New England’s inactives are OT Vederian Lowe (knee), G Michael Jordan (ankle), OLB Anfernee Jennings (shoulder), TE Jaheim Bell, DE Jamree Kromah, and QB Joe Milton is the emergency third quarterback. That means questionable players G Sidy Sow (ankle), CB Jonathan Jones (shoulder), and OT Caedan Wallace (knee) are active. The 49ers inactives are C Ben Bartch, CB Darrell Luter, WR Ronnie Bell, S Talanoa Hufanga, and QB Joshua Dobbs (3rd QB).
If you are a Patriots fan hoping that the 49ers would be banged up for Sunday’s game, you’re mostly out of luck. Although star RB Christian McCaffrey won’t play, 49ers offensive playmakers TE George Kittle and WR Deebo Samuel are officially active, as is stud LT Trent Williams. Samuel (calf) and Williams (illness, toe) were questionable for Week 4.
Starting with the offensive line, for the first time this season, G Sidy Sow is active and will likely start at left guard. Heading into the season, Sow was the Pats projected starting left guard, but the 2023 fourth-rounder suffered an ankle injury in the preseason finale. After missing the first three games, Sow will make his season debut vs. the 49ers, and the team is hopeful that a year-two leap is coming for the second-year pro.
As a rookie, Sow had some inconsistencies in pass protection (five sacks allowed). However, he showcased his raw power as a solid run-blocker in gap schemes. Although the offense as a whole struggled, one of the few things it had last season was running downhill behind Sow and RT Mike Onwenu. Now, Sow will flip to the left side, where he’ll likely play next to waiver claim Trey Jacobs, who is slated to start at left tackle.
With Lowe out and third-round rookie Caedan Wallace managing a knee injury, Jacobs has been repping as the top left tackle during practice this week. The second-year pro spent his rookie season on the Broncos practice squad and was then waived by Denver at the end of camp. The tackle-needy Patriots claimed Jacobs, who allowed just two pressures with a 73.0 overall PFF grade in 101 snaps this preseason, on waivers. Jacobs also registered an 8.38 out of 10 relative athletic score at his Pro Day, and you saw that athleticism translate while blocking in space this summer.
Although it’s never a good thing to be down to your fourth-string left tackle, Patriots left tackles have allowed a league-high 20.8% pressure rate through three games. Frankly, it can’t get much worse. The Patriots projected starting offensive line is LT Trey Jacobs, LG Sidy Sow, C David Andrews, RG Layden Robinson, and RT Mike Onwenu. Despite his knee injury, Wallace is active, so he could factor in at left tackle if Jacobs struggles.
Next, practice-squad elevation Mitchell Wilcox takes seventh-round rookie Jaheim Bell’s spot on the game-day roster. Bell was active for the team’s first three games but only played one snap on offense and 11 special teams snaps. Wilcox, a more sturdy in-line run blocker, will take the rookie’s spot to reinforce the Patriots run-first approach on Sunday. Although it makes sense stylistically, it’s slightly disappointing that Bell, an explosive open-field athlete, hasn’t carved out a role.
On defense, one under-the-radar injury for the Patriots was edge-setter Anfernee Jennings. Although he returned on Friday, Jennings was questionable with a shoulder injury after not participating in the first two practices of the week. Jennings is officially inactive, a big loss for the Pats defense against the 49ers wide zone system. San Francisco runs more outside the tackles than almost any team in the NFL, with outside zone as the basis of head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
The keys to slowing down the outside zone scheme are sturdy edges and interior penetration. Over the years, New England has countered the Shanahan tree with five or six-man defensive lines. The goal is to set the edge, force the ball carrier back inside, and unlock the interior to get upfield with extra edge support. Now, the Pats will need to accomplish that without their best edge-setter against the run, leaving Keion White and Joshua Uche as their primary edge rushers. This season, veteran Deatrich Wise has also rushed more as a stand-up outside linebacker.
The Patriots defense could align in a tilt front (6-1) or a more standard 5-2 structure with hybrid EDGE Keion White on the strong side. Then, NT Davon Godchaux can hold up the backside combination block by absorbing the double team, allowing on-the-line players like Wise, Daniel Ekuale, Jeremiah Pharms, and Trysten Hill to penetrate the line of scrimmage. Although it’s easier said than done, that’s a possible formula to stop the 49ers dangerous rushing attack, but it’s harder to execute with Jennings sidelined.
In the backend, New England has typically cycled through cover-three (buzz) and quarters coverages against the Shanahan tree. By starting with two high safeties, they can rotate (buzz) another safety into the short zone distribution or run support. They might keep both safeties deep in quarters or Cover-2 when they anticipate a shot play. The zone defenses could also mask that the Patriots corners are at a size disadvantage against the 49ers receivers.
If the 49ers size advantage begins to show itself, the Patriots signed CB Isaiah Bolden to the active roster on Saturday. Bolden has great size (6-2, 201) and is a terrific athlete who ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash coming out of Jackson State. Along with likely playing a role on special teams, the 2023 seventh-round pick could contribute defensively this week.
Bolden’s cover skills are a work in progress, but his body type is a better match for 49ers WR Jauan Jennings (6-3, 215), who had 11 catches for 175 yards and three touchdowns last Sunday, than Jonathan and Marcus Jones. Last week, Jets receivers Allen Lazard and Mike Williams’s size was an issue for the Pats smaller CBs. Other boundary corner possibilities are Marco Wilson and rookie Marcellas Dial Jr., who are also active.
From this perspective, top CB Christian Gonzalez shadowing 49ers star WR Brandon Aiyuk makes sense. Gonzalez has held his own in heavyweight matchups with Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase, Seahawks WR DK Metcalf, and Jets star Garrett Wilson; if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That’ll leave some mix of the Joneses, Bolden, Wilson, and Dial to cover Jennings and Deebo Samuel, who is active for San Francisco despite being listed as questionable.
The Patriots are massive underdogs on the road in San Francisco (-10). For head coach Jerod Mayo, this week is about seeing buy-in from his team. Obviously, you play to win every game. However, the 49ers are on a different level than the rebuilding Patriots. All you want to see from New England is a more competitive effort than last Thursday night in the Meadowlands. It stinks to be in moral victory territory, but that’s where the Patriots are against a Super Bowl contender on the road.
The Patriots will face the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara with kickoff at 4:05 pm ET on Sunday.
