Week 12 Post Game Review: 49ers vs Saints

By Scooter_McG

The 49ers eked out a hard fought 13-0 victory on Sunday against a courageous New Orleans Saints outfit that brought the fight to this game. The win takes the 49ers to 7W-4L, and with the Seahawks losing gives them outright lead of the division.

It wasn't the prettiest football the 49ers have played this season, nor the most convincing. But it was a well earned victory nonetheless as the defense continually came up with important plays at crucial times to prevent the Saints from scoring while the offense did enough through the first 2.5 quarters against a Saints defense that was flying around the field and consistently winning the matchup up front. 

Fred Warner in particular was monumental in this one. He forced the early fumble that gave the 49ers good field position to open the scoring. And he was consistently around the ball and making life difficult for ball carriers and receivers alike throughout the game. Hufanga was also instrumental in the win, making a few key hits to stop plays including the hit in the photo above that forced the second Kamara fumble only a yard out from the 49ers goal line. 

The pass coverage was also quite good throughout the game with the two Ward's in particular playing well, while the DL did an excellent job limiting the running lanes. 

On offense, the 49ers struggled throughout the contest to get drives going, particularly in the second half. The Saints played a swarming style of defense that really bottled up the running game and had Jimmy Garoppolo under almost constant duress. There is no doubt that the 49ers got by with no small amount of luck on offense during this game, including a TD grab by Jennings off a tipped pass as well as an INT by Jimmy that called back on an illegal contact penalty. 

The OL, which has been a pleasant surprise this season, looked more like the outfit many expected before the season began. Jimmy G took far too many hits in this one while the RBs struggled to find any space all game. The struggles in protection also led to what looked like a knee injury to Jimmy G, though thankfully he was able to play through it.    

There is no doubt the 49ers will need to play better on offense moving forward if they want to beat the better teams. But the Saints defense is pretty much the worst type of matchup for the 49ers - an excellent pass rush and coverage allows them to play the run aggressively without giving up a lot of easy outlets in the pass game. I expect the 49ers offense will look a lot better most weeks. 

A concern coming out of the game is the knee injury picked up by Eli Mitchell. With Jeff Wilson now a Dolphin, the injury to Mitchell will put pressure on McCaffrey and the 49ers young RBs to carry the load for a little while. It is unclear at this stage how severe the injury is and how much time he may miss, but hopefully it is just a short term absence.  

Week 12: New Orleans Saints vs. San Francisco 49ers

 Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to your gameday live blog matchup. The Saints come into this game 8 point underdogs, and the 49ers are coming off a short week and a spicy win in Mexico. Will they have an emotional let down? I don't think so. For a team that should have higher aspirations, the Saints present another opportunity to achieve them. Go Niners!

#49ers inactives today versus Saints: DL Arik Armstead RB Ty Davis-Price TE Tyler Kroft OL Nick Zakelj LB Curtis Robinson

Week 12 Game Preview: 49ers vs Saints

By Scooter_McG

The 49ers will look to continue their recent rich vein of form this Sunday as they host the Andy Dalton led 4W-7L New Orleans Saints. 

Coming off the back of three straight wins to get their season back on track, the 6W-4L 49ers find themselves leading the NFC West and once again being talked about as one of the most dangerous teams in the NFL. If they play the way they have done the past three games, especially in the second half of the last three games, the 49ers should be too good for this struggling Saints team. Bookmakers agree, with the 49ers currently a 9 point favourite. 

But it would be a mistake to think this game will be a cakewalk. The Saints had a confidence-boosting win against the Rams last week and they had a bevy of big name players return to practice this week after missing time through injury. This includes DEs Cam Jordan and Marcus Davenport; Jordan in particular will provide a big challenge for Mike McGlinchey and that matchup could be a key one to allowing Jimmy Garoppolo the same sort of time in the pocket he has enjoyed in recent weeks. I expect to see the 49ers chipping Jordan throughout the game with a TE or RB to give McGlinchey a bit of help. 

Despite their record, the Saints have the 10th ranked offense (in terms of yards) and 12th ranked defense (in terms of yards allowed) in the NFL, as well as 7th ranked pass defense (again, in terms of yards allowed). The defensive ranking is especially noteworthy given the Saints are one of the teams that hasn't had their bye yet. 

The issue for the Saints hasn't been moving the ball nor stopping opponents from moving the ball - their issue has been turnovers. Both in terms of giving them up and in terms of not taking them away. They rank 30th in terms of giveaways and 31st in terms of takeaways (including just two intercepts on the season). The 49ers should expect to have a few opportunities this game to generate some turnovers on defense while a key reason for the 49ers recent run of form has been their ball protection, suggesting the Saints may have a hard time getting any of their own. Winning the turnover battle should be one of the main aims for the 49ers in this game and would go a long way to winning the contest.

Offensively, the 49ers game plan shouldn't be too different to last week. Leaning on the running game and the short passing game will be the most likely avenue for success given the strength of the Saints defense is shutting down the passing game and getting after the QB. Despite their lofty defensive ranking, they are giving up 4.6 yards per carry (23rd in the NFL). If the Saints set their stall to stop the run, as teams have been doing in recent weeks, the versatility of McCaffrey and Deebo to be used on quick dump-offs and screens as an extension of the running game can come into play like it did last week. If the 49ers can avoid taking negative plays and giving the ball away, the offense should have enough firepower to keep the sticks moving and put up some points.  

Defensively, there are three main players the 49ers need to be wary of. Alvin Kamara is always a threat whether it be in the running game or passing game. Fred Warner and company will need to be on their game to make sure Kamara doesn't hurt them. Taysom Hill has been seeing the field a little more in recent weeks and has been a spark for the offense, averaging 7.6 yards per carry. When he enters the game it will be important that the DL maintains discipline, is aware of the threat he brings as a runner and prevents easy running lanes for him. And rookie WR Chris Olave has been excellent this year, posing a constant threat to teams with his speed and smooth route running. The 49ers DBs will need to be wary of his ability to get behind them and make sure they don't allow any easy explosive plays to get the Saints offense rolling. 

But the key on offense will be generating pressure on Andy Dalton to make him uncomfortable in the pocket. As outlined earlier, the Saints have had issues with turnovers this season. Jameis Winston was the biggest culprit (no surprise there), but Dalton has had his own struggles too averaging just under one intercept per game. Forcing Dalton into some mistakes, whether it be turnovers or just errant throws, will make this contest much easier and limit the threat of Olave.

Week 11 Post Game Review: 49ers @ Cardinals

By Scooter_McG

Hello first place in the NFC West! The 49ers steamrolled their way to the division lead beating the Colt McCoy led Cardinals 38-10 in Mexico City. The win makes it three on a trot for the 49ers after an uneven start to the season; it also represented the third game in a row that the defense gave up zero points in the second half and Jimmy Garoppolo didn't throw an intercept. 

This game, like the past two victories, started with the 49ers a little slow out of the gate. The 49ers ground game was well contained by the Cardinals and the first two drives didn't get much going. On defense, while they only gave up 3 points in the Cardinals opening couple of drives they were also helped out by a drop in the end zone that led to a Cardinals FG. 

But after that point it was pretty much all 49ers. The offense scored on 6 of their next 7 possessions, including 5 TDs. In the first half, the bulk of the attack was provided through yards after catch as the 49ers did an excellent job getting their playmakers the ball in space. They also largely used the short passing game in lieu of the ground game as the Cardinals were playing the run aggressively. McCaffrey actually finished the game with as many catches as carries despite being the lead RB for almost the entire first half, while Deebo also caught a few balls out of the backfield. 

In the second half the Cardinals started playing a little more passively on defense to protect against the short passing game only to see Shanahan integrate Eli "the Sledgehammer" Mitchell into the rushing attack who gouged the Cardinals repeatedly through the teeth of the defense in the third quarter. From there it was all too easy for the 49ers as the Cardinals defense were clearly gassed and out of the fight. 

The success of the 49ers offense can largely be placed on the ability of the 49ers OL to keep the Cardinals pass rush off Jimmy Garoppolo throughout the game. They gave Jimmy the time to survey the field and find his open receiver. But Jimmy G also did a great job on the occasions the Cardinals got a rusher through as he made a couple of excellent quick or second reaction plays, including a nice TD pass to George Kittle over the middle. On the night Jimmy G finished with 4 TD passes on what was another highly efficient performance where he kept the ball out of danger and put his playmakers in good positions to make plays.

The defense also did its part. As has been the story the past few games they had some troubles during the first half, though for the most part were pretty sound and did an excellent job taking the Cardinals running game away. The intercept by Ward with the score at 7-3 was also a big momentum builder off the back of the 49ers first TD and put the game squarely in the 49ers hands. But the second half performances by Ryans and the defense these past three games have been where they excelled. This week they came up with some big third and fourth down stops to prevent any hopes of a Cardinals fight back and keep the momentum of the 49ers offense going. It was another all round performance by the defense, with a number of players making key plays. 

It would be a very hard to please person to find fault in this 49ers performance. 

Making the victory even sweeter it maintains their current clean sweep of the division and guarantees the 49ers will finish the season with a winning record against the division. It also appears the 49ers came out of the game without any serious injuries.   

Week 11 Matchup: San Francisco 49ers vs. Arizona Cardinals

 Good evening everyone and welcome to another primetime game for the 49ers, as they travel to Mexico City for a spicy showdown on Monday Night Football. The real McCoy will be the Cardinals quarterback tonight. Hopefully the defense will be ready for him this go around. I expect a short passing attack with lots of Conner running the ball thrown in. If it's close in the 4th quarter, the better conditioned team with TOP could mean the difference. Give me the Niners, 31-24!

49ers Inactives:

• DL Arik Armstead
• RB Tyrion Davis-Price
• DL Samson Ebukam
• LB Curtis Robinson
• DL Kemoko Turay
• OL Nick Zakelj

Week 11 Game Preview: 49ers @ Cardinals

By Scooter_McG

The 49ers are off to Mexico to face the Cardinals on Monday Night Football. This is technically a home game for the Cardinals, but early reports indicate more than 80% of tickets have been sold to 49ers fans, adding Estadio Azteca to Levi's Stadium and SoFi Stadium as part of the ever expanding list of 49ers home fields.

This game has added importance for the 49ers. Not only is it a division game, giving the 49ers a chance to take their division record to 4-0, but a win on Monday will see the 49ers move ahead of the Seahawks into first place in the NFC West courtesy of head to head and division record (with the Seahawks having the bye this week so remaining at 6W-4L this week). 

On the injury front, the 49ers appear to have come out of the Chargers game without any new injuries. However, based on practice participation this week, it also appears none of the players that missed the Chargers game will be ready in time for the Cardinals, meaning the DL will remain relatively thin. For the Cardinals, QB Kyler Murray is the big question mark as he has been a limited participant this week due to a lingering hamstring strain. If he can't go the 49ers will be facing Colt McCoy. DeAndre Hopkins also found himself on the injury report this week with a hamstring issue though the Cardinals have downplayed the severity and it sounds like he should be fine to play. The Cardinals also opened the return from IR for Hollywood Brown who, if active, could provide a downfield element the team has been sorely lacking.

Regardless of whether Murray plays the 49ers should be capable of winning this game. The While the Cardinals have played most games pretty close this season, their only wins have been against bad teams (Raiders, Panthers, Saints and Rams without Stafford). Much has been written about the mounting pressure on Kliff Kingsbury - enough so that GM Steve Keim gave him the dreaded public vote of confidence a week ago. The 49ers should be good enough to add to that pressure. 

The Cardinals main weakness has been the passing game on both offense and defense. They are allowing just shy of a 70% completion rate on the season, contributing to their 22nd ranked net yards per attempt allowed. Part of the issue for the Cardinals defense has been an inability to turn pass rush pressure into sacks - despite posting solid team-wide pass rush win rates and pressure rates, they only have 19 sacks in 10 games. Another part of the issue has been getting players to ground. The Cardinals rank dead last in the NFL in yards allowed after the catch (6.2) and will be coming up against the league best YAC team in the 49ers (6.9).

On offense they have struggled to push the ball down the field leading to a 31st ranked NY/A of just 5.2. As mentioned above, the return of Hollywood Brown could help tremendously in opening the passing game up for the Cardinals and is something the 49ers will need to be wary of if he is active. I also wouldn't be surprised to see the 49ers move Charvarius Ward around to have him marking Hopkins most of the game.  

Given the issues in coverage the Cardinals have had it will be interesting to see how they choose to defend the 49ers. If they play the run aggressively like recent 49ers opponents it could expose their main vulnerability, especially with DBs Byron Murphy and Budda Baker banged up. If they look to defend the pass it could give the 49ers a big advantage on the ground. I suspect that like previous opponents they will lean towards making Jimmy Garoppolo beat them through the air and this could be a big opportunity for the YAC brothers to rack up some explosive plays. 

If Jimmy G continues to play the way he has been in recent weeks this feels like a game the 49ers should win pretty handily. But the Cardinals in recent seasons have made life difficult for the 49ers and it wouldn't be a surprise if this game ends up being a lot closer than it should be.    

Week 10 Post Game Review: 49ers vs Chargers

By Scooter_McG

The 49ers secured a come from behind victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football on the back of a dominant second half defensive performance, to win the game 22-16. The win takes the 49ers to 5W-4L on the season and keeps the 49ers in the 7th seed wildcard spot in the NFC playoff race. Importantly, the 49ers are now only 0.5 a game back from the division leading Seahawks after their loss to the Buccaneers earlier on Sunday.

It wasn't pretty football by the 49ers. If I was to summarise the game plan for the 49ers I would put it this way: the team played a game on the premise that the only way they could lose to this Chargers team was if they beat themselves. It was a highly conservative game plan designed to minimise the opportunities for errors and limit the number of drives each team had. 

Worryingly, in the first half it looked like the 49ers would indeed beat themselves. The defense opened the game with some defensive lapses to allow a quick strike TD to the Chargers. The 49ers responded with a nice opening drive of their own but had to settle for a FG. Neither team enjoyed much success moving the ball after the respective opening drives, but even so the 49ers gifted the Chargers scoring opportunities by coughing up the ball in their own territory courtesy of an Aiyuk fumble, while the special teams unit allowed pressure on a punt that resulted in a deflection and gave the Chargers another great opportunity to extend the lead. The 49ers were fortunate on that second one to limit it to another FG. The 49ers did have some success moving the ball at the end of the half which led to a TD, and went into the half down just 16-10. 

The 49ers turned things around in the second half though, largely fuelled by an immense defensive performance. The defense locked down the Chargers completely in the second half as the Chargers didn't even get close to adding any more points. The offense also controlled the game well as Elijah Mitchell in particular got rolling, while Jauan Jennings had some important catches and Jimmy G played efficient football to help move the chains. The 49ers added 12 points in the second half, but should have been more if Aiyuk had made a catch in the end zone. He did come up with a big catch though later to the Chargers 2-yard line to allow McCaffrey to power into the end zone and the 49ers take the lead. 

In the end the 49ers ran the ball 41 times in total against 28 pass attempts. They did this despite trailing for much of the game, while up against a Chargers defense aggressively playing the run, and only averaging 3.8 yards per carry. It was the type of commitment to the running game that Shanahan can sometimes struggle with when opponents set their stall to stop it and they get behind. This really highlighted the 49ers belief in their ability to grind out a victory so long as they played sound football. 

There is definitely a lot of improvement left in the 49ers, especially offensively, and they really need to start getting both Deebo and Kittle involved more in the passing game if they are going to be Super Bowl contenders. Deebo's lack of involvement down the field is starting to become a little alarming as it was an element of his game that really took off last season and is a vital component to making him worth the massive investment they made in him this offseason. The contributions he makes to the running game and short passing game are nice, but those should be the complement to getting some explosive plays out of him down the field.

Next up the 49ers face division rivals the Cardinals in Mexico, with the 49ers hoping to maintain their undefeated record against the division in 2022.    

Week 10 Matchup: San Diego Chargers vs. San Francisco 49ers

 Good evening everyone. Hope y'all had a good week off and are charged up for some Sunday Night Football. The 49ers enter the fracas with some familiar names that have been missing in action, Mitchell, Al-Shaair, and Juice to name a few. The Chargers defense is similar to the Rams defense, and I expect a healthy portion of 49ers OZ served up with little to no meat left on the bones in this one. As Scooter pointed out in his excellent preview, the 49ers are a bit soft in the middle with the absence of Armstead and Kinlaw, however the return of Al-Shaair along with a healthy Greenlaw should fill any holes quickly. Go Niners!

49ers Inactives:

• DL Arik Armstead (foot, ankle)
• RB Tyrion Davis-Price
• DL Samson Ebukam (quadricep, Achilles)
• LB Curtis Robinson
• DL Kemoko Turay
• OL Nick Zakelj

Week 10 Game Preview: 49ers vs Chargers

By Scooter_McG

The 49ers return to action in week 10 following the bye last week, with a home game against the 5W-3L Chargers on Sunday Night Football. 

Both teams find themselves sitting in the 7th and last wild card spot in their respective conferences and needing to win to stay in the playoff spots. Both teams have also had to overcome considerable injury adversity to get to this position and both teams have dropped games many thought they should have won. The Chargers have also shown a propensity to keep games close this season and for starting slow in contests. 

Where the teams differ is that, coming off the bye, the 49ers are starting to get healthy and have a number of players returning this week that missed recent games. Even so, the team will be without 3 of their 4 starting DL (Armstead, Kinlaw and Ebukam), while the devastating Achilles tear for Jason Verrett during the week will leave them a little short at CB. 

The Chargers, on the other hand, will be without a large contingent of core players, including stars Joey Bosa, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Rashawn Slater and Austin Johnson. The main positive for the Chargers on the injury front is that QB Justin Herbert appears to be recovered from his injury earlier in the season.

The absence of Bosa and Johnson must be particularly concerning for the Chargers given they are giving up a league worst 5.7 yards per carry, which includes five runs of 40 or more yards on the season. The Chargers run defense is without a doubt the biggest mismatch in this contest, up against a run-oriented 49ers team that has already acclimated All-Pro Christian McCaffrey following his acquisition a few weeks ago. 

The Chargers will no doubt set their stall on defense to stop the run, committing extra defenders to the box and playing aggressively downhill, to make it a game where it is Jimmy Garoppolo that has to beat them. They have to. To be honest, it's a proven formula for any team, though stopping the 49ers run game is easier said than done. 

Don't be surprised then if the 49ers don't run the ball as much as you might expect against a team giving up 5.7 yards per carry on the season. Unless they are able to break off a few chunk plays on the ground early on, Shanahan has shown he is willing to put the ball in Garoppolo's hands if defenses are committing to stopping the run. I also wouldn't be surprised to see a few shot plays off play action early on in this game. 

If the 49ers are able to hit those plays early this should be a fairly easy victory, but far too often when the 49ers go for the quick strike plays early in games they don't work and drives stall. So I am expecting this one to be a bit of a slugfest.  

With Allen and Williams missing for the Chargers I am also expecting a large dose of Ekeler and the screen game. Teams have had success using the 49ers aggressiveness on defense against them. It took half time adjustments against the Rams in their last game to stop the bleeding, and hopefully Ryans has learned from that experience. WR Josh Palmer has also stood up in the absence of Allen this season, including getting involved in the screen game, and is another player the 49ers will need to be wary of. 

A key concern for mine this week for the 49ers is along the DL. The defense has clearly missed Armstead in recent weeks, and with Kinlaw and Ebukam also out, it will once again place a lot of pressure on Bosa and the rotational players to step up. The 49ers run defense hasn't looked as good since Armstead and Kinlaw have been missing. Armstead is also one of the smartest players along the DL and does a good job sniffing out screens. It is a tough ask for the current DL to dominate a game, but they at least need to be decent and play disciplined football to not give the Chargers easy first downs. 

I also fear how the team will respond following the injury to Verrett, which clearly affected the playing group. Hopefully it will galvanise the team and inspire them to greater efforts. 

All in all this feels like a game the 49ers should win given how beat up the Chargers are right now. A win is important to stay in touch with the Seahawks in the race for the division. 

Godfather IV

 Donte Whitner on

@JohnMiddlekauff

and

@GuyHaberman

’s show was asked about Fangio/49ers in 2023: “I think he is, I think he should, I think he could. I know he lives in the Bay Area. I think he’s just waiting on his opportunity.” VF told DW he was going to coach “somewhere.”

BREAKING NEWS

 

Matt Maiocco

@MaioccoNBCS

·

3m

League source: The 49ers traded RB Jeff Wilson to the Miami Dolphins for a fifth-round pick.