Three Studs, Three Duds From Patriots’ Thrashing Vs. 49ers

The Patriots were chasing the scoreboard right from the 49ers' first drive of the game. It wasn't exactly easy to come up with positive performances from their 30-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The highlight of the Patriots' offense came from a franchise-record-breaking play, and the offensive line took a big blow when center David Andrews left the game with a shoulder injury.

Here are three studs and three duds from Patriots-49ers:

Five Takeaways From Patriots’ Blowout Loss To 49ers

Sep 29, 2024

STUDS
Joey Slye, K
New England's kicker was one of the only bright spots in the Patriots' loss to the 49ers. Slye set a new franchise record with a 63-yard field goal to end the first half. The previous record of 62 yards was set by Stephen Gostkowski in 2017. Slye added a 54-yarder in the second half and also converted the extra point on New England's lone touchdown of the game.

Christian Elliss, LB
The Patriots' defense needed a spark to begin the second half, and Elliss provided that on special teams on the very first play of the third quarter. The linebacker got downfield on the kickoff and forced and recovered an Isaac Guerendo fumble at San Francisco's 27-yard line. It set up New England's lone touchdown of the game.

Antonio Gibson, RB
Gibson wasn't exactly spectacular in the loss, but the caught the ball three times for 67 yards and rushed for 12 yards on six carries. Brissett hit Gibson for a 50-yard gain to the San Francisco 18-yard line, but the drive ended with a Jacoby Brissett strip-sack to give the 49ers the ball back with 2:52 left to play.

DUDS
Joshua Uche, LB
Uche, who saw more time with Anfernee Jennings inactive, had a rough game. There is no use in trying to sugarcoat it. He missed a tackle, a declined holding penalty and a blown edge, which led to a Jordan Mason 4-yard touchdown run to give the 49ers a 27-10 lead in the third quarter.

Demontrey Jacobs, OT
Jacobs was having an okay time starting at left tackle, but he was quickly exposed as a weak link on the offensive line by 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa. In a one-on-one battle with Jacobs, Bosa ran right past the Patriots tackle to strip-sack Brissett and recover the fumble. Jacobs also allowed multiple big hits on Brissett in the game.

Jacoby Brissett, QB
The Patriots quarterback threw for 168 yards and one touchdown, but the veteran signal-caller threw a pick-six in the first quarter and fumbled three times in the loss. When Brissett did have time in the pocket, which wasn't very often, he either didn't see open players downfield or opted for the short route. Either way, Brissett was definitely a dud connecting on 19 of 32 pass attempts.