5 next-day thoughts on Patriots 30-13 loss to 49ers

“It’s a long season,” Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo told the media following the team’s 30-13 loss to the 49ers on Sunday afternoon. “And we’ve always talked about how that North Star is just to get better each and every week. Now look, there were some good things that happened… Maybe the score doesn’t reflect it, but we just have to fix all the bad football and that’s my job.”

The loss in San Francisco was the Patriots’ third consecutive loss after a promising Week 1 win, and has them now sitting at 1-3 with an uphill climb to the playoff race.

Here are five next-day thoughts from the defeat on Sunday afternoon:

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5 – Injuries continue to pile up along the offensive line.

Before NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport poured cold water on it on Sunday morning, the idea that Drake Maye’s debut as the Patriots’ starting quarterback was right around the corner made sense. The offensive line looked to be getting healthier with guard Sidy Sow returning and, once left tackle Vederian Lowe got his knee right, you could feasibly trot your best (and healthiest) five out in front of rookie.

Said idea came to a screeching halt in San Francisco.

Following New England’s first offensive drive, captain David Andrews was taken to the locker room with a shoulder injury. The center did not return, forcing the Pats to play with Nick Leverett in the middle for the rest of the game.

Andrews is the Patriots’ heart and soul up front, and Alex Van Pelt’s West Coast system is designed to lean heavily on the center to make line calls and adjustments. Depending on severity, the loss of the 32-year-old could be a brutal blow for Brissett and the offense (nevermind Drake Maye) moving forward.

On top of this, the Patriots also lost tackle Caedan Wallace to an injury in Sunday’s game. The rookie entered the game in the second quarter as a “muscle tight end” for a six-OL look on fourth down and was rolled up on by running back Rhamondre Stevenson as he was being tackled. Wallace was ruled out for the remainder of the game after halftime.

We’ll get to the Maye situation a little later but with the offensive line battered the way they are, it’ll be difficult to justify putting the rookie in behind them anytime soon.

4 – Don’t forget the defense…

Oh yeah, New England is dealing with ailments on the defensive side of the ball too. Safety Kyle Dugger left the game in the first half with an ankle injury and after being carted off the field, did not return to the game. Dugger was named a captain this week after linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury.

Additionally, the Patriots’ sack leader Keion White was tended to by trainers at one point as well. He eventually returned to the contest but, given the fact that he’s been one of just a few shining pieces on the Patriots this season, the injury is worth monitoring.

3 – Nice leg, Joey Slye.

Speaking of bright spots, the Patriots may have one in Joey Slye.

After beating out second-year kicker Chad Ryland in training camp, Slye has brought some much-needed reliability to New England’s special teams. The 28-year-old was 6-of-7 on field goals heading into Sunday with his only miss being blocked, was three-for-three on extra points, and then set a Patriots record in Santa Clara:

Slye drilled a 63 (!!) yard field goal as time expired in the first half, cutting San Francisco’s head to 20-3 as they went into the locker room.

New England’s offense wasn’t pretty at all on Sunday, but they at least have some consistency at kicker again.

2 – Secondary struggling.

One of the Patriots’ many strengths over their dynastic run was their secondary. Not only because of stars like Ty Law, Darrelle Revis, and Stephon Gilmore shutting down one half of the field, but also because of their ability to lean on undrafted, overlooked players such as Jonathan Jones and Malcolm Butler. Additionally, they were able to rely on studs like Lawyer Milloy, Rodney Harrison, and Devin McCourty in the back end.

Now, however, they’re far from that winning recipe. Sure — Christian Gonzalez is a stud and looks to be on an All-Pro track, but Jones is now 31, and the likes of Marco Wilson, Alex Austin, and Marcus Jones rounding out the rest of the room isn’t cutting it. They also haven’t been able to appropriately replace McCourty at free safety — even if Jabrill Peppers made a nice interception on Sunday.

The Patriots’ secondary allowed the 49ers and Brock Purdy to spread the wealth to six different receivers on Sunday, with Jauan Jennings leading the way with two catches for 77 yards. Deebo Samuel was just behind him with three catches for 58, and he, Jennings, and Brandon Aiyuk each tallied longs of 53, 45, and 38 respectively.

The problem may also be the scheme and, while Mike Pellegrino and Brian Belichick remain the secondary coaches, the common denominator here: is Bill Belichick. Just a thought.

1 – On second thought, let’s not subject Drake Maye to this.

Sunday’s game against San Francisco was a good old-fashioned butt-kicking. As mentioned above, the 30-13 loss drops the Patriots to 1-3 through the first quarter of the season and — as they continue to fall behind in the standings — their playoff chances continue to dwindle as well.

With the main goal of stacking wins falling by the wayside rather quickly, the question now becomes: When will New England turn to rookie Drake Maye as their starting quarterback?

Next Sunday, at home against the Miami Dolphins, had felt like an ideal landing spot all summer long. Allow the kid to see what a month of NFL football looks like, get your offensive line healthy and seeing things through one set of eyes, and work out the final footwork kinks and understanding of the offense. It’s perfect — or it was.

Now, however, the Patriots on their fourth left tackle in as many weeks, starter Jacoby Brissett is being pressured at a historic rate (53.8% of the time on Sunday — including six sacks and 10 QB hits) and now center David Andrews and top back-up Caedan Wallace are nursing injuries. By the time the second-half rolled around on Sunday, OL Zach Thomas was their only back-up lineman.

Don’t subject Maye to this. It’s not worth it for his long-term development as a passer.

Follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!