Matt Cassel gets good protection as he passes in the second half.

The Providence Journal / Gretchen Ertl

SAN FRANCISCO -- If you were to take one snapshot to remember the New England Patriots' first-ever win in Candlestick Park against the San Francisco 49ers, it would have to be a team picture.

Not one play really stands above the others, no one player played a larger role in the victory than the rest, the offense or defense didn't carry the day.

The photo might be a little fuzzy around the edges. New England had a few hiccups early but for the most part, the Patriots' flaws were hard to spot.

Third-down defense? New England allowed San Francisco to convert just one of nine.

Third-down offense? The Pats kept their drives rolling on eight of 17 opportunities.

Rushing offense? That four-headed back known as Sammy Morris-Laurence Maroney-Kevin Faulk-LaMont Jordan combined for 137 yards.

Rushing defense? New England held Frank Gore, who came into the game as the NFL's leader in yards from scrimmage, to 54 yards on 12 carries and another 24 on four catches.

Getting Randy Moss involved? Done, to the tune of five receptions for 111 yards, including one pretty 66-yard touchdown.

And when all of the pieces came together, the picture that was left was a 30-21 victory, the Pats' sixth straight win coming off the bye week and their first victory in San Francisco in five tries.

"I think from here on out, all of our wins will have to be team wins," said Ellis Hobbs, who once again gave the Pats a field-position advantage with his kickoff returns. "Every game will be down-to-the-wire, situational football. We're not going to blow teams out; we have to earn it every time."

That was the case Sunday, as New England had some early issues on defense that the Patriots blamed on miscommunications. The mistakes put the Patriots in a 14-7 hole at the end of the first quarter.

The teams traded interceptions early in the game. Matt Cassel had his arm pulled as he was looking deep for Moss, leaving the pass well short for Niners linebacker Takeo Spikes. Shortly after that, Brandon Meriweather made a great tip-and-pick on a deep pass intended for Delanie Walker. But the Patriots couldn't pick up a first down, and after a fine punt return by Nate Clements put them on the Patriots 30, the 49ers took advantage of a short field.

They moved the ball to the 16-yard line with some help from a holding penalty agaisnt Deltha O'Neal. Then, on first down, J.T. O'Sullivan was smacked by Adalius Thomas, but still got the ball away to Gore, who had Hobbs draped on him. Gore made the touchdown catch for the first points of the afternoon.

New England countered with the 66-yard touchdown from Cassel to Moss, which came on third and 8. Moss blew past Clements and Walt Harris and had tremendous separation when Cassel's ball came in right on the money. It was Moss' second score of the year and the longest completion of Cassel's career.

But on the 49ers' ensuing possession, a 36-yard pass to a wide-open Isaac Bruce and Gore's longest run of the day led to Bruce's six-yard touchdown from O'Sullivan.

After allowing San Francisco 96 total yards and five first downs in the first quarter, the Pats gave up just 103 and seven the rest of the way.

"It was communication problems," said Thomas. "We talked about what they wanted to do, the concepts they were running. [But] once we got our communication down, that's when it saw us settle down."

Bill Belichick credited the offense's ability to sustain drives with helping out the team's defense.

"Defensively it's always good when you don't have to play, and we were able to make adjustments, which is always tough with [San Francisco coordinator Mike] Martz's offense. He gave us some formations, some shifting, some looks that were a little difficult to deal with, so that really helped us defensively. Because our offense was able to stay out on the field, it gave us time to talk over stuff and give our pass rushers a bit of a breather. Chasing O'Sullivan was tough today."

O'Sullivan, the former Patriots' practice squad member, was called "slippery" by a few of the New England players, who had to run a few extra yards as they chased him all over the grass. Though O'Sullivan was frequently under pressure, he was sacked just once.

Where the Patriots' defense did get the best of O'Sullivan was when he was throwing: they had three interceptions, all of them acrobatic, by Meriweather, Rodney Harrison and Deltha O'Neal.

New England took the lead for good just before halftime, as Cassel moved the offense 80 yards in just under three minutes, finishing with a two-yard burst from Kevin Faulk.

"That was a good win for our football team today," Belichick said, allowing a smile afterward. "I was really proud of the way they played. It was a good team win."

So take that team picture from Sunday and file it away; but if the Pats are to keep winning, you'll probably have a few more for the scrapbook.

smanza@projo.com