49ers dismantle Patriots, 33-6, in Foxboro behind Jeff Wilson’s 3 TDs; four takeaways from the defense

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) gets the blocking in first half action against the New England Patriots on Sun Oct 25, 2020 in Foxboro. 49ers running back Jeffrey Wilson carried for three touchdowns in the contest. (AP News photo)

By Joe Hawkes
Staff Writer

FOXBORO, MA — The San Francisco 49ers should enjoy the plane ride back to Santa Clara, after earning a 33-6 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday evening at a fan-less Gillette Stadium.

The 49ers (4-3) keeps pace in a stacked NFC West as they will now enter a pivotal Week 8 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. San Francisco may have to travel to Seattle without two key players in wide receiver Deebo Samuel (hamstring) and running back Jeff Wilson (ankle), both leaving Sunday’s win with injuries and didn’t return to the game.

For the second straight game, the 49ers scored a TD on their opening possession. Last week, San Francisco marched down the field on the Los Angeles Rams and scored a TD to quickly claim a 7-0 lead.

This week, the 49ers set the tone of the game by finishing off a nine-play 75-yard drive with the first of Wilson’s three TDs in the game. In the first half, head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense racked up 301 yards of production and claimed a 23-3 lead at halftime.

Wilson was the workhorse for the 49ers, who were thin at running back with both Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman out with injuries. San Francisco listed Wilson as questionable for the game after sitting out the previous two games with a calf injury. In a surprising move, Wilson got his third career start and didn’t disappoint as he posted a career-high in rushing yards.

All in the first half.

Wilson, whose previous career-best was 90 yards against the Denver Broncos late in the 2018 season, rushed for 92 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries in 30 minutes of action. He finished with 17 carries for 112 yards and a career-best three touchdowns before exiting the game with an ankle injury in the middle of the third quarter.

Wilson was taken to the 49ers locker room on a cart. He was injured on a 7-yard scoring run that gave the 49ers a commanding 30-6 lead.

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo played good, but not great in his return to Foxboro. The former Patriot backup signal caller completed 20 of 25 pass attempts for 277 yards (with two interceptions in the first half).

Garoppolo made plays early, converting a third-and-3 after breaking a tackle in the backfield to pick up four yards. He also connected on sharp passes to Samuel for 23- and 14-yard gains to keep drives alive. Garoppolo had completions to six different receivers, but it was rookie wideout Brandon Aiyuk who benefited the most.

Aiyuk finished with a career-high six receptions for 115 yards.

San Francisco did a tremendous job in controlling the clock in the game, dominating the time of possession over the Patriots (38:23-21:37) while picking up 26 first downs to just 17 for New England, and racking up 467 yards of total offense.

The 49ers ran 63 offensive plays, compared to just 49 by the Patriots, who looked anemic for the entirety of the game.

Garoppolo got the better result in his head-to-head matchup with Cam Newton, who had a rough performance completing just nine of 15 pass attempts for 98 yards an three interceptions. Newton was benched in the second half and replaced by backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham.

San Francisco’s defense put the clamps on Newton and the Patriots’ offense.

The 49ers limited New England to just 241 yards and 1 for 6 on third downs. New England’s scoring consisted of two Nick Folk field goals from 40 and 41 yards.

49ers middle linebacker Fred Warner, who is making a strong case for Defensive Player of the Year, has been a lifesaver for San Francisco this season. Warner was all over the field, leading the team with seven tackles and one of the four interceptions by the defense. Warner’s second quarter interception was his second on the season.

Cornerbacks Emmanuel Moseley (one) and Jamar Taylor (two) had the other interceptions for the 49ers.

With the Niners holding a 20-point lead at halftime, the Patriots had just 59 yards of total offense.

Meanwhile, the Patriots (2-4) have lost three games in a row for the first time since 2002. The 27-point loss at home was the worse under head coach Bill Belichick.

 

Raiders report: Did Brown act deliberately so he could join Belichick and the Patriots?

sfgate.com file photo: Former Oakland Raider Antonio Brown (84) in this August 20th photo tunes up with the team during practice. Brown was signed to the New England Patriots hours after getting released by the Oakland Raiders on Saturday.

By Jerry Feitelberg

You can only speculate and it’s anyone’s guess, but the timing was awfully quick and you might have saw  Oakland Raiders former running back Antonio Brown on video celebrating by running to the distance of close to 50 yards from his kitchen to his backyard fence when he learned that the Raiders released him.

It didn’t take long after learning that after leaving the Raiders he was sought by the New England Patriots. Could it be possible that Brown had foreknowledge that if he could somehow get out from under the Raiders and that he would be able to play for the New England Patriots?

It also was brought up by conspiracy theorists that the Pats rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers who will be facing the Pats for Week 1 this Sunday would have loved to have Brown in for Sunday’s game. Head coach Bill Belichick is always thinking and if anyone doesn’t think he just might have had knowledge of video gate, deflate gate, or any other gate would be naive. Hence, the playbook to get Brown on the Patriots by hook or crook.

Brown, who was signed by the Pats, didn’t make the roster missing the 4 p.m. deadline on Saturday in order to play in tomorrow’s game against the Steelers. Brown, if you watched the video, was just a little too happy upon learning of his release from Oakland, but be as it may, he joins the Patriots for $15 million on a one-year deal.

There is little doubt that the Patriots could use a guy like Brown and when all the fuss of the helmet, the missed practices and walk throughs, suspensions, fines, arguments with Raiders general manager Mike Mayock, photos of his fines from Mayock, recorded conversations with head coach Jon Gruden about wanting to be a Raiders or not, came out it was just a matter of time when Brown would be leaving the Raiders and the Patriots no doubt stood up and took notice.

You could be rest assured Brown will not fuss too much like he did in Oakland once he gets to New England. He won’t fuss about his helmet, going to practice, showing up for meetings, and getting along with Belichick. Let Brown experience just a few Sundays and he’ll be as happy as a clam because he feels like he’s with a real franchise now.

The Fantasy Football Doctors Podcast: The Super Bowl Edition

Photo:@NFL

Your hosts: Dr. Vasu Vaddiparty & Dr. Charlie O

• What’s the over/under that these guys finish this podcast in less than 60 minutes?

• What will the Patriots do when they run the ball?

• How long will it take to sing The National Anthem?

• Will the Pats be able to throw to their slot receiver?

• How many times will the President tweet on Super Bowl Sunday?

• Will Todd Gurley be the Rams featured back on Sunday?

• What will be the first song Maroon 5 will perform at halftime?

• Which Rams WR should the NE defense double-team?

• Push play for analysis, fun, and frivolity with Vasu and Charlie O on The Fantasy Football Doctors Podcast

Oakland looks to avoid 0-3 start travelling to Foxborough

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — At 0-2, the Oakland Raiders finds themselves quickly swimming upstream this year.

OK, you can say that it’s early in the NFL season and half the League is 1-1 or 0-2 but for the Raiders, it feels like they’re 0-4.

David Carr has played steady in his first two career starts, but has shown at times to be wild with the passes. Carr has thrown for 414 yards and three touchdowns, with two interceptions, one of which came while getting hit on the throw.

The running game has been non-existent in two games, averaging a pedestrian 63 yards rushing per game, 31st in the League ahead of the Jacksonville Jaguars (44.5 rushing yards per game).

Running backs Maurice Jones-Drew (9 carries, 11 rushing yards,1.2 yards per carry, 0 TDs) and Darren McFadden (16 carries, 52 carries, 3.3 yards per carry, 1 TD) need to get it going and take some of the pressure off of Carr. MJD underwent a procedure on his broken right hand last week and didn’t suit up Sunday.

Monday the team added former San Diego Chargers wide receiver Vincent Brown to an already questionable receiving corps, that includes James Jones, Rod Streater, Denarius Moore, and Andre Holmes.

Brown caught 41 passes for 472 yards and a touchdown for San Diego last season, after missing 2012 with a broken ankle. 

Jones leads the team with 12 catches, for 146 yards receiving, and two touchdowns, but 112 of those yards came in the team’s home opener, a 30-14 loss to the Houston Texans.

Defensively, the team is not good, ranking 32nd in most categories most notably, against the run. Oakland has given up 100 yards on the ground in back-to-back weeks, and have gotten manhandled upfront.

The expected strength of the team with key veteran additions such as defensive end Justin Tuck, linebacker LaMarr Woodley, cornerbacks  Terrell Brown and Carlos Rogers, it looks like Father Time has finally caught up with them.

“We suck…I’m embarrased,” veteran safety Charles Woodson said after Sunday’s 30-14 loss to the visiting Houston Texans.

Oakland’s play needs to improve, according to Raiders head coach, Dennis Allen, whose job is clearly on the hot seat as he sports an 8-26 record.

“Well, we need to go out and prove it on the field,” Allen said Wednesday during his weekly press conference.

“Like I said the other day, the talk is cheap. We’ve got to go out and play well. I think we’ve got more talent on this football team and we need to go out there and play like it on Sunday.”

The team will have another opportunity to get their first win of the season Sunday, when Oakland travels to Foxborough to take on the 1-1 New England Patriots, led by Tom Brady and mastermind head coach, Bill Belichick.

Belichick (per CSNCalifornia.com Raiders Insider, Scott Bair)  expects to see a different Raiders team than the one he saw tape on against Houston.

“Based on the comments that I’ve seen out of there and the leadership that they have on that team, the veterans that they have on that team, I’m sure that we’ll come in here and we won’t see the team we saw against Houston last week,”  Belichick said.

“That’s what we’re getting ready for – we’re getting ready for their best game. I don’t think the Houston game was probably it.”

New England is coming off a comfortable victory Sunday, 30-7, in Minnesota. The Patriots defense abused former Brady understudy, Matt Cassell, intercepting the Vikings quarterback four times and sacking him six times, that prompted the home crowd to chant “Teddy!” “Teddy!” in hopes to see rookie backup quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater.

Linebacker Dont’a Hightower and defensive end Chandler Jones each recorded two sacks.

Oakland, who currently sport the longest losing streak in the League (eight consecutive games dating back to November of last year),  is going to have its work cut out for them Sunday against a Patriots team that were 9-0 at home last season, including the playoffs.

New England has won the past three straight games against the Silver and Black, who have dropped 12 of 13 on the road.

Catch the game on CBS at 10 a.m.

Players to Watch:

Oakland: Quarterback Derek Carr. Carr will need to make smart decisions with the football, especially with former All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis lurking in the secondary. Carr completed 27 of 42 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown, but with two interceptions in Sunday’s loss to Houston.

New England: Running back Stevan Ridley. Ridley ran through the Vikings defense, carrying the ball 25 times for 101 yards and a touchdown. Ridley only had 21 yards rushing on eight carries in the Patriots 33-20 loss in Miami in Week 1.