Patriots vs. 49ers score: Cam Newton benched as San Francisco earns blowout win in Foxborough

The San Francisco 49ers moved above .500 on the season after a blowout win over the New England Patriots (2-4) at Gillette Stadium, 33-6. This was truly a dominant wire-to-wire victory for Kyle Shanahan's club, and the game was really put to bed as early as halftime. At that point, San Francisco managed to go up 23-3 in a lopsided start where the Niners totaled 301 yards of total offense and held the Patriots to just 59 yards. New England didn't do much to close that gap in the second half, finishing with 241 yards of offense to the 49ers' 467. 

Cam Newton completed just nine of his 15 passes on the night for 98 yards and three interceptions before being benched for second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham to begin the fourth quarter. Stidham didn't fare much better coming in under duress, finishing with six completions on 10 throws for 64 yards and a pick. Julian Edelman, who caught one reception for 13 yards, was targeted three times in the loss. The two missed connections to the veteran wide receiver resulted in interceptions. 

As for the former Patriots quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo, he steered the ship quite well in his return to Foxborough, despite having two interceptions on his stat sheet. He completed 20 of his 25 passes for 278 yards in the win. The story for San Francisco's offense, however, was the ground game. As a team, they managed 197 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Jeff Wilson Jr., who departed this game due to injury, was the key cog, accounting for three of those scores and 112 yards. 

It was a blowout in every meaning of the work by the 49ers and to see more on how this game unfolded, check out our main takeaways from this game below. 

Why San Francisco won

The 49ers simply imposed their will onto the Patriots in their own building. From the jump, the offense showed it can score with ease, marching 75 yards down the field on nine plays to earn the game's first touchdown. That first half, in general, was a clinic by Kyle Shanahan's club on both sides of the ball, piling up over 300 yards of offense while holding New England to just three points and 59 total yards. The second half proved to have similar results as the 49ers held the Patriots to just a field goal over the final two quarters and helped sent Cam Netwon to the bench after picking him off three times. 

For the game, San Francisco was able to come away with points in all but three of their drives. The offense punted just once and it came on its final possession of the game with 3:14 to play in the fourth quarter.  When you essentially double your opponent in total yards, time of possession, and turnovers, it's hard not to come away with a win. 

Why New England lost

When talking about this Patriots loss, you first have to look at the offense, specifically Cam Newton. The veteran signal-caller was inefficient from the get-go and seemed to struggle to process what was in front of him. Patriots pass-catchers were open at times, but a tick of a delay in decision-making proved to be Newton's downfall. He oftentimes held onto the ball a bit too long and was ultimately late on a number of throws. Three interceptions on the day simply can't happen and were the main reason Bill Belichick decided to send Newton to the bench in favor of Jarrett Stidham. 

While Newton's struggles certainly contributed to the loss, New England's defense didn't do this team any favors either. The 49ers running game rolled over this unit to the tune of 197 yards on the ground and four touchdowns. The defense did force two turnovers, but largely could not generate any stops as San Francisco only punted once in this game and essentially doubled them in time of possession. 

Slow starts have become a theme with the Patriots, as they have not been able to put up points in the first quarter in any of their games this season. If they want to turn things around to try and salvage their season, they'll need to get off to better starts.  

Turning point

With 8:46 to play in the first quarter, Cam Newton and the Patriots offense took the field to try and build off a field goal drive last time out and keep pace with San Francisco, which at the time led 10-3. On the first play of the drive, Newton was picked off on a poorly thrown pass intended for second-year receiver Jakobi Meyers. 49ers linebacker Fred Warner was able to make an impressive shoe-string interception and put the San Fran offense already in New England territory. From there, the Niners would go up 16-3 on a Kyle Juszczyk touchdown run, Newton would throw two more interceptions before being benched and that was all she wrote. 

Fred Warner really showed his versatility in this game as he was not only thriving in coverage, but he also finished with a team-high seven tackles. 

Play of the game

Not only was Emmanuel Moseley able to pick off Cam Newton as the Patriots quarterback tried to chuck a prayer down the field prior to halftime, but the 49ers cornerback also showed some impressive return skills. Moseley took the ball and returned it 49 yards in the other direction. While San Francisco couldn't come up with points off the turnover and return, that effort does deserve some shine as one of the better interceptions of the day. It also got some social media love from Moseley's teammate Richard Sherman, who is currently on injured reserve.  

What's next

From here, the Patriots will try to pick up the pieces as they gear up for what is shaping up to be an extremely critical game against the Bills in Buffalo. A loss there could result in New England getting completely left in the dust in the AFC East. As for the 49ers, they'll look to keep the momentum of this two-game winning streak going when they travel to Seattle for a pivotal NFC West matchup with Russell Wilson and the Seahawks.