Patriots Lose To 49ers 33-6, Fall To 2-4 On Season
FOXBORO (CBS) -- The New England Patriots might be in some trouble.
Coming off a loss to Denver last week, the Patriots entered Sunday's game vs. the 49ers desperately needing a win to climb back to .500 and get their heads above water. Instead, they were blown out, 33-6, and have now lost three straight.
The loss drops the Patriots to 2-4 and significantly alters the scope of the entire 2020 season for Bill Belichick's team.
Cam Newton was benched in the third quarter after throwing three interceptions, as the Patriots offense had just 59 yards at halftime and mustered just 241 yards to 467 yards by San Francisco.
The 49ers opened the game with an all-too-easy touchdown drive, marching 75 yards on nine plays, taking 5:04 off the clock. Garoppolo was 4-for-4 for 59 yards on the drive, also rushing for a first down on a third-down scramble. Deebo Samuel caught two passes for 37 yards on the drive, and Jeff Wilson capped it off with a 3-yard touchdown run.
Garoppolo threw an interception on the Niners' second drive, sailing a pass over the middle on third-and-12 directly to Devin McCourty. The Patriots were able to drive 30 yards, and Nick Folk kicked a field goal to get the Patriots on the board to start the second quarter.
The 49ers responded with a field goal drive of their own to stretch the lead to 10-3 before things began to unravel for the home team. First, Newton threw an ugly interception to Fred Warner, and the Niners turned that possession into a touchdown to take a 16-3 lead (Robbie Gould's PAT was no good).
Then, the Patriots went three-and-out, before the Niners went on an 84-yard touchdown drive to go up 23-3.
Looking for points before halftime, Newton threw another interception, this one on a long bomb to Jakobi Meyers, who was well-covered with two defenders in his area. The Patriots prevented the 49ers from turning that turnover into points when J.C. Jackson made a goal-line interception on Garoppolo's long pass from near midfield just before halftime.
The Patriots came out of halftime with a drive that ended with a field goal, but the Niners then traveled 79 yards on just six plays to go up 30-6.
On the ensuing Patriots drive, Edelman sat down in a soft spot of the Niners' D but left his spot just as Newton released a pass. Edelman reached back to get a hand on the pass but ended up tipping it into the air, and it was picked off by Jamar Taylor. The Niners turned that extra possession into a field goal drive to go up 33-6.
Belichick then benched Newton, replacing him with Jarrett Stidham. The Patriots were moving the ball decently well on the ground, but on a third-and-5 from the San Francisco 22-yard line, Stidham's pass to Edelman was intercepted. The backup QB
The Patriots will get back to work next Sunday in Buffalo to face the Bills.
