Five 49ers to watch in Sunday’s game vs. rebuilding Patriots

Five 49ers to watch in Sunday’s game vs. rebuilding Patriots originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The 49ers opened last NFL season on fire, winning their first five games before going into a three-game tailspin.

This year, the rough patch has come early.

Now, the 49ers are in desperate need of a victory after back-to-back poor performances in losses to the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams.

The seriousness of the situation is not lost on quarterback Brock Purdy, as the 49ers took to bounce back against the New England Patriots on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.

“Every game matters, every play matters, every drive matters,” Purdy said.

“All of it matters, and it ties together. But more than anything, we have a standard here, and that’s what we’re focused on every single day. We hold each other to that standard and we’re hard on ourselves, but that’s, I think, why this is a successful organization.”

In order for the 49ers to experience success Sunday, these are five players who must step up to the challenge:

Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell

Coach Kyle Shanahan suggested a change could be in the works at linebacker.

Veteran De’Vondre Campbell, whom the 49ers signed in the offseason to take Dre Greenlaw’s spot while he’s out, has been a liability in pass coverage.

The 49ers started to work Dee Winters into the mix last week, but he aggravated an ankle sprain, and his status for Sunday remains in question.

“We want to keep working to get the best guys out there and Dee has had a good camp and he showed that he deserves the chance to push him (Campbell),” Shanahan said.

Campbell allowed 14 receptions on 16 targets for 149 yards and one touchdown in the first three games, according to PFF. He was also called for a critical pass-interference penalty of 25 yards that moved the Rams into position for the game-winning field goal.

If Campbell is on the field on third downs, the Patriots will make it a point to exploit this area of the 49ers’ third-down defense.

Running back Jordan Mason

Christian McCaffrey has not stepped on the field at the start of the season, but the 49ers’ running game has not been negatively impacted.

And that’s all because of Jordan Mason’s hard-charging style.

Mason has made the first three starts of his NFL career, and he has responded with 324 yards on 67 carries. He already has set career-highs in those statistical areas.

The 49ers will certainly feature Mason again on Sunday, as they look to pick up yards on early downs to set up third-and-manageable situations for Purdy and the offense.

The area where the 49ers have felt the loss of McCaffrey is in the passing game. Mason has worked hard on that aspect of his game, but he has only four receptions for 20 yards in three games. Three of his catches have gone for first downs.

Once Mason gets more comfortable running routes and catching passes out of the backfield, perhaps, the 49ers’ confidence in him will grow and he can be schemed up to have mismatches against opposing linebackers.

Safety Talanoa Hufanga

Talanoa Hufanga is in his second game back after returning to the lineup in Week 3 following a 10-month recovery from ACL surgery.

Hufanga has been a playmaker in the 49ers’ secondary since he moved into a full-time starting role in 2022. He has 31 career starts and seven interceptions.

While Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett is not likely to give the 49ers’ defensive backs a lot of chances for takeaways, Hufanga and fellow safety Ji’Ayir Brown have to avoid giving up the big play.

The 49ers have struggled against the deep ball. In the past two games, they have surrendered a 97-yard touchdown pass, a 50-yarder and committed a 48-yard pass interference penalty.

Hufanga’s return to the lineup gives the 49ers’ secondary some stability, and now he has to play a role in tightening up the team’s pass defense.

Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk

The Patriots wanted to acquire Brandon Aiyuk in a trade and were prepared to pay him top dollar. But, as we all found out later, Aiyuk had no intention of accepting a new contract with any team other than the 49ers.

First-year Patriots coach Jerod Mayo addressed the Aiyuk situation during a radio interview in August without mentioning Aiyuk specifically.

“When we start to win games, guys will want to come here,” Mayo said.

Aiyuk has gotten off to a slow start after signing a five-year, $134.1 million contract with the 49ers just prior to the start of the regular season. He averaged 83.9 yards receiving per game last year. Through the first three games, his average is a pedestrian 39.7 yards per game.

The Patriots will want to make sure Aiyuk does not have a get-well game on Sunday.

Meanwhile, it’s about time that Aiyuk’s stat sheet begins to reflect his contract.

Deebo Samuel was the 49ers’ top receiver in the first two games. When Samuel was out of the lineup in Week 3, Jauan Jennings stepped up and caught 11 passes for 175 yards and three TDs.

The Patriots feature a promising young cornerback, Christian Gonzalez, who sustained a season-ending shoulder injury just four games into his rookie season last year. In three games, Gonzalez has played well, allowing 13 catches on 20 targets for just 79 yards.

Defensive end Nick Bosa

Veteran edge Leonard Floyd has been blanked in each of the past two games with a total of just one quarterback hurry in the games against Minnesota and the Los Angeles Rams. That’s not what the 49ers were expecting when they signed Floyd to a two-year, $20 million contract.

So until other guys on the 49ers’ defensive line get going, it looks as if their top player is going to have to put even more on his shoulders.

The Patriots have their issues at left tackle, where three different players have started in their first three games. It looks as if Demontrey Jacobs will make the start on Sunday.

Regardless of which player the Patriots have at left tackle, this is a matchup Bosa must exploit.

Bosa will undoubtedly face a variety of double-teams as the Patriots must try to prevent him from wrecking the game. But Bosa is the highest-paid player on the team, and he has to find a way to leave his imprint on this game.

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