Two field goals and an extra point earns the 49ers a win. That’s it. Unfortunately, Jake Moody missed two field goals and an extra point and the Niners fall to 6 – 10. Last night’s game exemplified the season for the Niners. Despite key players injured coming into the game, the Niners showed glimpse of absolute offensive brilliance until the team fell apart midway thru the fourth quarter.
The Season
This year the 49ers have lost four fourth quarter leads. So, instead of 6-10 they could be 10-6. In my mind, there are three reasons for the Niners demise this season. First, the defense is a shell of itself. In hindsight, it appears firing Steve Wilks was a massive mistake. Under the leadership of Nick Sorensen, the 49ers have plummeted in every defensive statistical category.
In fairness, the 49ers defense has spent the season without Javon Hargrave and Dre Greenlaw who are two key cogs in the wheel to their success. They have also been rotating in safeties due to injury, and Charvarious Ward has been in and out of the line up due to injury, personal tragedy and most recently a personal triumph. Lastly, Nick Bosa and Fred Warner have played thru brutal injuries throughout the season, and they both have missed time.
The 49ers special team’s unit has been horrible this year. Jake Moody started the season about average and then suffered an injury on a bone headed play trying to make a tackle. Since he has been back from injury, he has been a liability. Other issues with special teams play stem from significant mental errors. Last night was one of the rare occasions the 49ers didn’t make a special team’s mental gaff.
Finally, the 49ers offense lost 3,365 yards and 28 touchdowns worth of offense when Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk were placed on injured reserve. Fourteen of those touchdowns were passes thrown by Brock Purdy. 1906 of those yards are passing yards. The 49ers lost their top two playmakers to injury to start the season. It is extraordinarily rare for any team to overcome such a loss of personnel.
Some may say that Brock Purdy has regressed. I disagree. Last year he threw 11 interceptions. This year he has thrown 12 without the benefit of his two best playmakers.
The 49ers have had a revolving wheel at running back due to constant injuries. Ricky Pearsall’s development stalled due to his gunshot wound at during camp. The most consistent players on offense this year have been George Kittle, Jauan Jennings and Dominick Puni.
Brock Purdy’s stats have regressed but the player himself has not. He is still growing in the role. Like all quarterbacks he will make mistakes. When you look at the chaos that has been swirling around him on offense this season, I believe he has acquitted himself well. He has still managed to throw for over 3800 yards this season and we have one more game to go. He has rushed for 323 yards and has five rushing touch downs. Sure, his touchdown passes are low but that should be no surprise with Aiyuk and McCaffrey on injured reserve.
The Game.
The 49ers offense started the game on fire. The offense went on three drives and scored three touchdowns in the first half. At one point in the game, Brock Purdy was seven for seven on passes with two touchdown throws, connecting with five different receivers.
On their fourth drive they ran out of time and found themselves within field goal range. It was a 51-yard field goal attempt and Jake Moody pushed it wide right. The kick might have been closer but for a rookie mistake made by Jacob Cowing where he deliberately picked a defender allowing Kittle to get loose for a big gain putting the Niners in the red-zone.
Jacob Cowing didn’t do a good enough job showing he was running a route. It was likely not the best decision by Coach Shanahan during such a critical time in game. Ideally, coaches want their best players and best plays on the field during the most critical times in the game so mistakes like Cowing’s are avoided.
Despite the missed kick before halftime, the Niners were still riding high on their success. The defense managed to win a fourth and three on their own eight-yard line and visions of the NFC Championship were coming back. Unfortunately, the Lions came out of the tunnel spoiling for a fight and quickly scored a touchdown and tying two-point conversion.
Purdy continued to lead the team down the field on the next drive with his trademark efficiency scoring in just six plays off a pop pass to Deebo Samuel. Then, three plays later Nick Bosa sacks Jared Goff for a second time forcing a 57-yard field goal which the Lions kicker made.
Two plays later, Purdy throws his first interception of the game. The ball looked like it sailed on him, and it was an easy pick for Lions safety Kerby Joseph. In fact, Purdy’s throws started to trouble him through-out the second half because he sailed several more passes before he next interception. I can’t help but wonder if arm fatigue has played a factor in Brock Purdy’s game this year. Often times you will see him on the sideline with a big black apparatus on his elbow.
Jake Moody missed a field goal on the next drive. The following offensive drive Purdy threw his second pick which appeared to be a pure mental error on his part. Purdy started down Ricky Pearsall and failed to see Joseph screaming down from his zone.
One curious thing to note is the lack of rushing attempts and yards in last night’s game. Only eighteen rushes were attempted accounted for 75 yards total. Twelve of those yards belong to Purdy. It is hard to understand why Shanahan shied away from the run game. Perhaps he wanted to put the game on Purdy’s back and see what he could do. Perhaps he was concerned about injuring one of this two remaining running backs on the roster.
Whatever the reason for the lack of rushing attempts, the Niners game suffered. Play action plays slow safeties and linebackers. Constant drop backs without the threat of the run change how a defense chooses to defend. Purdy needs help. He lacks the arm strength of Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson. He throws with anticipation and precision. In fact, despite the two interceptions, he completed 77 percent of this passes. The play action game helps him become less predictable and plays to the strength of the Niners overall roster.
The 49ers defense didn’t play great last night but they played good enough. But for the two interceptions and Jake Moody’s misses, the 49ers would have had another victory at Levi’s last night.
Conclusory Thoughts.
Everyone is looking for someone to blame for the 49ers season. No one person, player or coach is responsible for the demise of San Francisco’s season. You can’t control what player goes down to injury, or how the referees will make or miss a call. It’s just football. After 3 consecutive trips to the NFC Championship game and a Super Bowl, any team will suffer significant wear and tear. Despite the season, the 49ers are still well positioned for a run next year.
There are several positive take away’s from this year’s season. First and foremost, the rookies of this year’s class were pressed into service and acquitted themselves well. Malik Mustapha, Dominick Puni, Ricky Pearsall, Isacc Guerendo and Renardo Green have all established themselves as starters and significant contributors for next year. All of the players have had a breakout game this season. Pearsall’s was last night when he collected eight receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown.
Second, Jauan Jennings had a breakout season. He is 77 yards from breaking 1000 yards for the first time in his career. Jennings missed only two games this year. He could have already been over the 1000-yard mark.
Lastly, the 49ers will have an excellent draft position due to their poor record. Their needs are offensive and defensive line, tight end and linebacker. Next year the Niners still have 42 players under contract with a projected 67 million under the cap. They are well positioned to find cheap free agents and talented draft picks to ready themselves for the season. With an additional month of rest for the team, the 49ers should come back invigorated to make a Super Bowl run next year.
