Christopher Price
updated on October 25, 2020 | 4:02 PM
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3:55 p.m.: The Patriots are favored by three this afternoon, and the over-under sits at 44.5 (both via Odds Shark). At this point, with the return of Andrews and Mason — and a full week of practice under their belts — New England looks good to cover. The biggest key for the Patriots this afternoon? Getting the offense going in the early going. New England doesn’t have a single first-quarter offensive point this season, a remarkable stat that goes a long way toward explaining its losses to the Seahawks and Broncos. The Patriots need to execute early on offense — if they can do that, they’ll cover. My guess is that they’ll pull it off. I’m saying New England 28, San Francisco 21.
3:45 p.m.:
Jimmy G pic.twitter.com/gnPoojmCYm
— Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) October 25, 2020
3:38 p.m.: Excited to see what Dalton Keene might be capable of today. I wrote about him, post-draft, here. Still believe that in a regular year, there’s the possibility he could become a cult hero in New England for a few reasons, not the least of which is because of this quote from his college position coach.
“He takes great pride in being a tough guy,” said Virginia Tech tight ends coach James Shibest. “Everybody called him ‘Rambo’ because of how his body looked, how physical he plays, how that weight room is important to him. He’s gotten our whole sideline jacked up several times running over people — he ain’t looking to dodge anybody. And, of course, he had the long hair too (as a freshman and sophomore), so he really did look like a young Rambo.”
3:30 p.m.: Good late October, football weather this afternoon in Foxborough. According to our pals at weather.com, temps will be in the high 40s with a slight wind, but no chance of precipitation. (Nothing like Denver.) It’s getting colder, but we’re still waiting on our first weather game of the season.
Like we’re in a snow globe. ☃️#BeatTheChiefs pic.twitter.com/FtGivoIssM
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) October 25, 2020
3:24 p.m.: Thinking about a bunch of different possibilities along the offensive line, and this one might make the most sense (left to right: Wynn, Thuney, Andrews, Mason, Onewenu or Herron (I’m guessing more the former than the latter at right tackle, but we’ll see). It would mark the fifth different OL combo in six games for New England. A good group either way, and certainly an upgrade over the last couple of weeks.
3:20 p.m.:
Cam Newton (to Jakobi Meyers) and Jarrett Stidham (to Dalton Keene) with some extra work. #Patriots pic.twitter.com/KQpIoWqOGN
— Jim McBride (@globejimmcbride) October 25, 2020
3:15 p.m.: It’s impossible to overstate just how important the return of David Andrews and Shaq Mason is to the success of the offensive line, and the offense in general. I wrote about some of Andrews’ impact here in Friday’s edition of Point After (subscribe to PA here), but his presence in the lineup is massive, and should create a ripple effect that will impact almost every layer of the New England offense. That doesn’t mean we’re sleeping on Mason — particularly when it comes to the run game — but with both of them back, and a full week of practice, does a lot to set them up for success this week against San Francisco.
3:02 p.m.: The Patriots have announced their inactive. Here’s the list, and here’s what it means:
Defensive tackle Carl Davis: Ruled out earlier this week because of a concussion.
Defensive back Kyle Dugger: The rookie safety was limited in practice all week with an ankle issue, and listed as questionable for the game on Saturday. It’ll be interesting to see how the Patriots replace him in the lineup — he’s been an impactful defender in the early stages of his career.
Quarterback Brian Hoyer: The veteran takes his second consecutive healthy scratch — youngster Jarrett Stidham will serve as the primary backup to Cam Newton.
Running back J.J. Taylor: The mighty-mite takes another healthy scratch. I’m a Taylor fan — he provided an offensive boost against the Raiders and Dolphins earlier in the season when things were lagging a bit. The thinking is that Damien Harris has taken many of his reps at this point, but the Patriots are also pretty deep at running back, so the rookie is fundamentally the odd man out at this point.
Tight end Devin Asiasi: The rookie is a healthy scratch. It does, however, give fellow rookie Dalton Keene the chance to possibly see his first action of the 2020 season.
Defensive back Myles Bryant: Another healthy scratch — like Taylor at running back, a simple victim of personnel, as the Patriots are fairly deep in the secondary as well.
As for who is good to go, this week will mark the return of center David Andrews (hand) and guard Shaq Mason (calf). Their presence up front should provide a big boost for the New England offensive line, and the offense as a whole. In addition, Keene, who has been inactive for the first five weeks of the season, is available for the first time this afternoon, giving some additional depth at the tight end spot.
3:00 p.m.: Welcome back to football! The Patriots and Niners will square off Sunday at 4:25, with Cam Newton going against old pal Jimmy Garoppolo. Keep it here all afternoon long for the latest from Foxborough, with weather updates, betting news, inactive analysis (which should be along shortly), and a whole lot more. But we’ll kick things off with our pregame reading list:
Chad Finn: It’s not Tom Brady vs. Jimmy Garoppolo, but this is a big game for the Patriots and 49ers
Bill Belichick, Julian Edelman happy to have normal practice week
Deion Branch wasn’t happy about being left off the Patriots’ All-Dynasty team
What NFL experts are predicting for Sunday’s Patriots-49ers game
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