Patriots-49ers preview: Pats should have room to run in Week 4

Patriots-49ers preview: Pats should have room to run in Week 4 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

FOXBORO — The Patriots have an opportunity at a do-over on Sunday.

No, they won’t be able to change the outcome of their Thursday night dud last week. But there are similarities between their opponent that night, the Jets, and the one that awaits them in San Francisco. And those similarities will allow Jerod Mayo, his assistants and their players to show that the things they should have done in New Jersey are things they can do at Levi’s Stadium this weekend and moving forward.

The easiest correction? Play with more energy and emotion than they showed in their sleepy 24-3 divisional defeat. This game will be a test of the culture Mayo has worked to implement since he was hired. How bought in are his players to his message? How will they respond to what was an embarrassing performance 10 days earlier?

Next on the list: Run the football effectively against the Niners, something they should’ve been able to do against the lackluster run defense the Jets exhibited through two weeks of the regular season. The Niners have been even worse in that regard, which means opportunities will be there on the ground for offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt’s unit.

Finally, on the defensive side of things, the Patriots will have another chance to show that they can, in fact, keep a mobile quarterback inside the pocket. That was a focus of theirs against Aaron Rodgers. Didn’t go so well. Now they’ll be tasked with executing a similar plan against Brock Purdy. This is their chance at righting that particular Week 3 wrong.

Even against a banged-up Niners team, the Patriots look like they will be out-gunned from a talent standpoint. Still, this is a massive week for them to show they can do the things they should be able to do on a weekly basis. Offensively. Defensively. From an effort standpoint.

If they do those things, even if they lose, that could set them up for a season’s worth of…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/patriots-49ers-preview-pats-room-212144144.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2024-09-27 21:47:32

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