The Patriots should be on upset alert against the 49ers
Perhaps the most shocking result of Week 6 was New England’s absolutely disastrous performance in an 18-12 loss at home to the Denver Broncos. This game was delayed by a week due to positive coronavirus tests for the Patriots, who looked completely out of sync on offense after being forced to sit a pair of starting offensive linemen in the contest.
There is no doubt that the lack of practice time hurt New England but this Patriots’ offense wasn’t great to begin with. Denver did a good job limiting the Patriots’ running game, which outside of one monster Cam Newton run averaged just 3.3 yards per carry on 24 attempts.
That put the pressure on Newton to throw the ball, which didn’t go well as he looked off with his accuracy, leading to questions about whether or not he is experiencing issues with his shoulder again. Despite New England’s poor performance, they have been established as three-point favorites against the San Francisco 49ers, who bounced back in a big way with a convincing win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night.
This Patriots team is extremely flawed and could be in more trouble if they can’t figure out their offensive line situation ahead of this game. Don’t be shocked if New England falls to 2-4, leading to the first real mid-season crisis in a long time for the Patriots.