Brissett gave this message to Patriots teammates after loss vs. 49ers

Brissett gave this message to Patriots teammates after loss vs. 49ers originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The New England Patriots suffered their third straight loss of the 2024 NFL season on Sunday.

The final score read 30-13 in favor of the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium, but the reality is the game was even more lopsided than what the scoreboard might suggest.

The Patriots offense again found it difficult to move the ball and score points. New England also committed three turnovers, including two by starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett (a pick-6 and a fumble). The offensive line continued to struggle and allowed six sacks and 10 QB hits.

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said in his postgame press conference that Brissett spoke to the team after the loss. What was the veteran quarterback’s message?

“That it’s a long season, to be hopeful,” Brissett told reporters, as seen in the video player above. “When we started this climb, we never thought it was going to be this escalator going up automatically. We knew there were going to be bumps on the road. We were gonna get knocked down, and be tired, and be hurt. But that doesn’t stop the climb, it just puts a little adversity in the climb.

“I told the guys that’s what we’re built for in this room. We have the men in this room that — you go back and look at a lot of these guys’ stories and how they got into that room, it wasn’t easy to get there. And to reflect on that and understand that this is a long season. As much as we can hold our head, no one is going to come and save us and pick our head up for us, we gotta do it ourselves.”

The Patriots’ upcoming schedule isn’t too difficult.

Up next is a matchup against the Miami Dolphins next Sunday at Gillette Stadium. The Dolphins could start Tyler Huntley or Tim Boyle at quarterback with Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) on injured reserve. Miami hasn’t scored a touchdown since Tagovailoa left the Week 2 loss against the Buffalo Bills.

The Houston Texans are a tough Week 6 matchup, but not an unbeatable opponent. The London game in Week 7 against the Jacksonville Jaguars is very winnable. The Jaguars have been one of the league’s most disappointing teams at 0-4. The three games after that are against the New York Jets, Tennessee Titans and Chicago Bears — not exactly a group of contenders.

So, while the Patriots have a boatload of issues to address — primarily on offense — there are opportunities on the schedule to pick up wins over the next five or six weeks. The Patriots started 1-3 in 2021 and finished 10-7. They were 1-3 in 2022 and ended up 8-9. Can they make a similar push this season?