49ers tag in reinforcements, face challenged Patriots

The New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers vie to end a two-game losing streak when they meet Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif.

After opening the season with a 16-10 victory at Cincinnati, New England (1-2) dropped a 23-20 decision to Seattle in overtime at home in Week 2 before losing to the New York Jets 24-3 on the road in Week 3.

The 49ers (1-2) began their season with a 32-19 home victory against the Jets, but they have since suffered losses at Minnesota (23-17) and at the Los Angeles Rams (27-24).

In addition to missing running back Christian McCaffrey, who is on injured reserve with Achilles tendinitis, the 49ers were without wide receiver Deebo Samuel (calf) and tight end George Kittle (hamstring) against the Rams. But Kittle declared himself ready to roll on Thursday.

Samuel and left tackle Trent Williams, who has a toe injury, could also be back to face New England after being upgraded to questionable on Friday.

The Patriots are averaging 13.0 points per game (31st) and their offense ranks 32nd in yards per game (246.3). New England’s biggest issue has come in the passing game, which is averaging 102.0 yards per contest (32nd).

Quarterback Jacoby Brissett has been operating behind an offensive line that has been plagued by injuries through the season’s first three weeks, and that may be the case again Sunday. Starting left tackle Vederian Lowe (knee) and guard Michael Jordan (ankle) are out and backup O-linemen Caeden Wallace (knee) and Sidy Sow (ankle) are questionable.

“Obviously (the 49ers’) record is not reflective of the team that they are, and can be going forward because they’re dealing with injuries as well,” New England coach Jerod Mayo said. “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. We know what they’re going to do (and) the fans know what they’re going to do, but you still have to stop it.”

Earlier this week, Mayo said Brissett will remain the team’s starting quarterback and rookie first-round pick Drake Maye will be No. 2 on the depth chart. Maye played in the final minutes of New England’s loss to the Jets. Mayo also said the team is not interested in signing a veteran quarterback at this time.

New England’s Rhamondre Stevenson (4.3 ypc) and Antonio Gibson (6.2 ypc) are both averaging more than 4.0 yards per carry, but Stevenson has fumbled the ball three times in three games.

Despite the injuries to some of their offensive stars, the 49ers are averaging 24.3 points per game (tied with Seattle for ninth) and rank third in yards per game (407.3) and second in passing yards per game (267.7). Wide receiver Jauan Jennings had 11 receptions for 175 yards and three touchdowns against the Rams.

The 49ers’ defense has been leaky, however. San Francisco is 30th among NFL teams in both yards allowed per play (6.1) and third-down conversion percentage (52.9 percent). The 49ers can no longer rely on defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, who suffered a torn right triceps during last Sunday’s loss to the Rams and will miss the remainder of the season.

“I think all three levels (of the defense) have had an issue at times,” San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I think we’ve played good at times, too. … We’ve had some new guys in there. We’ve had moments where we’ve been strong, but we’re not playing up to how we usually do and we have to make sure to get back to playing that way.

“Every time you have injuries, everyone knows it makes it tougher, but people have injuries throughout the league. You have to be able to overcome those.”

49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga (ankle) is also questionable after rolling his ankle at practice.

Sunday’s game will be the first meeting between the teams since 2020, when the 49ers earned a 33-6 road victory.

“We’ll see what this team is made of going forward,” Mayo said. “We have a long trip out west and gotta be ready to play against a good solid football team.”

–Field Level Media

Pass rushes key as Eagles visit Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have surrendered 12 sacks while recording none of their own in their past two games.

Flipping that script could be critical to Sunday’s result as the Philadelphia Eagles visit Tampa, Fla., for a battle of 2-1 teams.

Baker Mayfield was sacked seven times in last weekend’s stunning 26-7 home loss to the previously winless Denver Broncos. For the second straight week, he threw for fewer than 200 yards and tossed an interception.

Tampa Bay enters Week 4 ranked 26th in the NFL in total offense and 27th in rushing, but Mayfield refused to place all the blame for his dirty uniform on the offensive line.

“There were a few pressures this week that were actually on me,” Mayfield said. “There’s a mindset of trying to fix the protections when they’re bringing some of these pressures, and there’s also a mindset to snap the ball and get it out of your hands.

“Not all of that is on the O-line.”

The last time Philadelphia visited Raymond James Stadium, Mayfield threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns in a 32-9 wild-card playoff victory on Jan. 15 of this year.

The Eagles sacked Mayfield four times in that loss — the same number their pass rush has generated through three games this year.

Philadelphia sacked Atlanta’s Kirk Cousins only once in a last-minute 22-21 loss at home in Week 2, then took down Derek Carr only once in a last-minute 15-12 win at New Orleans in Week 3.

Second-year Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter is still looking for his first sack of the season, but he shined against the Saints with four tackles (two for losses), two batted passes and a quarterback hit.

“Obviously, this past game was his best game by far,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “And hopefully that will set the trend moving forward. I don’t know what actually triggered it, other than he, and we as a D-Line unit, didn’t play good in the previous game. So I’m sure that had something to do with it.”

The headliners for this contest on offense include Eagles running back Saquon Barkley and Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin.

Barkley leads the NFL in rushing (351 yards) and is tied for the lead in touchdowns from scrimmage (five) through his first three games with Philadelphia. Godwin already has 21 catches and has scored touchdowns in all three games.

Including the playoffs, Tampa Bay has won five of the past six meetings dating back to 2015.

Both teams are keeping an eye on injuries.

The Eagles won’t have No. 2 wideout DeVonta Smith (concussion), but No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown (hamstring) returned to practice in a limited capacity Friday and is questionable, as is right tackle Lane Johnson (concussion). Right guard Mekhi Becton (finger) and left guard Landon Dickerson (wrist) were cleared to play.

The Buccaneers won’t have defensive lineman Calijah Kancey (calf) or star safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (foot), and wide receiver Jalen McMillian (hamstring) is doubtful. Five players — rookie running back Bucky Irving (hamstring), receiver Kameron Johnson (ankle), tight end Ko Kieft (ankle), right tackle Luke Goedeke (concussion) and nose tackle Vita Vea (knee) — were deemed questionable after practicing in limited fashion Friday.

Godwin (neck) and fellow starting wideout Mike Evans (knee) carry no game designation.

–Field Level Media

Jaguars, facing Texans, ramp up for rebound from ‘disaster’

The Jacksonville Jaguars are one of three winless teams in the NFL and certainly the one in the most disarray.

The Jaguars (0-3) will attempt to halt their dysfunction and register that elusive first victory when they visit the Houston Texans in an AFC South battle on Sunday.

Jacksonville’s poor start includes being annihilated 47-10 by the host Buffalo Bills on the Monday night stage. The Jaguars trailed 34-3 at halftime after Buffalo scored touchdowns on all five first-half possessions.

“The game the other night was just a disaster on every level,” Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence said Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson is telling his team they can still turn things around.

“It’s not the end of anybody’s season, obviously it’s Week 4,” Pederson said. “We just got to figure out a way to play good football, and right now, the tape shows that we’re not and we’ve got to fix that.”

A win over the Texans (2-1) would be a step in the right direction. It would take some heat off Pederson and the underachieving Lawrence.

Jacksonville has lost the last eight times Lawrence has been the starting quarterback. The No. 1 overall draft pick in 2021 has completed just 52.8 percent of his passes this year while getting sacked 11 times.

“I’ve got to play really well for us to win,” Lawrence said. “That’s the NFL. The quarterback has to play well every week in order to give us a shot to win. I don’t feel like I’ve done that consistently enough. So I put that on myself.”

Lawrence has passed for 560 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for an offense that ranks 30th in scoring (13.3 points per game) and 27th in total yardage (276.3).

In the offseason, Jacksonville rewarded Lawrence with a five-year, $275 million extension that paid him like an elite quarterback. But in the wake of the Buffalo debacle, Pederson said pulling Lawrence in favor of backup Mac Jones is an option if things don’t improve.

The Texans don’t have a quarterback problem as second-year pro C.J. Stroud has stood out from the outset of his pro career.

Stroud led Houston to a 10-7 record as a rookie and guided the squad to a playoff victory. This season, he has completed 67.7 percent of his throws for 709 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions.

However, Stroud and the Texans were whipped 34-7 by the host Minnesota Vikings last weekend. Stroud passed for 215 yards and a touchdown but also was intercepted twice and sacked four times. Houston also was flagged for 11 penalties.

“They kicked our butts, kudos to those guys,” Stroud said Wednesday. “It is Week 4 now. We are going to move on. We are going to play against the Jaguars, who are a good team and focus on that.”

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans views the Jaguars as a fierce foe. Though Houston has won 10 of the past 12 meetings between the teams, Jacksonville earned a split last season.

“We will have a division opponent coming into our house,” Ryans said. “It’s going to be a tough matchup. We both know each other very well and it’s going to be a fight, so we’re looking forward to the matchup.”

Running back Joe Mixon totaled 184 rushing yards over his first two games with the Texans but sat out the Minnesota game with an ankle injury. He was limited in Friday’s practice and is likely to be a game-time decision.

Texans receiver Tank Dell (chest), running back Dameon Pierce (hamstring) and safety Jimmie Ward (groin) were all ruled out on Friday.

Jaguars standout linebacker Foyesade Oluokun (foot) and tight end Evan Engram (hamstring), who hasn’t played since Week 1, are out.

–Field Level Media

Jets’ Aaron Rodgers focuses on field ahead of game vs. Broncos

Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers isn’t getting caught up in “old news” ahead of New York’s meeting with the Denver Broncos in East Rutherford, N.J., on Sunday afternoon.

New York offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett coached the Broncos in 2022 but was fired during the season with the team sitting at 4-11.

Jerry Rosburg took over as interim head coach to finish off the campaign before Sean Payton landed the full-time gig in January 2023. That summer, Payton told USA Today Sports that Hackett’s work with the Broncos was “one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL.”

It didn’t take long for Payton to apologize, which is why Rodgers is leaving the past in the past come Sunday.

“That’s old news,” Rodgers said of Payton’s comments. “We’ve all said things that we’d like to take back. Some things have been said and taken out of context I’m sure from time to time, but I honestly haven’t thought about it.”

Hackett got a dose of revenge last season when New York downed the Broncos 31-21 in Week 5 last year. This season, his offense looked crisp on Sept. 19 in a 24-3 drubbing of the Patriots in the Jets’ most recent contest. Rodgers was surgical against New England, completing 27 of 35 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns as New York improved to 2-1.

Allen Lazard and Garrett Wilson were on the receiving end of Rodgers’ scoring strikes. Wilson, the Jets’ No. 1 wide receiver, has yet to exceed 60 yards in any of his three games this season, and now he has a matchup with star corner Pat Surtain II looming.

“We’d like to get the ball to (Wilson) early, but it’s just a process. He’s gotta be patient, and we’ve gotta be patient,” Rodgers said. “We can’t force it. Pat’s a phenomenal player, but Garrett is, too. So it’s gonna be a good matchup with those two guys.”

Surtain has headlined a Denver defense that has allowed the sixth-fewest points per game in the NFL (15.3). The Broncos (1-2) were especially stout last Sunday, slowing down Tampa Bay for a 26-7 road victory. The Buccaneers managed only 223 total yards.

The Broncos will try to maintain that momentum.

“You want to keep a routine as much as possible,” Denver quarterback Bo Nix said. “Kind of do the same things that you’ve been doing.”

Nix, the No. 12 overall pick in this year’s draft, had 216 yards on 25-for-36 passing to go along with 47 rushing yards and a TD against Tampa Bay for his first career win. However, on the season, he has thrown four interceptions and no touchdown passes.

Broncos safety JL Skinner will miss the game due to an ankle injury. Tight end Nate Adkins (shoulder) and receiver Josh Reynolds (Achilles) are cleared to play after being limited in practice to begin the week.

The Jets ruled out starting right tackle Morgan Moses (knee) and listed linebacker C.J. Mosley (toe) as doubtful. Mosley missed last week’s game, his first time sitting out a game since 2021.

–Field Level Media