The New England Patriots offense had its fair share of struggles through the first three weeks of the season, but still managed to keep turnovers to a minimum. In total, the team gave away the football only once in 178 offensive actions.

In that regard, Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers was a negative change. The Patriots gave up three turnovers en route to losing their Week 4 matchup by a final score of 30-13.

Afterwards, the team denounced its inability to hold onto the ball.

“We don’t have a team that can lose the turnover battle and expect to win a football game,” head coach Jerod Mayo said. “We have to do better with turnover; we have to do better with the negative game situations.”

The first turnover of the day came in the first quarter, when running back Rhamondre Stevenson had his fourth fumble in as many games. The 49ers recovered and five plays later kicked a field goal to take a 6–0 lead.

To make matters worse for New England, quarterback Jacoby Brissett threw an interception on the next drive that was returned 45 yards for a touchdown by 49ers linebacker Fred Warner. That put the team in a 13-0 hole – a deficit that was apparently too big to overcome for an offense that averaged 13 points per game in Week 4.

“We cannot recognize those two turnover figures; We can’t put our defense in such a bad position,” Brissett said after the game. “I think it starts there, and then it comes back to the basics and the execution. We really beat ourselves. We start driving and then something happens.’

“No one is a good enough team to let them score twice; one is a touchdown and you actually give them another touchdown,” Hunter Henry added tightly. “We are not built to turn the ball over; no one is in this league. When you give free gifts, it’s very difficult.

In addition to the first half turnover, the Patriots suffered another in the fourth quarter when Brissett was sacked. The game was effectively over at that point, but that third giveaway still robbed the team of a chance for a late score.

As a result, New England ultimately lost the turnover battle for the second week in a row. The tem is now even in the plus/minus section of the year.

“Obviously we’re not good enough to play against ourselves and the defense,” Brissett said. “We just have to start practicing again, go back to the drawing boards and keep getting better at it.”