New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) is running out of day light and attempts to pass under pressure from the San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa bottom and defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (94) in second half action at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara on Sun Sep 29, 2024 (AP News photo)
By Barbara Mason
After a couple of disappointing losses the San Francisco 49ers (2-2) worked their way through the recent injuries they have suffered beating the New England Patriots (1-3) in week four of the season 30-13 at Levi Stadium.
One of the outstanding players in this game continues to be Jordan Mason who in the absence of Christian McCaffrey has done a bang-up job. He finished this game with 123 rushing yards and 37 receiving yards on two catches.
He continues to impress. There is still no timeline for the return of McCaffrey although he is targeting an early November return after receiving some treatment in Germany that went extremely well.
Game recap: There was a lot of action for San Francisco kicker Jake Moody who scored the only six points of the opening quarter. Those two kicks came at the end of the first quarter. With 2:26 left on the clock, Moody kicked a short 22 yard field goal for the early 3-0 lead. Minutes later he kicked his second of the game, a 26 yard field goal and San Francisco took a 6-0 lead into the second quarter.
The 49ers were looking for some touchdowns as the second quarter got underway and they didn’t have to wait long. A minute into the second quarter Fred Warner returned an interception for San Francisco’s first touchdown of the game.
The extra point was good and the 49ers led 13-0 at 14:01. With 3:11 left in the half, the newly returned George Kittle caught a Brock Purdy pass for 12 yards, the touchdown and San Francisco was on a roll.
The Moody kick was good and the 49ers led 20-0. The Bucs would get on the scoreboard as the clock ran out on the first half. New England’s kicker Joey Slye kicked an amazing 63 yard field goal. The score at the half was 20-3 with San Francisco calling the shots in this game.
The Patriots got a far different start in the second half than the first. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett drove his team downfield in the third quarter culminating with a 5 yard pass to Austin Hooper for the touchdown.
The kick was good and this was a 20-10 game and it was hard not to look back at last week’s game where the 49ers gave up a double-digit lead. Not about to go there this week San Francisco’s next possession was textbook perfect.
Brock Purdy connected with Deebo Samuel for 53 yards down to the New England 17. Purdy followed that up with a short pass to Jordan Mason for 13 yards and Mason would finish up the drive with a four yard romp into the end zone for the touchdown.
Mason has been doing a spectacular job in the absence of Christian McCaffrey. San Francisco had taken a 27-10 lead turning this game back around in favor of the 49ers. The Patriots were unable to move the ball on their next possession and San Francisco had taken back control of this game.
We saw some great play from Brock Purdy in the fourth quarter. A ridiculous throw at 13:26 coupled with an unbelievable catch and the Purdy Jennings connection was working in the final quarter of this game, a pass for 45 yards.
San Francisco drove down to the New England 23 yard line but the Patriots intercepted a Purdy pass intended for Brandon Aiyuk on their own two yard line. New England had a little life and some decent time on the clock.
The 49ers defense had made life pretty miserable for Patriot quarterback Jacoby Brissett registering their fifth sack this one at the hands of Nick Bosa. The life that the Patriots felt after the interception was quickly snuffed out thanks to Bosa and the San Francisco defense.
With 4:58 left in the fourth quarter the 49ers extended their lead to 30-13. Jake Moody kicked his third field goal of the game for 41 yards and he had been perfect all day. The final score was 30-13 and San Francisco celebrated a great game, a great win.
The Niner defense stepped up big, and the offense had a banner day. Brock Purdy finished with 288 yards and a touchdown. Jordan Mason had another amazing game with 123 rushing yards on 24 carries. He also had a couple of catches for 37 yards.
When Christian McCaffrey returns to the field San Francisco could have some of the most dangerous weapons on the ground in the league. The San Francisco receiving core was on point. Jauan Jennings had three catches for 88 yards, Deebo Samuel also three catches for 58 yards, Bandon Aiyuk three catches for 48 yards and George Kittle four catches for 45 yards.
San Francisco now has a 2-2 record after a rough patch. They have worked through it and despite still missing a huge offensive weapon in Christian McCaffrey they are now on track. They did have three fumbles today recovering two of them.
That will not work against an elite team but they got away with it today. The defense finished with six sacks, 66 total tackles 40 of them solo; that’s some great defensive work. They handed the Patriots their third loss of the season.
Game notes: Sunday afternoon, the 49ers defeated the New England Patriots at Levi Stadium. After dropping their last two games; last week to the Los Angeles Rams who rallied from a double-digit deficit to win the game 27-24, and the week before that they lost to the Minnesota Vikings 23-17.
The 49ers avoided losing a third game in a row, especially a game that they have no business losing. Yes they have been hampered with injuries but Deebo Samuel and George Kittle are back on the field again for this game.
Next week the 49ers will take on the Arizona Cardinals at Levi Stadium looking for their third win of the season. The Cardinals are struggling with losses to the Bills, the Lions and the Commanders.
Their only win this season was a rout of the Rams in week two 41-10. Cardinal quarterback Kyler Murray has had some disappointing games. Kickoff for this game next Sunday is scheduled for 1:05 PM and can be viewed on FOX TV.
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