49ers @ Pats

[Vin+ 3,121]

In his second season, Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to a Super Bowl victory after taking over as the starting quarterback during the year.

 

Colin Kaepernick is hoping to pull off the same feat with the San Francisco 49ers.

 

Brady leads the Patriots' top-ranked offense on Sunday night when they host Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers' No. 1 scoring defense in a battle of division leaders.

 

New England (10-3), which will try for its 14th straight win in December and 21st straight at home during the month, has already won the AFC East title and trails Houston by one game for the conference's top seed.

 

San Francisco (9-3-1) can win the NFC West on Sunday with a win and a Seattle loss to Buffalo.

 

"It's a great opportunity to go out and show what we're capable of," Kaepernick said. "They're going to give you a lot of different looks on defense. You just have to be ready for it."

 

While New England went 11-3 in 2001 after Brady replaced the injured Drew Bledsoe in Week 2, the 49ers have won three of Kaepernick's four starts since Alex Smith suffered a concussion against St. Louis on Nov. 11.

 

Kaepernick was 18 of 23 for 185 yards in a 27-13 win over Miami on Sunday. He's completed 67.4 percent of his passes as a starter and averaged 8.3 yards per attempt.

 

Kaepernick showed off his running ability with a late 50-yard touchdown to seal the victory over the Dolphins. He's already third among NFL quarterbacks with 351 yards on the ground - 7.6 per carry - and five rushing touchdowns.

 

"There are definitely things that we're doing that tailor the offense to his skill set," coach Jim Harbaugh said.

 

The Patriots have done plenty to tailor their prolific offense around Brady. A week after throwing just one touchdown pass as New England clinched the East in Miami, the two-time MVP threw for 296 yards and a season high-tying four TDs in a 42-14 rout of the Texans on Monday night.

 

Brady has thrown for 29 touchdowns and just four interceptions this season, including 19 with only one pick during the team's seven-game winning streak.

 

"It needs to come together now," Brady said. "This is the perfect time for it. We can't wait any longer."

 

After holding the Texans' imposing front seven to just one sack and keeping AFC sack leader J.J. Watt off the board, the Patriots face a San Francisco defense that features linebacker Aldon Smith, who has an NFL-high 19 1/2 sacks and is three shy of tying Michael Strahan's single-season record.

 

The 49ers lead the NFL in scoring defense (14.2 points per game), but the Patriots have the NFL's highest-scoring offense (36.3) and have put up 42 or more points in four of their past six games.

 

Brady will try to make the most of a banged-up receiving corps after Donte' Stallworth (ankle) and Julian Edelman (foot) were placed on injured reserve this week.

 

As a result, the team re-signed Deion Branch for the second time this season.

 

With tight end Rob Gronkowski also out with a broken forearm, Aaron Hernandez stepped up nicely with eight catches for 58 yards and two scores against Houston.

 

Stevan Ridley will try to continue to give the Patriots a solid option in the running game after scoring a touchdown in six consecutive contests.

 

The 49ers, though, have given up just three rushing scores - tied for the league lead. They're also tied for second in rushing defense at 90.8 yards per game.

 

"We're going to be able to see where we are as a defense," safety Donte Whitner said. "We understand who's going to have to win that football game, and we think it's going to be the defense."

 

The Patriots' defense has improved the past two weeks, allowing an average of 300.0 yards after yielding 390.2 yards per game through their first 11 contests.

 

The 49ers would love to get star tight end Vernon Davis more involved after he's totaled three catches for 19 yards in the last three games.

 

San Francisco, though, doesn't figure to shy away from its versatile running game. Behind 1,000-yard rusher Frank Gore, the 49ers rank second in the league at 161.5 yards per game.

 

They'll want to wear down the Patriots, who rank eighth against the run (100.8) after holding Houston's Arian Foster to 46 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.

 

"We know we're a good defense here," Patriots cornerback Devin McCourty said. "We know we've played really well the last couple of weeks and the biggest focus for us is just trying to build on that."

 

New England looks for its fourth straight victory against San Francisco, winning the last meeting 30-21 with Matt Cassel under center on Oct. 5, 2008.

 

Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press.

[housemd 338]

30

:Patriots: 31

[DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241]

31-14 Patriots

[BradyFan81 404]

:Patriots: 21

20

 

Let's go Pats

Edited December 17, 2012 by BradyFan81

[Vin+ 3,121]

Rob Gronkowski (forearm) is inactive for Week 15 against the 49ers.

 

As expected. The rest of New England's "questionable" gang — Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd — are all active. Gronk's Friday return to practice suggests he might suit up for Week 16, but Week 17 remains his most likely return date.

 

Also inactive for the Patriots are S Derrick Martin, LB Tracy White, OT Markus Zusevics, DE Jake Bequette and DT Ron Brace.

 

 

 

49ers declared WR Mario Manningham, LB Tavares Gooden, S Trenton Robinson, RB Jewel Hampton, G Joe Looney and NT Ian Williams inactive for Week 15 against the Patriots.

 

The absence is Manningham's second straight. A.J. Jenkins will again serve as the 49ers' No. 3 receiver. The first-round pick is still looking for his first career catch.

[Piggly Wiggly 960]

Watching the Pats attempt to play football tonight...

 

[SteVo+ 3,702]

What a football game.

[Thanatos 2,847]

What a football game.

 

Wow. Niners back up 7.

[OSUViking 505]

This is an awesome game!

[Piggly Wiggly 960]

They're not going to win, but I'm proud as fuck of this team for the ridiculous comeback they made tonight.

 

And lol @ Kyle Arrington. Most pathetic corner in the league right there. Nice effort trying to tackle Crabtree.

[funnygunny 521]

great game.

 

but wow, New England special teams needs to give Brady some space to move the ball down the field. what was that, like a hold on every punt return? lmao

[Bay 2,003]

:heat: :heat: :heat: :heat: :heat: :heat: :heat: :heat: :heat: :heat: :heat: :heat:

[Piggly Wiggly 960]

 

Bring it the fuck on.

[RazorStar 4,025]

Hah, you're fine. We're probably gonna choke against the Brownies or some shit.

[BradyFan81 404]

Guess we'll just have to beat Denver in Denver. No biggie.

[RazorStar 4,025]

The ideal scenario is that Denver gets the first seed and we don't even have to see New England this post season. Let Baltimore, Houston or someone else take care of you guys.

[funnygunny 521]

Houston shouldn't lose either of the next two games.

 

PATS VS BRONCOS FOR DIVISIONAL!!

[AllYouNeedIsLovie 377]

Awesome game. Props to the 49ers for going into New England and pulling out the win.

[FartWaffles 1,857]

Thank you San Francisco! They just made it a whole lot more realistic for the Texans to wrap up the #1 seed heading into the playoffs.

 

Also happy to see that Aldon did not register a sack, so Watt is now tied with him with 19.5 on the year.

[BradyFan81 404]

I hate this defense so much. Our 1st 3 draft picks next year HAVE to be on defense.

[Piggly Wiggly 960]

I hate this defense so much. Our 1st 3 draft picks next year HAVE to be on defense.

The defense is what kept the Pats in the game.

 

Pats turned the ball over FOUR times and it was on a short field almost every instance. Also didn't help that the kickoff coverage sucked on LaMichael James' 60+ yard return.