NFL Score: New England Patriots Defeat San Francisco 49ers With Big Game From Tom Brady

Considering how long that he has been in the NFL, Sunday was the first time that Tom Brady played a professional game in the Bay Area. The legendary quarterback rooted for the San Francisco 49ers growing up. He actually wanted to be drafted by the team. On Sunday afternoon, Brady led the New England Patriots to a victory over the Niners, as reported by ESPN.

Tom Brady's 4th TD of the day. @money_mitch26's first TD of his career. #NEvsSF https://t.co/nBGTVOXpFy

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 21, 2016

While he might never admit it publicly, Tom Brady was probably pretty upset that the San Francisco 49ers overlooked him during the NFL Draft in 2000. They could have made his dream come true by being able to wear the same jersey as Joe Montana, his idol. Instead, the Niners opted to go with Giovanni Carmazzi, a quarterback from Hofstra that they selected in the third round.

Interestingly enough, the San Francisco 49ers were definitely looking for a quarterback in the NFL Draft that year. After Tom Brady was selected by the New England Patriots, the Niners chose Tim Rattay from Louisiana Tech in the seventh round. The franchise completely neglected Brady that year.

Whatever angst that Tom Brady had from all those years ago, he utilized that as motivation on Sunday by throwing four touchdowns against the San Francisco 49ers.

With Tom Brady on a roll, a quartet of New England Patriots receivers benefited greatly on Sunday. Danny Amendola, Malcolm Mitchell, Julian Edelman, and James White all caught touchdown passes from the former Michigan Wolverines star.

The victory was something that the New England Patriots were really hoping for after losing to the Seattle Seahawks last week. While head coach Bill Belichick is friendly with Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, it really bugged the team to lose against one of the legitimate candidates from the NFC. A rematch between the two teams in the Super Bowl is still a high possibility this season.

With the San Francisco 49ers being stuck in a rebuilding period, a lot of their former fans are no longer as supportive as before. That is why Levi’s Stadium was filled with fans of the New England Patriots. That gave them somewhat of a home field advantage despite being more than a thousand miles from home.

The odds of winning the game were heavily against the San Francisco 49ers to begin with. However, the team might be better off losing the rest of the way so that they can get a higher pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.

The odds of winning were also reduced for Colin Kaepernick because the San Francisco 49ers offensive line were simply not able to protect their quarterback. Five different New England Patriots defensive players were able to get sacks on Kaepernick. Patrick Chung, Malcolm Butler, Kyle Van Noy, Dont’a Hightower, and Rob Ninkovich all recorded a sack against the Niners on Sunday.

With the victory, the New England Patriots are now sitting on an 8-2 record, which puts them on top of the AFC East. Though the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills can mathematically still catch up in the division, the belief is that the Patriots will carry their momentum to yet another division crown and a deep run in the NFL Playoffs.

With the loss, the San Francisco 49ers fall to a 1-9 record, which means that they have a good chance at selecting their quarterback of the future in the upcoming NFL Draft. Even though Colin Kaepernick has shown some improvement since regaining his starting spot from Blaine Gabbert, the belief is that the enigmatic quarterback and the Niners will be parting ways after the season.

[Featured Image by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images]