player of the Game

New England WR Randy Moss had 5 catches for 111 yards and 1 TD.

Niners LB Patrick Willis notches one of the five San Francisco sacks on the day. Getty Photo. Defensive Player of the Game

San Francisco LB Patrick Willis had 18 tackles (14 of them solo) and 1 sack.

Turning Point(s) of the Game

  1. Bill Belichick challenging the spot of the ball for a better measurement that resulted in a first down late in the game instead of 3rd and inches.
  2. Matt Cassel throws to Jabar Gaffney for 14 yards on 3rd and 20 to get Stephen Gostkowski in range for 49 yard FGA.
  3. Deltha O’Neal’s interception in final minutes off of Rodney Harrison deflection of a J.T. O’Sullivan pass.

Offensive Leaders/Notes

In addition to Moss, Wes Welker had 8 catches for 73 yards,  Sammy Morris had 63 yards on 16 carried and Matt Cassel was 22 of 32 for 259 yards with 1 TD and 2 INTs.

  • Matt Cassel throws downfield against the Niners. Getty Photo. Matt Cassel was looking downfield and was hit leading to an interception by LB Takeo Spikes to end the Patriots first possession.
  • Bad snap exchange on 2nd and 7 in 3rd possession at NE 35 almost leads to a fumble.
  • Cassel under heavy blitz pressure goes 66 yards to Randy Moss for a TD on next play for a TD on NE third possession.
  • Sammy Morris runs for a 1st down with a 15 yard run to midfield on 4th possession.
  • Cassel sacked at midfield on 3rd and 4 ending fourth drive.
  • LaMont Jordan on 2 carrries (9 yards and 2 yards) gets a first down on 5th drive.
  • Cassel trying to throw a long pass to Moss gets picked by Nate Clemens at SF 3. Moss made a nice tackle immediately to save return yardage.
  • Cassel on 3rd and 9 throws to Jabar Gaffney for 1st down on 6th possession at SF 34
  • Maroney and Morris team up to get nearly 20 yards over 3 carries.
  • Cassel sacked on 3rd and 6 in the red zone leading to 35 yard FGA.
  • 2 minute drive: nice mix with a good run from Faulk, scramble by Cassel and passes for 1st downs to Welker and Moss.
  • On 3rd and 6 Cassel was sacked again but a personal foul on Justin Smith gives them a first and goal at SF 7
  • Kevin Faulk, Sammy Morris and Laurence Maroney celebrate Faulk's 2 yard TD run. AP Photo. Faulk scores on a run from 2 yards out.
  • Cassel sacked on blitz on first play of 2nd half
  • Nice screen on next play to Faulk
  • Welker 12 yard catch in between 2 defenders for 1st down at NE 36
  • Defensive holding call on Walt Harris on 3rd down gives NE first down
  • Cassel sacked on 3rd and 8 ending 8th drive with a punt.
  • Morris runs twice for 18 yards on 9th drive
  • Cassel under blitz by Spikes throws to Faulk to SF 1 on 1st and goal
  • Faulk goes in for 2 yard TD on a direct snap/deke to him on 4th and goal
  • Cassel throws to Welker for 21 yards on 10th drive
  • Cassel throws to Gaffney for 11 yards and a 1st down on 3rd and 10
  • Gostkowski caps the 10th drive with a 40 yard FG
  • Cassel to Welker for 13 yards and 1st down on first play of 11th drive
  • Cassel throws a screen to Faulk who gains about 9 yards, NE challenges the spot and gets a first down on the remeasure.
  • Cassel to Welker for 12 yard brought back on pass interference call on Moss
  • Cassel to Gaffney for 14 yards to give Gostkowski a 49 FGA
  • With chance to run out the clock fail to get first down leading to a punt on 3 and out.

Defensive Leaders/Notes

LB Adalius Thomas had 5 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 sack, NT Vince Wilfork and DE Ty Warren each had 4 tackles.

  • Jarvis Green pressures J.T. O'Sullivan. Getty Photo.Poor coverage on 2nd Niners play of the game luckily it was dropped by Delaney Walker.
  • S Brandon Meriweather picks off J.T. O’Sullivan on first play at the NE 3 after Spikes INT.
  • Defensive holding call on Deltha O’Neal on 3rd and 2 gives SF a 1st and 10 at NE 15. On the next play O’Sullivan throws 15 yard TD pass to Frank Gore on coverage by Ellis Hobbs.
  • Isaac Bruce was wide open for a 38 yard completion to the NE 22 on poor coverage by Rodney Harrison on SF forth possession.
  • Gore on next play runs for 15 yards to NE 7
  • O’Sullivan then throws 7 yard TD pass to Bruce, splitting Hobbs and O’Neal.
  • Patriots held Niners to 3 and out with help of two long incompletions on 5th drive.
  • On 3rd and 5 Patriots blitz O’Sullivan forcing and incomplete pass and another punt on 6th drive.
  • Tedy Bruschi stuffs Gore on 3rd and long 1 for a loss and punt on 7th drive.
  • Rodney Harrison picked off O’Sullivan on Niners 8th drive at SF 24
  • Wide open TE Bryant Johnson gets 15 yards over the middle for first down on 10th drive
  • Costly drop by Arnaz Battle on 2nd and 8
  • Meriweather gets flagged for pass interference on Battle for 1st and goal at SF 8 that moved the Niners up 31 yards
  • Rookie LB Gary Guyton made nice stop on Gore on 2nd and goal
  • O’Sullivan throws 5 yard to Bruce for TD poor coverage by O’Neal to cap 10th drive
  • Adalius Thomas bats down a pass at line
  • Thomas sacks O’Sullivan for 8 yard loss on 3rd and 8 on 11th drive
  • O’Sullivan under pressure throws ball tipped by Harrison and intercepted by O’Neal
  • Battle called for costly pass interference call in last two minutes on third down penalty
  • Harrison laid out Battle downfield to cause a drop on 3rd down
  • Pressure by Mike Vrabel causes O’Sullivan to throw the ball away on 4th down to basically end the game.

Special Teams Notes

  • Stephen Gostkowski’s opening kickoff was for a touchback.
  • Poor punt return coverage after second drive leading to SF starting at NE 30.
  • Good KOR by Ellis Hobbs after Gore TD to start at NE 32
  • Allow 35 yard KOR after Moss TD
  • Chris Hanson fails to pin SF on a punt that rolls into the endzone for a touchback after 4th drive.
  • Gostkowski kicks off 3 yards into end zone, Allen Rossum returns to only the SF 14.
  • Holding on Sam Aiken on opening KOR of 2nd half puts team in a hole at NE 20
  • Gostkowski gets a touchback on KO after his 40 yard FG
  • Hanson poor punt (25 yards) in final two minutes

Coaching Decisions

  • NE – Poor play call with a shovel pass to Welker on 3rd and 6 (2nd drive) from the NE 7 leading to no gain and a 3 and out.
  • NE – Obviously is trying to get Moss more incorporated into the offense twice going long to him in the first half (once for a TD, once for an INT) and running him in a reverse.
  • NE – After accepting a penalty for illegal man downfield and making SF re-kick Andy Lee booms an 82 yard punt (62 net) into the end zone for a touchback. The previous spot would have been the NE 31, a loss of 11 yards in field possession.
  • NE – go for it on 4th and goal with direct snap deke play to Faulk for TD
  • NE – Belichick challenged the spot of the ball in the 4th quarter after a Faulk screen pass. Ball was marked just shy of the 1st down marker for 3rd and inches – overturned for a NE 1st down
  • SF – 4th and 16 with just over three minutes to play O’Sullivan gets intercepted by O’Neal.
  • SF – 4th and 11 in final minutes O’Sullivan under pressure throws the ball away.

Injuries

  • NE – S Brandon Meriweather was limping and went to locker room in 1st qtr – returned
  • NE – RB LaMont Jordan right leg injury second quarter – did not return
  • SF – DT Aubrayo Franklin injured stopping Morris on goal line stand in 3rd qtr – unknown return
  • SF – S Michael Lewis right arm injury – unknown return
  • NE – CB Ellis Hobbs limped off field – returned
  • NE – CB Jonathan Wilhite cramped up – possible return

The Officials

  • Mike Carey was the referee.  It was his first Patriots assignment since Super Bowl XLII.

Game Notes

  • Inactives for the Patriots: WR Maurice Price, C/G Dan Connolly, OT Wesley Britt, OLB Shawn Crable, CB Lewis Sanders (injured – hamstring), LB Eric Alexander (injured – hamstring), WR Kelley Washington (injured – ankle) and QB Matt Gutierrez (3rd QB).
  • Inactives for the Niners: CB Reggie Smith, LB Roderick Green, LB Ahmad Brooks, C Cody Wallace, OT Jonas Jennings (injured – shoulder), LB Manny Lawson (injured – hamstring), CB Shawntae Spencer (injured – knee) and QB Jamie Martin (3rd QB).
  • Note: The third quarterback can still enter the game at any time, but if he does so in the first, second or third quarters, the team can no longer use its top two quarterbacks the rest of the game.
  • Offensive starters for the Patriots:
    QB: Matt Cassel
    RB: Laurence Maroney
    WR: Jabar Gaffney
    WR: Randy Moss
    WR: Wes Welker
    TE: Ben Watson
    LT: Matt Light
    LG: Logan Mankins
    C: Dan Koppen
    RG: Billy Yates
    RT: Nick Kaczur
  • Defensive starters for the Patriots:
    DE: Ty Warren
    NT: Vince Wilfork
    DE: Richard Seymour
    OLB: Adalius Thomas
    ILB: Tedy Bruschi
    ILB: Jerod Mayo
    OLB: Mike Vrabel
    CB: Deltha O’Neal
    CB: Ellis Hobbs
    S: Rodney Harrison
    S: James Sanders
  • The Patriots won the toss and elected to defer.
  • Cassel’s 66 yard TD pass to Moss is the longest completion of his career.
  • LB Mike Vrabel played TE on a 3rd and 1 at SF 48 in 2nd quarter.
  • Patriots finally put up points in the final two minutes of a half with the Faulk TD in the second quarter.
  • New England has now scored 5 TD’s in 13 tries in the red zone.
  • DE Richard seymour played his 100th game for the Patriots today.
  • OL Russ Hochstein played two downs as a fullback in the second half.
  • The Patriots are now 1-4 on the road against San Francisco (1-3 at Candlestick Park and 0-1 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto).
  • The 49ers retired Hall of Fame QB Steve Young’s #8 at halftime.
  • New England has won 10 consecutive games in October, they are now 19-3 in the month since 2003.
  • Former Patriots DE Jim Hunt is 70 years old today.  He played with the team in the AFL from 1960-69 and with them in the NFL in 1970.  He made 4 AFL Pro Bowl teams and was one of only 22 men to play in all ten years of the AFL.  His number (79) is retired by the team and he is a member of both the Patriots and the AFL Halls of Fame.
  • This was Mike Nolan’s first game coaching against New England as a head coach. He is now 18-34 in his fourth season leading the 49ers.
  • Bill Belichick is now 3-0 vs. San Francisco in his career.
  • New England has won 11 consecutive games in October, they are now 20-3 in the month since 2003.
  • The Patriots are undefeated in their last ten road games dating back to the 2006 AFC Championship Game loss to Indianapolis.
  • New England is now 9-0 since 2003 after suffering a loss of 10 points or more
  • And that in the same period they have only lost back-to-back games once and that was in Week 9 and Week 10 of the 2006 season when they lost consecutive home games to Indianpolis and the New York Jets.

Post Game Press Conferences

Listen to what Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Matt Cassel had to say about the game.

Post game press conferences via patriots.com

Things To Work On For Next Week

The team needs to work on pass protection as Cassel was sacked five times. Pass coverage gave up too many wide open pass plays the secondary needs to cover better.

Next Week’s Opponent

The Patriots will stay on west coast and will play the Chargers in San Diego next Sunday at 8:15 p.m.