A win is a win, and that’s exactly what the San Francisco 49ers did on Sunday. The 49ers ended their two-game losing skid with a 30–13 win in Week 4 over the New England Patriots.

After not looking quite normal over the past few games, the 49ers returned to something resembling the form expected from one of the better teams in the NFC. With two fewer plays than the Patriots and a nearly 50/50 split in possession, San Francisco outgained New England by more than 200 yards and dominated both sides of the ball.

However, this was not without some mistakes. Brock Purdy threw an interception while a fumble was lost on another special teams blunder.

Overall, the 49ers are on the right side of the win column and have a lot of positives to take away.

This week’s edition of the Fred Warner Show

Maybe we should do a weekly feature on Fred Warner. The all-world linebacker finished with seven tackles, a pass deflection and an interception returned for a touchdown, which will go down as another outstanding Warner performance.

Oh yeah, that was all in the first half because Warner missed the second half with an ankle injury.

The 49ers offense had two excellent chances to score touchdowns, but could only convert on a pair of field goals to start the game. With New England facing a third down, quarterback Jacoby Brissett fired a pass to wide receiver Tyquan Thornton that would have gotten the first down. A leaping Warner would pull the ball down out of bounds, falling to the ground with the ball, before getting up and sending the ball back 45 yards to finally break the seal on the end zone.

With San Francisco now up by two scores, New England responded by putting together its best drive of the game. An 11-play, 50-yard drive found the Patriots offense on a fourth-and-1 with a chance for another set of downs inside the red zone. Rhamondre Stevenson tried to get the first through the middle but was met by Warner at the line of scrimmage, allowing Ji’Ayir Brown to fly in and finish the tackle and the New England drive. The offense would commit the turnover on downs and score a touchdown to go up 20-0.

Warner played only half, but made two impact plays that led to points. With the end of the first quarter of the season, Warner has made his case not only for Defensive Player of the Year, but also for Most Valuable Player.

Game drive

I wanted to avoid awarding the same award for weeks, but a ride on Sunday forced me to do so. The San Francisco 49ers – with a lot of help from the referees – scored three touchdowns on a single drive. How can that not be the drive of the game?

Purdy took over after Warner and Brown combined to stop the Patriots on fourth down and started the drive by connecting on a quick 11-yard run with George Kittle. A few plays later, Purdy found Jauan Jennings 32 yards deep over the middle, putting the offense into plus territory.

Then the referees decided to get involved.

Jordan Mason took a Purdy pass and caused Marco Wilson to miss the first tackle before turning upfield and reaching the end zone with some help from a Kittle block. But as Mason passed Kittle, the linesman fired a flag straight at Mason, meaning Kittle was held. The thing is, there was no holding on. Kittle protested in vain and the points were wiped off the board.

Several plays later, the side judge threw a flag to the right when the ball was snapped on a play in which Purdy used his feet to keep the play alive before finding Kyle Juszczyk for a touchdown. The flag was announced for an illegal shift, where two players were moving without being reset. The replay would only show Jauan Jennings in motion, which was set before the snap.

After the second score was wiped out, the 49ers would finally get their touchdown with an emphatic play for the score. On a third down, Purdy lofted a ball for Kittle to go up and get up and go up and get, which he did:

One drive, three scores. Unfortunately, it only counts as one for the 49ers, but the score extended the lead to 20.

Special teams get scared

With September coming to an end and the spookiest months ahead, San Francisco’s special teams decided to ditch their weekly scares to welcome the spooky season.

With New England starting the game with the ball, the 49ers offense should have gotten the ball to start the second half. The offense would have even had a chance to extend the lead to four scores with the opening drive of the second, but they never got that chance.

Issac Guerendo had the ball knocked out of his hands on the return by Christian Eliss, who would then jump on the ball to give New England’s offense an extra chance with excellent field position. It would take five plays, but the New England offense would indeed cash in as Brissett found Austin Hooper for a touchdown, cutting the San Francisco lead to ten.

The fumble gave New England free points and some momentum to open the second half. Well, they had that momentum for about five minutes. That is until…

Brock Purdy went for the jugular

Not wanting to give Guerendo another chance, Shanahan sent back Deebo Samuel and Patrick Taylor to return the ensuing kick-off. Not wanting to give the 49ers a chance to get back, Patriots kicker Joey Slye put the kickoff in the end zone for a touchback.

Purdy wasted no time in taking the momentum back from New England. On the opening play of the drive, Purdy uncorked a rope about 45 yards downfield to a streaking Samuel, who reeled it in for a 55-yard gain. Mason would score on a four-yard run three plays later, extending the 49ers’ lead to 17.

That drive led to an unusual sequence, with two of the 49ers making deep shots on two of the next three drives. On the drive following the Mason touchdown, Purdy targeted Chris Conley with a deep shot, but Conley tripped at the end of the route, resulting in an incompletion. Two drives after that, Purdy would find Jauan Jennings deep for a gain of 45 to open the drive before Purdy would throw his only interception.

Big plays were key for the 49ers, with six plays gaining 20 or more yards on Sunday.