San Francisco 49ers vs. New England Patriots: 2020 Week 7 Recap

Game story

In Week 7 of the 2020 NFL season on 2020-10-25, the San Francisco 49ers took care of business against the New England Patriots, pulling away with a 33–6 final that controlled the game from start to finish.

The highest-scoring period was Q2 with 19 combined points — the stretch that most shaped the final margin.

J. Garoppolo (San Francisco 49ers) paced the passing game, with +16.87 total EPA, and +8.2% completion percentage over expected.

On the individual side, J. Garoppolo (San Francisco 49ers) delivered the top overall EPA impact at +16.87 — the clearest player-of-the-game signal on the analytics sheet.

The momentum swing (-10.2% win probability) landed in the second quarter when New England Patriots changed the game: (8:55) 1-C.Newton pass short left intended for 16-J.Meyers INTERCEPTED by 54-F.Warner at NE 41. 54-F.Warner to NE 38 for 3 yards (16-J.Meyers).

Line score

Final score and points by quarter.

Stars of the game

Top performers by total expected points added (EPA) across passing, rushing, and receiving.

1. 1 J. Garoppolo · San Francisco 49ers · Passing · +16.87 total EPA · 27 snaps · +0.62 EPA/play
2. 2 B. Aiyuk · San Francisco 49ers · Receiving · +8.21 total EPA · 7 snaps · +1.17 EPA/play
3. 3 J. Wilson · San Francisco 49ers · Rushing · +6.84 total EPA · 18 snaps · +0.38 EPA/play
4. 4 D. Samuel · San Francisco 49ers · Receiving · +4.83 total EPA · 5 snaps · +0.97 EPA/play
5. 5 G. Kittle · San Francisco 49ers · Receiving · +3.09 total EPA · 7 snaps · +0.44 EPA/play
6. 6 K. Juszczyk · San Francisco 49ers · Rushing · +2.07 total EPA · 4 snaps · +0.52 EPA/play
7. 7 J. Hasty · San Francisco 49ers · Rushing · +1.80 total EPA · 9 snaps · +0.20 EPA/play
8. 8 D. Harris · New England Patriots · Rushing · +1.72 total EPA · 10 snaps · +0.17 EPA/play

Player of the game

FantasyHQ analytics player-of-the-game pick based on total EPA and signature plays.

Who scored touchdowns and field goals

Every touchdown and field goal with the player named in official play-by-play.

Touchdowns

• San Francisco 49ers — J. Wilson (Q1 55:02)
• San Francisco 49ers — K. Juszczyk (Q2 36:28)
• San Francisco 49ers — J. Wilson (Q2 31:04)
• San Francisco 49ers — J. Wilson (Q3 22:38)

Field goals

• New England Patriots — N. Folk (Q2 45:00)
• San Francisco 49ers — R. Gould (Q2 39:05)
• New England Patriots — N. Folk (Q3 25:53)
• San Francisco 49ers — R. Gould (Q4 13:31)

How it unfolded, quarter by quarter

A quarter-by-quarter recap built from live scoring plays and play descriptions.

The opening quarter: San Francisco 49ers won the period 7–0. San Francisco 49ers found the end zone from the NE 3 (Q1 55:02) — (10:02) (Shotgun) 30-J.Wilson up the middle for 3 yards, TOUCHDOWN.; San Francisco 49ers added 1 points from the NE 15 (Q1 54:56) — 9-R.Gould extra point is GOOD, Center-46-T.Pepper, Holder-6-M.Wishnowsky..

The second quarter: San Francisco 49ers won the period 16–3. New England Patriots connected on a field goal from the SF 22 (Q2 45:00) — (15:00) 6-N.Folk 40 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-49-J.Cardona, Holder-7-J.Bailey.; San Francisco 49ers connected on a field goal from the NE 23 (Q2 39:05) — (9:05) 9-R.Gould 41 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-46-T.Pepper, Holder-6-M.Wishnowsky.; San Francisco 49ers found the end zone from the NE 4 (Q2 36:28) — (6:28) 44-K.Juszczyk left guard for 4 yards, TOUCHDOWN.; San Francisco 49ers found the end zone from the NE 16 (Q2 31:04) — (1:04) 30-J.Wilson right tackle for 16 yards, TOUCHDOWN.; San Francisco 49ers added 1 points from the NE 15 (Q2 30:59) — 9-R.Gould extra point is GOOD, Center-46-T.Pepper, Holder-6-M.Wishnowsky..

The third quarter: San Francisco 49ers won the period 7–3. New England Patriots connected on a field goal from the SF 23 (Q3 25:53) — (10:53) 6-N.Folk 41 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-49-J.Cardona, Holder-7-J.Bailey.; San Francisco 49ers found the end zone from the NE 7 (Q3 22:38) — (7:38) 30-J.Wilson left end for 7 yards, TOUCHDOWN. SF-30-J.Wilson was injured during the play. He is Out.; San Francisco 49ers added 1 points from the NE 15 (Q3 22:32) — 9-R.Gould extra point is GOOD, Center-46-T.Pepper, Holder-6-M.Wishnowsky..

The fourth quarter: San Francisco 49ers won the period 3–0. San Francisco 49ers connected on a field goal from the NE 14 (Q4 13:31) — (13:31) 9-R.Gould 32 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-46-T.Pepper, Holder-6-M.Wishnowsky..

Turning points

Plays that moved win probability the most — the swings that decided the game.

• New England Patriots (Q2 38:55) — (8:55) 1-C.Newton pass short left intended for 16-J.Meyers INTERCEPTED by 54-F.Warner at NE 41. 54-F.Warner to NE 38 for 3 yards (16-J.Meyers). [WPA -10.2% · EPA -4.65]
• San Francisco 49ers (Q1 47:14) — (2:14) (Shotgun) 10-J.Garoppolo pass deep middle intended for 85-G.Kittle INTERCEPTED by 32-D.McCourty at NE 44. 32-D.McCourty to SF 37 for 19 yards (28-J.McKinnon). PENALTY on NE-50-C.Winovich, Unnec [WPA -7.1% · EPA -2.67]
• San Francisco 49ers (Q1 57:26) — (12:26) (Shotgun) 10-J.Garoppolo pass short left to 19-D.Samuel pushed ob at NE 34 for 23 yards (32-D.McCourty). [WPA +6.8% · EPA +1.56]
• San Francisco 49ers (Q1 49:41) — (4:41) (Shotgun) 10-J.Garoppolo pass short middle to 11-B.Aiyuk to SF 37 for 19 yards (31-J.Jones, 32-D.McCourty). [WPA +6.7% · EPA +2.27]
• San Francisco 49ers (Q1 50:58) — (5:58) (Shotgun) 10-J.Garoppolo pass short right to 85-G.Kittle pushed ob at SF 25 for 14 yards (24-S.Gilmore). [WPA +6.0% · EPA +2.49]

Impact plays

Highest expected-points added snaps that flipped field position and scoring chances.

• New England Patriots (Q2 38:55) — (8:55) 1-C.Newton pass short left intended for 16-J.Meyers INTERCEPTED by 54-F.Warner at NE 41. 54-F.Warner to NE 38 for 3 yards (16-J.Meyers). [WPA -10.2% · EPA -4.65]
• New England Patriots (Q3 19:56) — (4:56) (Shotgun) 1-C.Newton pass short middle intended for 11-J.Edelman INTERCEPTED by 47-J.Taylor at SF 23. 47-J.Taylor to SF 31 for 8 yards (16-J.Meyers). [WPA -0.6% · EPA -4.63]
• New England Patriots (Q4 9:28) — (9:28) (Shotgun) 4-J.Stidham pass short right intended for 11-J.Edelman INTERCEPTED by 47-J.Taylor at SF 18. 47-J.Taylor to SF 18 for no gain (11-J.Edelman). [WPA +0.0% · EPA -4.21]
• San Francisco 49ers (Q3 23:12) — (8:12) (Shotgun) 10-J.Garoppolo pass deep right to 11-B.Aiyuk ran ob at NE 7 for 35 yards. [WPA +1.2% · EPA +3.38]

Quarterback report card

J.Garoppolo led all passers in efficiency for San Francisco 49ers, setting the tone in the passing game according to FantasyHQ analytics.

• J.Garoppolo (San Francisco 49ers) · 27 dropbacks · 74.1% completion · +8.2% CPOE · +0.62 EPA/play · +16.87 total EPA
• C.Newton (New England Patriots) · 20 dropbacks · 45.0% completion · -1.6% CPOE · -0.60 EPA/play · -12.03 total EPA

Team stats comparison

Side-by-side offensive and defensive efficiency from FantasyHQ analytics.

By the numbers

Despite the final score, San Francisco 49ers generated the better offensive EPA per play (+0.27 vs -0.19), suggesting they moved the ball more efficiently.

• New England Patriots: 9 drives, -12.09 total EPA, 2 scoring drives
• San Francisco 49ers: 9 drives, +20.99 total EPA, 6 scoring drives

Key takeaways

What to remember for fantasy research, film review, and follow-up box score digging.

• San Francisco 49ers leaves with the win and the better postgame narrative for Week-to-week momentum.
• J. Garoppolo (San Francisco 49ers) is the first name to pull up for highlight reels and prop-retrospective research.
• J. Garoppolo (SF) beat expectation through the air — positive CPOE game for stack builds.

Every scoring play

Chronological scoring with field position and full play-by-play context.

1. San Francisco 49ers TD (+6) — Q1 55:02 · NE 3 · Score 6-0
   (10:02) (Shotgun) 30-J.Wilson up the middle for 3 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
2. San Francisco 49ers XP (+1) — Q1 54:56 · NE 15 · Score 7-0
   9-R.Gould extra point is GOOD, Center-46-T.Pepper, Holder-6-M.Wishnowsky.
3. New England Patriots FG (+3) — Q2 45:00 · SF 22 · Score 7-3
   (15:00) 6-N.Folk 40 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-49-J.Cardona, Holder-7-J.Bailey.
4. San Francisco 49ers FG (+3) — Q2 39:05 · NE 23 · Score 10-3
   (9:05) 9-R.Gould 41 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-46-T.Pepper, Holder-6-M.Wishnowsky.
5. San Francisco 49ers TD (+6) — Q2 36:28 · NE 4 · Score 16-3
   (6:28) 44-K.Juszczyk left guard for 4 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
6. San Francisco 49ers TD (+6) — Q2 31:04 · NE 16 · Score 22-3
   (1:04) 30-J.Wilson right tackle for 16 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
7. San Francisco 49ers XP (+1) — Q2 30:59 · NE 15 · Score 23-3
   9-R.Gould extra point is GOOD, Center-46-T.Pepper, Holder-6-M.Wishnowsky.
8. New England Patriots FG (+3) — Q3 25:53 · SF 23 · Score 23-6
   (10:53) 6-N.Folk 41 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-49-J.Cardona, Holder-7-J.Bailey.
9. San Francisco 49ers TD (+6) — Q3 22:38 · NE 7 · Score 29-6
   (7:38) 30-J.Wilson left end for 7 yards, TOUCHDOWN. SF-30-J.Wilson was injured during the play. He is Out.
10. San Francisco 49ers XP (+1) — Q3 22:32 · NE 15 · Score 30-6
    9-R.Gould extra point is GOOD, Center-46-T.Pepper, Holder-6-M.Wishnowsky.
11. San Francisco 49ers FG (+3) — Q4 13:31 · NE 14 · Score 33-6
    (13:31) 9-R.Gould 32 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-46-T.Pepper, Holder-6-M.Wishnowsky.