The San Francisco 49ers finally got a much-needed victory at home on Sunday night after knocking off the visiting Los Angeles Rams 24-16. They entered the game as underdogs for the first time this season. That will continue heading into Week 7 when San Francisco heads on the road to face the New England Patriots.
The Patriots are coming off of their second consecutive loss after the visiting Denver Broncos beat them 18-12 in Foxborough.
New England opened as 2.5-point favorites (O/U 45.5) in the upcoming matchup against San Francisco, according to BetMGM. The Patriots own a 2-3 record while the 49ers sit at 3-3.
The 49ers feel as though the team is on its way to finding its identity this season, which will help during the upcoming difficult stretch of games.
"We're definitely moving in the right direction," quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said after beating the Rams. "I wouldn't say we're totally there yet. There's still a lot of football left in the season, but how we finished this game, it felt a lot like last year, just how we were controlling the clock at the end of the game, running the ball, converting third downs. That's when we really put teams away, and that's what we did tonight."
Sunday's game will be a reunion for Garoppolo, who played his first three-and-a-half NFL seasons in New England, learning from Tom Brady and Bill Belichick before a trade sent him to San Francisco in 2017. Brady, the future Hall of Fame quarterback that Garoppolo was once slated to replace, is gone, but Belichick is still there.
"It will be cool to get back to the old stomping grounds, see some familiar faces," Garoppolo said. "But we'll enjoy this one tonight, get on the film for the Patriots and everything tomorrow, and this win will definitely give us a little momentum. But next week is going to be another dogfight."
The 49ers and Patriots are scheduled to kick off on Sunday at 1:25 p.m. PT (4:25 p.m. ET) from Gillette Stadium.