Patriots vs 49ers Recap: One Problem Solved, Another One Created

Offense: After receiving a lot of criticism, the passing game of the Patriots was much improved, even if it was against a weak 49ers defense. In the first half, Cassel was able to complete several deep passes, including a 66-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss. Taking chances in the passing attack resulted in more opportunities for scoring drives, as the Patriots put up 17 points by halftime. However, Cassel also threw two first half interceptions and made some throws to receivers in double or triple coverage. New England ran often, but for short yardage, with 43 rushing attempts for 144 yards. Sammy Morris was the leading rusher with 63 yards on 16 carries. Despite the interceptions, Cassel was able to move the ball, completing 22 passes for 253 yards. New England converted 9 out of 18 third and fourth down attempts. Trailing 14-7 in the second quarter, the Patriots responded with a field goal and a touchdown to take a 3 point halftime lead. They extended the margin to 27-14 early in the fourth but the 49ers came back with a touchdown of their own to cut the defecit to 6. New England wrapped up the game with a late field goal and a fourth down stop on the 49ers final possession. Reacting to his long touchdown catch, Randy Moss said," Being able to connect on that deep ball, I think it was good. That's something we've been missing in our repertoire the past couple of weeks." For the first time, it seemed like Cassel was comfortable taking risks and throwing deeper passes, and he will need to do that if the Patriots are to have a consistent scoring offense. With this victory, New England improves to 3-1 and has won in every NFL city except Washington.

Defense: Although the Patriots had a comfortable lead in the second half, the defense still struggled in a few areas. For most of the game, the pass rush failed to put significant pressure on J.T O'Sullivan. He stood in the pocket and there was enough time to make throws and for reecivers to get open. The 49ers offensive line is a pretty good one but the Patriots are also supposed to have one of the better defensive lines. The linemen were able to stop the run and held the 49ers to just 77 rushing yards. They did tackle runningbacks behind the line of scrimmage on some plays. Throughout the game, the 49ers receivers were able to run where they wanted to on routes and the Patriots seemed a little slow to react on some passes. On many completions, the nearest defender was at least a couple of steps away from the receiver, giving him too much of a cushion on the route. This even happened on deep passes and that is when coverage should be the tightest. If New England doesn't work on this problem in practice, they will allow a lot more yards and points against the premier offenses they face in the coming weeks, such as San Diego and Denver. It has long been questioned whether the Patriots defense is aging and becoming too slow to play with consistency and this season it appears the small problems are turning into big ones and there is no clear solution in sight. The players appear to be motivated and energetic, but the on-field performance isn't producing the results that were expected. Too many little mistakes are letting opponents stay in the game. We will once again see if the Patriots can come up with a complete game against a solid offense when they travel to San Diego for an important AFC matchup.

By Chad Fukuoka
ProFootball-fans.com New England Patriots Correspondent