49ers 41, Patriots 34: New England's prolific comeback falls short as San Francisco survives

• 6 months ago
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Patriots vs. 49ers final score: San Francisco outlasts New England in fourth, 41-34

Tom Brady did his best to lead a fourth-quarter comeback, but the New England Patriots (10-4) fell short, losing to the San Francisco 49ers (10-3-1), 41-34, from Gillette Stadium on Sunday Night Football.

Entering a crucial fourth quarter, it was truly Colin Kaepernick versus Tom Brady.

For much of the night, Kaepernick had out-gunned Brady, lighting up the New England defense and leading a furious 31-3 lead. But all of a sudden it was Brady, who led two-consecutive scoring drives to cut the lead to 31-17 in the opening seconds of the fourth.

Yet another three-and-out to open the quarter for Kaepernick gave Brady and the Patriots the ball back. And Brady did what he generally does– led a remarkable comeback.

He went back to the no huddle and threw the ball all over San Francisco's vaunted defense. For the third-consecutive drive, Brady led the offense into the end zone, making it a seven-point game with 10:48 remaining in the game.

And it happened again, just like before. Brady got the ball back, pushed the ball down the field and within minutes it was a tie ballgame, with the Patriots coming back from 28 down.

Despite the remarkable comeback, though, the Niners wouldn't go away quietly. After a long return from LaMichael James, Kaepernick found Michael Crabtree for a 38-yard touchdown, capping a one-play drive for the lead.

The Patriots couldn't get anything going, punting the ball off a fourth-and-22. The 49ers couldn't kill the clock and it gave New England an opportunity to tie the game, starting from inside it's own 15-yard line. A failed fourth-and-one gave the ball, and the game, to the 49ers as the comeback was produced with no reward.

San Francisco took over in the New England red zone and nailed a field goal to put the game out of reach with 1:56 remaining in the final frame. A Stephen Gostkowski field goal put the Patriots in position, down by seven with 38 seconds remaining, but they failed to recover the onside kick and the Niners were able to run the clock out.

With New England giving up an average 100 yards per game on the ground, and holding Arian Foster to 46 yards rushing last week, San Francisco combined to run for 181 yards on the night, just over the Niners' average of 161.5 per game.

Aldon Smith, who leads the league with 19.5 sacks on the year, was held without a sack on the night. He recorded one tackle and an interception on the night.

After connecting with Hernandez early in the fourth, Brady has thrown a touchdown pass in 46-consecutive games.

New England will have a chance to get back on track as they travel to EverBank Field Sunday, when they meet up with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-12) at 1:00 pm ET.

For more New England Patriots coverage, visit our team blog, Pats Pulpit.

• 6 months ago
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Patriots vs. 49ers score update: New England pushing for a comeback, trails San Francisco, 31-10

Tom Brady is looking for a comeback as the New England Patriots trail the San Francisco 49ers, 31-10, entering the fourth quarter from Gillette Stadium on Sunday Night Football.

San Francisco were primed to bury New England in a whole not many would believe it could climb out of coming out of the half. After the 49ers offense sputtered and were pushed to a third-and-15, Colin Kaepernick hit Frank Gore with a screen pass for 26 yards and the first down. That play seemed to have swung the momentum fully in San Francisco's favor only for Devin McCourty to make an interception in the end zone, saving what could have been another Randy Moss touchdown.

Following two big connections from Brady to his New England receivers, running back Stevan Ridley fumbled yet again, only this time he wasn't marked down when he lost possession. The NIners recovered, running the ball down inside the red zone, which eventually led to a Gore touchdown on a broken play.

Kaepernick fumbled for the fourth time in the evening, only for Gore to pick up the ball and zig zag his way into the end zone.

On the very next possession, Aldon Smith, who has made a name for himself as a sack extraordinaire, picked off Brady, which set up another San Francisco score. Kaepernick found a streaking Michael Crabtree for a 27-yard touchdown to give the Niners a huge advantage heading into the fourth.

The Patriots responded, finding Aaron Hernandez early and often, as Danny Woodhead capped the drive with New England's first touchdown of the night. Similar to earlier in the quarter before Ridely's fumble, the no huddle offense was the only success the Patriots had found, using it to run a 13-play drive in just 4:22.

And all of a sudden, another Patriots defensive stand turned into Brady leading the offense down the field yet again. The veteran signal caller brought New England down to a fourth-and-goal to close the third quarter.

After holding a 52 percent conversion rate on third downs, the Patriots were 0-for-7 before getting their first with just under 10 minutes remaining in the third.

For more New England Patriots coverage, visit our team blog, Pats Pulpit.

• 6 months ago
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Patriots vs. 49ers halftime score: San Francisco dominates second quarter to take 17-3 lead

Tom Brady only has 76 yards passing as the New England Patriots trail the San Francisco 49ers, 17-3, at halftime from Gillette Stadium on Sunday Night Football.

After San Francisco failed to convert a fourth-and-one from the 25-yard line to open the quarter, the Patriots offense seemed to hit it's stride. New England looked more like itself, protecting Tom Brady and picking apart the 49ers defensive secondary as it drove down the field for a 16-play, 62-yard drive that led to the Patriots' first points of the night, a 32-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski.

The play of the drive was a key fourth-and-four, where Brady hit Deion Branch for a nine-yard pass and a first down. That set up consecutive runs by Danny Woodhead, but the Patriots couldn't punch the ball in and settled for the field goal.

Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers offense answered New England's call though, using a 35-yard pass interference call to set up a 30-yard touchdown pass to Delanie Walker, who fumbled the ball inside the five-yard line earlier in the first quarter. After back-to-back runs from Frank Gore, Kaepernick found Walker wide open in the corner of the end zone on a speedy drive that took only 1:32.

After an unsuccessful possession from New England, the Niners got right back to attacking the vulnerable Patriots defense. They ate up almost six minutes to close out the second quarter, using runs from the quarterback and Gore to set up another score, as they took a 14-point lead into the half.

At the half, Kaepernick is out dueling the veteran, Brady. The second-year quarterback has completed 8-of-15 passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns compared to Brady's 10-of-19 performance for 76 yards and one interception. Kaepernick did fumble the ball three times, but the Patriots weren't able to recover any of the potential giveaways.

After having three combined turnovers in the first quarter, the two teams were careful spreading the ball around in the second quarter, with neither turning the ball over once.

For more New England Patriots coverage, visit our team blog, Pats Pulpit.

• 6 months ago
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Patriots vs. 49ers score update: New England struggles through a sloppy first quarter, trails San Francisco, 7-0

Tom Brady completed 5-of-9 passes for 38 yards and an interception as the New England Patriots trail the San Francisco 49ers, 7-0, at the end of the first quarter from Gillette Stadium on Sunday Night Football.

New England was prepared to get out to a hot start yet again, after running through the Houston Texans last week, but the offense couldn't seem to find any room to work with.

Running back Stevan Ridley gave Pats fans a scare on the first possession of the game, when it looked like he had fumbled inside the New England 30-yard line. Ridley was marked down after an official review and the Patriots finished a quick three-and-out to give the Niners the ball for their first possession of the game.

Against a much-improved Patriots defense, the second-year phenom Colin Kaepernick drove San Francisco down the field, completing four of his first five passes for 60 yards and a touchdown. He completed two passes, including a 24-yard touchdown, to former-Patriot standout Randy Moss.The NIners, who rank second in the NFL in rushing yards per game, seemed to catch New England off guard by coming out of the gate firing, only running the ball once on their first possession.

After back-to-back punts, Brady tried to get things started for the Patriots offense, looking for Wes Welker deep. Niners cornerback Carlos Rogers wasn't having any of that though, as he intercepted the pass and ran the ball back to the New England five-yard line.

Two plays later, Delanie Walker fumbled a short pass back to the Patriots, as Aquib Talib recovered the ball and gave New England possession yet again.

San Francisco head coach Jim Harbaugh used some trickery just as the game seemed to be calming down in the first quarter, running a fourth-and-10 from their own 41-yard line to give the Niners a first down and momentum with just over three minutes remaining in the quarter. That wasn't enough for San Francisco, as veteran David Akers botched a 39-yard field goal that would have given the Niners a 10-0 lead early.

For more New England Patriots coverage, visit our team blog, Pats Pulpit.

• 6 months ago
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Patriots vs. 49ers: New England to honor Newtown, CT shooting victims

Days after one of the worst mass shootings in history that saw 26 people (including 20 children) murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the New England Patriots have planned a tribute to honor the victims before and during their nationally televised game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday evening.

New England will light 26 white flares and hold a moment of silence before the game in tribute to the victims. In addition, every Patriots player will wear a black patch with the Newtown city seal on it, as first reported by ESPN.

According to ESPN, the Patriots felt led to the tributes because a portion of the team's fan base "had a direct connection" with the tragedy in Connecticut.

The Kraft family that owns the Patriots also owns a box company, Rand-Whitney, that has factory less than two miles from Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Rand-Whitney's parking lot was used Friday as a meeting area for media members after the tragic shooting at the school, a Patriots official said this weekend.

For more New England Patriots coverage, visit our team blog, Pats Pulpit.