Pro Sports

Garoppolo shines in return to NE; Niners crush Patriots 33-6

Posted October 25, 2020 7:00 am

By KYLE HIGHTOWER

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo passes against the New England Patriots in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) The Associated Press

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - Jimmy Garoppolo was once considered to be the man in waiting to take over at quarterback in New England for Tom Brady.

Now he's the guy who helped hand the Patriots their worst home loss under Bill Belichick.

Jeff Wilson Jr. rushed for a career-high three touchdowns and 112 yards before leaving with an ankle injury and the San Francisco 49ers crushed New England 33-6 on Sunday.

Garoppolo finished 20 of 25 for 277 yards with two interceptions in his first game against his former team. San Francisco (4-3) has followed back-to-back losses with consecutive wins and is 3-0 on the road.

'œIt was an exciting night. Lot of emotions. Couldn't imagine it going any better than this," Garoppolo said.

The Patriots' 27-point loss was their largest at home under Belichick. They had gone 286 games without a three-game losing streak, the longest span between three-game slides in NFL history. New England fell to 2-4 for the first since Belichick's first season in 2000, when the Patriots went 5-11.

New England was outgained 467-241 in total yards.

'œWe were clearly out-coached, outplayed. Just out-everything,'ť Belichick said. 'œWe're still a long way from where we need to be. That's obvious.'ť

San Francisco's Brandon Aiyuk had six catches for 115 yards and Deebo Samuel had five catches for 65 yards before leaving the game with a hamstring injury.

"When we got them down, we got to keep them down, don't want to give them any chance to breathe. I thought we did that tonight," Garoppolo said. 'œStarted from the first snap and carried its way throughout the whole game.'ť

Cam Newton struggled for the Patriots, completing 9 of 15 passes for 98 yards and three interceptions before being replaced by Jarrett Stidham in the fourth quarter. Stidham was 6 of 10 for 64 yards and an interception.

Belichick said his plan is to keep Newton as the starter.

"Yeah, absolutely," he said.

Newton was out of sync from the outset, making poor reads and poorer throws. Garoppolo, meanwhile, was successful in spreading out New England's defense with a steady diet of passes behind the line of scrimmage and jet sweeps to get the ball into the hands of Wilson, Samuel and tight end George Kittle.

San Francisco dominated the first half, taking a 23-3 lead, holding the ball for 22:30 and racking up a 301-59 advantage in total yards. The Patriots managed four first downs to the 49ers' 18.

The Niners took just over five minutes and nine plays to march 75 yards and take a 7-0 lead on 3-yard run by Wilson. It was the first time the Patriots have allowed a touchdown on an opponent's opening drive at home since Week 4 of 2016 against Buffalo.

Following a Patriots punt, San Francisco was pinned inside its 15. Long completions by Garoppolo helped erase some early penalty losses before he missed high on a pass for Kittle and was intercepted by Devin McCourty.

San Francisco's defense limited the damage, yielding a 40-yard field goal by Nick Folk.

That wasn't the case for the Patriots later in the second quarter.

Trailing 10-3, Newton made a bad play worse when he tried to dump off the ball on the run to receiver Jakobi Meyers. It was picked off by linebacker Fred Warner. Five plays later, the 49ers capitalized on a 4-yard touchdown run by Kyle Juszczyk.

The lead grew to 23-3 with just under a minute to go before halftime on a 16-yard run by Wilson.

'œD just played impressive the whole day. I thought special teams and offense did, too. It was an extremely physical game,'ť 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. 'œIt was fun to watch.'ť

INJURIES

49ers: WR Richie James left with an ankle injury. ... Wilson had just crossed into the end zone following his third TD when his leg twisted as he was tackled. He stayed down on the field before walking off under his own power. Shanahan said the tentative diagnosis is a high ankle sprain. 'œNot sounding great right now,'ť he said.

Patriots: WR N'Keal Harry left with a head injury and did not return. '¦ LG Joe Thuney departed with an ankle injury. '¦ RT Justin Herron also left with an ankle injury.

NEWTON'S MILESTONE

With an 11-yard pass to Jakobi Meyers in the third quarter, Newton became the 48th NFL quarterback to reach the 30,000-yard plateau.

He also became the first NFL player to pass for 30,000 yards and rush for 5,000 yards in his career.

UP NEXT

The 49ers head to Seattle next Sunday. The Patriots visit Buffalo.

___

More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL

San Francisco 49ers running back Jeff Wilson Jr. (30) spins to gains yardage behind the block of tackle Daniel Brunskill (60) in the first half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) The Associated Press

San Francisco 49ers running back Jeff Wilson Jr. lies on the turf after an injury while scoring a touchdown in the second half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) The Associated Press

San Francisco 49ers running back Jeff Wilson Jr. gains yardage against the New England Patriots in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) The Associated Press

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) eludes New England Patriots defensive back J.C. Jackson (27) after catching a pass in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) The Associated Press

New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton drops back to pass under pressure from San Francisco 49ers defensive end Arik Armstead (91) in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) The Associated Press

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel (19) runs from New England Patriots linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley after catching a pass in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) The Associated Press

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner, left, celebrates his interception with teammates in the first half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) The Associated Press

San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, center, celebrates his touchdown with teammates Jeff Wilson Jr., left, and George Kittle, right, in the first half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) The Associated Press

San Francisco 49ers running back Jeff Wilson Jr., left, celebrates his touchdown with George Kittle, right, in the first half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) The Associated Press

New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton, center, passes under pressure from San Francisco 49ers linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (51) and defensive end Dion Jordan, right, in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) The Associated Press

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