Sep 30, 2008 - 4:59 PM
0 shoutsNew England (2-1) at San Francisco (2-2), 4:15 EDT
SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- The New England Patriots are in the unusual position of attempting to bounce back from a rare defeat.
Coming off a bye week, the Patriots travel cross country to visit the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
New England absorbed a stunning 38-13 beating at home to the Miami Dolphins two weeks ago, snapping its NFL-record regular-season winning streak at 21 games.
The fact that it came against a team which had won only one game last season made the lopsided defeat even more incomprehensible.
Coach Bill Belichick said the bye week gave the Patriots a chance to regroup.
"I think everybody had a good break here last week. We got a chance to get away and come back refreshed," he said.
Much of the attention has deservedly been focused on Matt Cassel, who was forced into the starting lineup when reigning MVP Tom Brady suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week One.
Cassel, who had not started a game since high school, has been OK thus far, completing 67 percent (48-of-72) of his passes with two touchdowns and one interception. However, that interception as well as a fumble were costly against Miami.
"Matt had a good week last week and a good practice yesterday," Belichick said. "I think he's doing things. I think offensively, collectively we have to do everything a little bit better."
That includes the defense, which was gashed for 113 yards and four touchdowns by Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown, who repeatedly lined up and took a direct snap from center.
"We had trouble with a lot of things," Belichick said. "That was one of them."
Frank Gore will look to have similar success against New England. The third-leading rusher in the NFL with 369 yards, Gore also has 15 receptions for 156 yards and has scored five touchdowns overall.
J.T. O'Sullivan, who was on the practice squad of the Patriots in 2006, is in his first season as a starter in NFL. He struggled in the Niners' 31-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints last weekend, finishing 18-of-36 for 257 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
"He moves the ball. You can see he's in command of what he's doing. He's very coachable," 49ers coach Mike Nolan said of O'Sullivan. "You know, we're right there knocking at the door. He just needs to continue playing."
San Francisco will be relieved not to be seeing Brady after Saints quarterback Drew Brees shredded its defense for 363 yards and three scoring passes last week.
From the Bleachers
-
NEW ENGLAND: 30
SAN FRANCISCO: 21
Final
Oct 5 7:25 PM -
NFL
FG NWE
STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI 49 YD
NEW ENGLAND 30
SAN FRANCISCO 21 4:42 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Oct 5 7:07 PM -
NFL
TD SFO
ISAAC BRUCE 5 YD PASS FROM J.T. O'SULLIVAN
(JOE NEDNEY KICK)
NEW ENGLAND 27
SAN FRANCISCO 21 10:22 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Oct 5 6:48 PM -
NFL
FG NWE
STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI 40 YD
NEW ENGLAND 27
SAN FRANCISCO 14 14:53 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Oct 5 6:36 PM -
NEW ENGLAND: 24
SAN FRANCISCO: 14
End of 3rd
Oct 5 6:34 PM -
NFL
TD NWE
KEVIN FAULK 2 YD RUN
(STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI KICK)
NEW ENGLAND 24
SAN FRANCISCO 14 5:25 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Oct 5 6:22 PM -
NEW ENGLAND: 17
SAN FRANCISCO: 14
Halftime
Oct 5 5:45 PM -
NFL
TD NWE
KEVIN FAULK 2 YD RUN
(STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI KICK)
NEW ENGLAND 17
SAN FRANCISCO 14 0:06 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Oct 5 5:43 PM -
NFL
FG NWE
STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI 35 YD
NEW ENGLAND 10
SAN FRANCISCO 14 5:22 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Oct 5 5:25 PM -
NEW ENGLAND: 7
SAN FRANCISCO: 14
End of 1st
Oct 5 4:58 PM -
NFL
TD SFO
ISAAC BRUCE 6 YD PASS FROM J.T. O'SULLIVAN
(JOE NEDNEY KICK)
NEW ENGLAND 7
SAN FRANCISCO 14 5:25 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Oct 5 4:46 PM -
NFL
TD NWE
RANDY MOSS 66 YD PASS FROM MATT CASSEL
(STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI KICK)
NEW ENGLAND 7
SAN FRANCISCO 7 7:35 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Oct 5 4:38 PM -
NFL
TD SFO
FRANK GORE 17 YD PASS FROM J.T. O'SULLIVAN
(JOE NEDNEY KICK)
NEW ENGLAND 0
SAN FRANCISCO 7 8:57 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Oct 5 4:31 PM
