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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL at GB | BUF at ARI | CHI at DET | CIN at DAL | IND at HOU | KC at CAR | MIN at NO | NE at SF |
| PIT at JAX | SD at MIA | SEA at NYG | TB at DEN | TEN at BAL | WAS at PHI | ||
Week 5 Game Recap: New England Patriots 30, San Francisco 49ers 21
What you need to know
| New England Patriots |
The New England Patriots utilized a more conservative offense than they have been using since QB Tom Brady suffered a season ending injury. After two early interceptions by QB Matt Cassel the team went with a steady diet of RB Sammy Morris, RB Kevin Faulk, and RB Laurence Maroney. Cassel hit WR Randy Moss for a 66 yard touchdown. Despite that big play, the Patriots were unable to get much going through the passing game besides slants and screens to WR Wes Welker. The play calling by the coaches took much of the game out of Cassel's hands and instead the team jammed the ball down the throat of the 49ers' defense with a power running game. RB Lamont Jordan was injured in the first half and did not return to the game. Morris and Faulk were the most effective running backs for New England. Maroney carried the ball ten times but only averaged 2.6 yards a carry and was unable to power the ball through the line like Morris. Welker was again effective in the short passing game by catching slants and screens and then scampering for first downs and extra yardage. Moss was more of a factor in the passing game than he has been the past few weeks but often jogged out of bounds instead of trying for extra yardage despite some opportunities. The defense took advantage of some tipped balls on two of their three interceptions but allowed three passing touchdowns to the high powered Mike Martz offense of the 49ers. They were able to get some consistent pressure on QB J.T. O'Sullivan but he proved adept at avoiding their pressure and scrambling when necessary.
| San Francisco 49ers |
The San Francisco 49ers were unable to keep the Patriots from dominating the clock throughout most of the game. QB J.T. O'Sullivan threw three interceptions although two of them came on tipped balls. He was under consistent pressure but was able to dodge tackles and run for some decent yardage. RB Frank Gore ran the ball well when given the opportunity but the 49ers fell behind in the second half and were forced to play catch up. WR Isaac Bruce and WR Arnaz Battle each dropped a key pass that they should have caught. Bruce was generally reliable, however, and caught two touchdown passes. Battle was also flagged for a costly offensive pass interference call late in the fourth quarter. The 49ers defense was simply unable to keep the Patriots from running the ball on slow, sustained drives that ate up a ton of clock and helped New England keep the high-powered Mike Martz offense off of the field. The defense was able to pull in two QB Matt Cassel passes for interceptions but allowed a deep bomb to WR Randy Moss for a touchdown.
What you ought to know
| QB Matt Cassel, Pass: 22 - 32 - 259 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 4 - 5 - 0 |
QB Matt Cassel was picked off twice early in this game and forced the Patriots offense to become even more conservative than they have been in past weeks. Cassel hit WR Randy Moss for a 66 yard touchdown pass but one of the defenders on the play fell to the ground and Moss was uncontested on the catch as the other defenders were unable to cover him. The team focused on the running game despite the absence of RB Lamont Jordan and effectively ate up the clock for most of the second and third quarters. Cassel was not given the opportunity to throw the game away and the Patriots were able to hold on for the win. Cassel was hit while throwing his first interception and he under threw Moss on the second pick. He also had trouble avoiding pressure and nearly fumbled a snap from the center. The Patriots were also flagged for an illegal offensive formation and were forced to call timeout another time due to confusion at the line of scrimmage.
| RB Sammy Morris, Rush: 16 - 63 - 0 (1 targets) |
RB Sammy Morris was the best pure running back for the Patriots. He hit the holes with power and fought for all of his yardage. He was a key factor in the Patriots being able to eat up so much of the clock and maintain ball control throughout the middle portion of the game. He was stuffed at the line on a third and goal play from the one yard line.
| RB Kevin Faulk, Rush: 7 - 32 - 2, Rec: 4 - 29 - 0 (4 targets) |
RB Kevin Faulk was used often after RB Lamont Jordan went down with an injury. He took a direct snap on fourth and goal in the second half and ran the ball into the end zone for a touchdown. QB Matt Cassel was lined-up as the quarterback and faked like the snap went over his head as Faulk grabbed the ball and scampered for a score.
| RB Laurence Maroney, Rush: 10 - 26 - 0 |
RB Laurence Maroney saw significant playing time in this game despite some recent injury trouble. After RB Lamont Jordan left the game with injury, the Patriots continued to focus on the running game but Maroney was generally ineffective and had trouble getting through the line of scrimmage. On one play, he nearly rushed for a first down but ducked out of bounds too soon, apparently thinking he had reached the first down marker.
| RB LaMont Jordan, Rush: 5 - 16 - 0 |
RB Lamont Jordan was injured in the first half and did not return to the game. The trainers attended to him on the field after he was hit by DT Aubrayo Franklin. He limped off the field.
| WR Wes Welker, Rec: 8 - 73 - 0 (11 targets) |
WR Wes Welker was again effective catching slants and screens from QB Matt Cassel. Welker had a 15 yard reception on a screen called back because of a holding call against WR Randy Moss. Welker also took a shovel pass from Cassel on a third and five situation but Welker ran into a blocker and the team was forced to punt.
| WR Randy Moss, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0, Rec: 5 - 111 - 1 (7 targets) |
WR Randy Moss caught a 66 yard touchdown pass from QB Matt Cassel when the closest defender to him stumbled to the ground. He pulled away from the other defenders trying to cover him. On two catches, Moss elected to jump out of bounds rather than fight for extra yardage or meet contact. He was also whistled for a holding penalty that nullified a 15 yard first down reception by WR Wes Welker
| WR Jabar Gaffney, Rec: 3 - 35 - 0 (3 targets) |
WR Jabar Gaffney caught two passes for a first down in the victory but remains the third receiving option behind WR Randy Moss and WR Wes Welker.
| TE Ben Watson, Rec: 2 - 11 - 0 (6 targets) |
TE Ben Watson was not much of a factor in the win for the Patriots. He nearly caught a touchdown pass from QB Matt Cassel but was not able to get either foot in bounds at the back of the end zone.
| PK Stephen Gostkowski 3 - 3 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 12 points |
PK Stephen Gostkowski was perfect on the day on extra points and field goals. He hit a field goal from 49 yards out.
| NE Rush Defense |
The Patriots rush defense had trouble stopping RB Frank Gore but the 49ers offense was on the field for such a short amount of time that the Patriots defense was able to stay fresh.
| NE Pass Defense |
The Patriots pulled in three interceptions but two of those picks were off of deflections. DB Brandon Meriweather's interception in the first quarter fell into his arms as he dropped to the ground and DB Deltha O'Neal grabbed his pick after it bounced off of the hands of DB Rodney Harrison. The Patriots were able to get pressure on QB J.T. O'Sullivan but he was able to buy himself time in the backfield by dodging tacklers and he was also able to scramble for a gain frequently. New England was also using two rookies at the cornerback position -- CB Jonathan Wilhite and CB Terrence Wheatley. DB Ellis Hobbs limped off the field in the fourth quarter but was able to return to the game.
| QB J.T. OSullivan, Pass: 14 - 29 - 130 - 3 TD / 3 INT, Rush: 6 - 23 - 0 |
QB J.T. O'Sullivan threw the ball well but some unlucky bounces ended up as interceptions. He was forced out of the pocket frequently but showed some skill in avoiding pressure and scrambling for yardage. He mistakenly threw the ball away on the final fourth down of the game for the 49ers instead of trying to force the ball in a last ditch effort.
Two of O'Sullivan's interceptions came on 'deflected balls. The first interception simply fell into the arms of DB Brandon Meriweather as he laid on the ground and DB Deltha O'Neal grabbed the ball out of the air after it was deflected by DB Rodney Harrison. The other interception happened when Harrison jumped the route of the intended receiver.
| RB Frank Gore, Rush: 12 - 54 - 0, Rec: 4 - 24 - 1 (5 targets) |
RB Frank Gore ran the ball well for the 49ers and shouldered all of the rushing load for the team. He received limited opportunities later in the game as the Patriots gained the lead and held on to the ball effectively. Gore took one snap out of the Wildcat formation for a seven yard first down run.
| WR Isaac Bruce, Rec: 3 - 49 - 2 (8 targets) |
WR Isaac Bruce was the most reliable receiver for QB J.T. O'Sullivan and the 49ers. He hauled in two touchdown catches but also dropped a pass that went right through his hands in the first half on third and nine that would have been a first down.
| WR Bryant Johnson, Rec: 3 - 27 - 0 (4 targets) |
WR Bryant Johnson was not a big factor in the loss for the 49ers.
| WR Josh Morgan, Rec: 2 - 13 - 0 (3 targets) |
WR Josh Morgan was not much of a factor in the loss.
| WR Arnaz Battle, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (5 targets) |
WR Arnaz Battle dropped a first down ball he should have had in the fourth quarter as the team was trying to mount a comeback. He also had offensive pass interference called on him in the fourth quarter which turned a third and one into a third and eleven situation.
| TE Vernon Davis (1 targets) |
TE Vernon Davis did not haul in any catches but was effective in pass blocking for the 49ers.
| PK Joe Nedney 0 - 0 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 3 points |
PK Joe Nedney was perfect on the day.
| SF Rush Defense |
The 49ers' rush defense did not allow any big gains on the ground but spent most of the second and third quarters on the field as the Patriots simply ran the ball down the defense's throat and ate up valuable clock on route to the victory.
| SF Pass Defense |
The 49ers pass defense was largely untested as after QB Matt Cassel's two interceptions the Patriots went with a very conservative run first offense. On the one deep touchdown pass to WR Randy Moss, one of the defenders fell to the ground and Moss was able to handle the pass easily getting away from the other defenders.