FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Rhamondre Stevenson was supposed to give the New England Patriots one position it didn’t have to worry about coming into the season.
The Patriots running back gained more than 1,000 yards in 2022 and was good enough over his first three years to earn a four-year, $36 million contract extension this summer. With journeyman Jacoby Brissett keeping the quarterback job warm for first-round draft pick Drake Maye, the Patriots figured to be handing the ball off a lot.
Stevenson rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown in the season-opening victory over Cincinnati and helped New England clinch the win with a pair of first downs in the final minutes. But he has had trouble holding onto the ball, and it’s becoming a crisis: He turned the ball over in the first quarter of New England's 30-13 loss to San Francisco on Sunday, giving the 49ers the ball on the Patriots 30 — his fourth straight game with a fumble.
“He has a target on his back as far as a guy that doesn’t have good ball security,” Patriots coach Jerod Mayo said. “He knows he has to improve that, and it’s not just for him. It’s for anyone that touches the football. We always talk about ball security equaling job security, and we just have to continue to develop that.”
Special teams helped New England avoid an even worse loss, with Joey Slye kicking a franchise-record 63-yard field goal at the end of the first half. That topped the previous Patriots record, a 62-yarder by Stephen Gostkowski in Mexico City in 2017. Slye’s kick ties for the fourth-longest in NFL history.
Christian Elliss forced a fumble on the second-half kickoff to give the Patriots the ball at the San Francisco 27 and set up their only touchdown. Elliss finished with a career-high three special teams tackles.
Bryce Baringer added a 61-yard punt in the second quarter, his 21st straight game with at least one punt of 50 yards or more — the longest active streak in the league.
The offensive line continues to be the Patriots’ biggest problem. A week after Brissett was sacked five times and hit 10, he was brought down six times and hit 10 in the 30-13 loss to San Francisco.
What’s worse: center David Andrews (shoulder) and tackle Caedan Wallace (ankle) left the game in the first half didn’t return.
Asked if they would go looking for reinforcements, Mayo said on Monday that he and player personnel boss Eliot Wolf “have those conversations all the time.”
“We’re going to meet today,” Mayo said.
Defensive end Keion White had five pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, giving him 14 the past three games.
Brissett has yet to throw for even 200 yards passing this season. He also had an interception — his first — and it was returned for a touchdown and lost a fumble. The Patriots are the only team in the NFL that hasn't completed a pass thrown over 20 yards downfield (they're 0 for 5).
Andrews, Wallace and safety Kyle Dugger (ankle) all left the 49ers game in the first half and didn’t return.
52 — The 52 points are the Patriots' fewest through four games since Bill Belichick’s first season in New England, 2000, when they scored only 51 through Week 4.
The Patriots host Miami on Sunday.