San Francisco, CA
5 things to watch when Patriots play San Francisco 49ers
FOXBOROUGH – This isn’t where the Patriots wanted to be, but after two losses in a row, the show must go on.
On Friday, the Patriots left New England for a cross-country trip to San Francisco to take on a talented 49ers team. After a strong start and upset win, to start the season, Jerod Mayo’s team is coming off a blowout loss to the New York Jets.
Now, they’ll take on the NFC favorites, on the road.
The 49ers have a roster full of elite players but are also dealing with health issues. San Francisco’s offense will be without All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey and Pro Bowl receiver Deebo Samuel. On top of that, four Pro Bowlers – tight end George Kittle (hamstring), tackle Trent Williams (illness), defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (triceps), and quarterback Brock Purdy (back) – were on the injury report this week.
The Patriots must turn the page and forget about their performance in New York.
“What I will say is the challenge for us is just in the front: offensive line and defensive line. I don’t want to sound repetitive, but they are a do-what-they-do type of team, and we know what they’re going to do, the fans know what they’re going to do, but you still have to stop them,” Mayo said. “They have a lot of good players on that team, offensively and defensively, All-Pro-caliber players almost at every level if you really look at the roster. So, it’s definitely a challenge, and I think the guys – I tell them all the time, look at it as an opportunity to go out there and perform.”
Here are five things to watch when the Patriots take on the 49ers:
Brandon Aiyuk
This matchup is like when you see someone in public who once rejected your advances and hope to show them what they’re missing.
The Patriots had a trade in place with the 49ers to acquire All-Pro receiver Brandon Aiyuk. They even had a contract offer on the table that would’ve reportedly made him one of the highest-paid receivers in the NFL.
Instead, Aiyuk rejected the Patriots, used them as leverage, and ended up re-signing with the 49ers for less money.
Ouch.
The Patriots will get a chance to see Aiyuk on Sunday. It’ll be fascinating to see if Christian Gonzalez can slow down the receiver. Aiyuk clearly didn’t think much of the Patriots roster. We’ll see how they respond.
Jacoby Brissett
The Patriots passing attack is ranked last in the NFL, averaging 102 passing yards per game. Of course, the team is also ranked first in the NFL in interception rate (0.0%).
Jacoby Brissett has a tough job. He’s being used as a piñata this season, taking hits from opposing defenses while keeping the seat warm for Drake Maye. The veteran hasn’t exactly lit up the stat sheet this season, but he’s also not making too many egregious mistakes.
Out of all quarterbacks, who’ve started three games, Brissett is last in the NFL with 368 passing yards, but his interception percentage of zero is tied for first. The 49ers are ranked 20th in the NFL in passing defense. They’ve allowed 217.7 passing yards per game.
We’ll see if Brissett can put together a better effort this time.
Offensive line
Brissett has been sacked at an alarming rate this season.
Entering this week, he’s fourth in the NFL in sack percentage (the times sacked on plays where he’s supposed to pass the ball). Last week, he was sacked five times and hit 12 times overall.
That won’t work on Sunday. San Francisco has one of the better pass rushes in the NFL. Four-time Pro Bowler and former Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa anchors this defensive line. On Thursday, Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt called Bosa a “nightmare.”
The Patriots should be getting back left guard Sidy Sow this week. That’s positive. However, they’ll likely start third-string left tackle Caedan Wallace. He’s been elevated due to Vederian Lowe’s knee injury and Chuks Okorafor leaving the team.
We’ll see if the results are any different.
Rhamondre Stevenson
The San Francisco 49ers have one of the best-run defenses in the NFL. They head into this game ranked ninth in the league, allowing 104 yards per game on the ground. Opposing teams, however, are averaging 4.52 yards per carry against the 49ers – and that’s 21st in the league.
That brings us to Rhamondre Stevenson.
He’s arguably the Patriots best offensive player. He’s why the Patriots offense didn’t look putrid in the first two weeks. However, he’s fumbled three games in a row. That’s bad news because after going away from the run last week, the Patriots need to hammer the ground game again.
Will Stevenson bounce back? It’s the Patriots best bet to move the football, so they are probably hoping he does.
Defensive performance
Expectations for the Patriots offense were already low. The big hope for this year’s team was that the defense would be a top-10 unit. However, they haven’t looked the part in the past two games.
Now, they enter this week ranked tenth in points allowed (19.0 per game) so that’s solid. The defense struggled the past two weeks against Aaron Rodgers and Geno Smith. Their passing defense is currently ranked 27th in the NFL while their run defense is among the best at No. 5.
Last week, the Patriots struggled to tackle, so that needs to improve on Sunday. They also need more turnovers and sacks. So far, the secondary has zero interceptions while the group is 22nd in sacks per pass attempt.
Can the Patriots defense turn it around in San Francisco?
Prediction: 49ers 23, Patriots 16
San Francisco just notched its largest office lease in nearly a decade, marking the latest sign of a post-pandemic comeback for the city’s recovering commercial market.
The City and County of San Francisco inked a 502,000-square-foot lease expansion at 1455 Market Street, bringing the city government’s total presence there to more than 900,000 square feet, the San Francisco Business Times reported. The deal with landlord Hudson Pacific Properties has a 23-year term and represents the largest office lease in the city since 2018 and tops other large leases in recent years, such as OpenAI’s 486,000-square-foot lease in Mission Bay in 2023.
As it stands, the city government already occupies approximately 400,000 square feet in the building across two lease deals signed in 2024 and 2025. With the city’s new agreement, occupancy in the nearly 1.1-million-square-foot building rises to 89 percent. A few years ago, the building was less than half-occupied, according to the Business Times.
The lease deal includes two five-year extension options and a possibility for the city to own the building outright. The city government has the right to purchase the 22-story building until next March; after that, the city will still maintain the right of first offer throughout the rest of its lease.
With the new lease, several city departments will consolidate into one building, “mov[ing] out of an aging, costly and seismically vulnerable building” into a modern facility, Angela Yip, a spokesperson for the city’s real estate division, told the Business Times. The Municipal Transportation Authority, Human Services Agency and the City Administrator will move into 1455 Market starting in the fall of next year.
In doing so, the government will effectively abandon the 650,000-square-foot city-owned building across the street at 1 South Van Ness Avenue. The city plans to use the Van Ness property, zoned for residential and mixed-use purposes, to “create more housing and catalyze development” in the Mid-Market corridor, Yip said.
Hudson Pacific dolled out $93 million for the 1455 Market Street building in 2010. In 2024, Hudson Pacific bought its joint venture partner’s interest in the building for $43.5 million. At the time, the deal valued the property at about $96.6 million — a roughly 80 percent tumble from its 2015 value of nearly $219.2 million.
— Chris Malone Méndez
OpenAI surges past 1M sf of offices in SF with latest Mission Bay lease Bay Area grabs prime chunk of biggest office leases for 2025 on AI effect
Hudson Pacific buys out partner in SF office building for $44M
Read more
A gray whale found in San Francisco Bay last week is believed to have been killed in a vessel strike, scientists said Thursday.
The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito told CBS News Bay Area that an adult male whale was found floating off San Francisco’s Pier 80 on the morning of June 4. On June 5, the center’s Cetacean Conservation Biology Team saw the whale carcass floating southeast of Alcatraz.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers towed and secured the 38-foot whale, bringing the carcass to Sand Springs Beach at Angel Island State Park.
A team of scientists from the center and the California Academy of Sciences performed a necropsy on Sunday. Scientists noticed evidence of blunt force trauma, including hemorrhage behind the skull and a broken vertebra “consistent with blunt force trauma due to a suspected vessel strike.”
The whale was in “fair to normal body condition” at this point in the migratory season, the center said. Additional samples were taken for further testing.
According to the center, this case marks the 13th dead gray whale found in the wider Bay Area so far this year.
The cause of death in four of the incidents have been determined as suspected or probable vessel strikes, including a whale that was found off San Leandro on May 27 and a whale that was found in San Francisco Bay on March 17.
The center said gray whales are currently on their northern migration to their feeding grounds in the Arctic. Several whales frequenting San Francisco Bay are expected to depart in the next two weeks.
According to a population estimate by the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center, there are about 12,900 North Pacific gray whales, the lowest since the early 1970s.
-
Crypto2 minutes agoMohave County Sheriffs Office Apprehends Suspect in Kingman Cryptocurrency Fraud Scheme – The Buzz -The buzz in Bullhead City – Lake Havasu City – Kingman – Arizona – California – Nevada
-
Finance14 minutes agoFed’s Barr Warns Bank Deregulation Threatens Financial Stability | PYMNTS.com
-
Fitness17 minutes agoJust four minutes of key exercise can quadruple fitness in older adults
-
Movie Reviews29 minutes agoGene Shalit, longtime Today show movie critic, dies at 100
-
World37 minutes ago
Visa denial sidelines Thomas Partey for Ghana’s World Cup opener against Panama in Toronto
-
Business52 minutes agoHow Betters Use Arbitrage to Make Free Money on Kalshi and Polymarket
-
Health1 hour agoThought Yo-Yo Dieting Ruined Your Metabolism? New Research Says Otherwise
-
Lifestyle1 hour agoTo read more this summer, stop waiting for the perfect moment
