We're 30 minutes into the game, and the Patriots are facing their largest deficit of the season. But here's a question: What's been worse, the Patriots' offensive execution or the refereeing?
The Patriots have been simply awful on offense. They haven't developed any time of rhythm, haven't protected Tom Brady, have dropped passes, and receivers haven't been able to get open. The team has two turnovers, and have yet to convert a single third down. No, I'm not kidding. The New England Patriots have yet to convert a single third down.
Defensively, things have also been rough. The Patriots are letting receivers run open down the field and have struggled to keep containment on the edge against Colin Kaepernick.
Of course, I couldn't discuss the first half without mentioning some of the awful calls that have gone against the Patriots - the 49ers of which have clearly been on the benefit on multiple occasions, but the Patriots as well. Ed Hochuli has no control of the game, and he has truly disrupted any type of rhythm that the Patriots would have been able to establish. However, the Patriots have been outright outplayed by the 49ers, so putting the blame on the referees isn't the correct thing to do. But, I think it's safe to say that the refs haven't been a help to New England.
There's still 30 minutes of football to play, so it's hard to count the Patriots out. But facing a 14 point deficit at the half, things don't look good at this point.