Week 15 Game Preview: 49ers at Seahawks

By Scooter_McG

The 49ers travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks on Thursday Night Football. In keeping with the short week for the 49ers, this will only be a short preview as time is against me midweek unfortunately.

The 49ers will be hoping Brock Purdy recovers well enough from his oblique injury in time to lead them again this week, off the back of a most impressive first start (and really an impressive two games as he played the majority of the game the week before too). Christian McCaffrey is also coming off one of his most impressive performances since joining the 49ers and will be hoping to continue his form against a Seahawks team that ranks as one of the worst in stopping the run as well as preventing yards after the catch (shout out to razor for those stats earlier this week).

With Deebo missing I am expecting the 49ers to lean pretty heavily on CMC this week in both the ground game and the passing game, with a nice sprinkling of Mason to punish some would be Seahawks defenders. I also expect Aiyuk to be heavily involved and have a pretty big game.  

The Seahawks started the season strong but have faded in recent weeks. Geno Smith has impressed this season but like the form of his team his play has not been quite as stellar as earlier in the season in the past month (though still pretty good). His worst game this year though came against the 49ers back in week 2, and the 49ers will be hoping to make the second contest just as difficult on him.  

To add to the suspense of prime time football, the division title is on the line in this game. The 49ers can secure the division title with a victory - a win this week would mean the best Seattle can do is finish with the same record as the 49ers and the 49ers would win any tie-breaker courtesy of head-to-record. Here's to hoping we are toasting the NFC West division leaders by the end of Thursday night!

Week 14 Post Game Review: 49ers vs Bucs

By Scooter_McG

Wow! Brock Purdy, he of Mr Irrelevant 2022 fame, just led the 49ers to a 35-7 drubbing of Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers - in his very first career start! 

If you had told me at the beginning of the year that after 14 weeks of the season the 49ers most complete and comprehensive victory would be with Brock Purdy at QB and against a likely playoff team I'd have laughed in your face. Heck, if you told me that yesterday I'd have done the same. But here we are. The NFL is truly a beautiful competition. 

It would be easy to look at the final stat line and think Purdy was pretty much a passenger in the victory, as he finished with only 185 yards. But anyone that watched the game will know the stats lie in this regard. Brock Purdy and the 49ers had such a good day out that the 49ers shut up shop with 14 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. At that point they were already 35-0 up, and Purdy already had his 185 passing yards. He also had two impressive (and long) TD passes plus a 2 yard scamper for a TD of his own. 

Purdy finished the day with a traditional QB rating of 134.0 and an ESPN QBR of a whopping 92.8. He consistently made impressive plays showing great instincts (and elusiveness) of when to move to avoid pressure and when to hang in the pocket to deliver strikes. Yes, Purdy did get lucky with a defensive holding call on a poor throw that was picked off over the middle, but all-in-all this was as good a performance as the 49ers could have hoped for from their rookie QB making his first start.  

McCaffrey was also a huge factor in this game, gashing the Bucs for yards throughout the first 31 minutes of play, including a 27 yard toe-tapping TD catch and a 38 yard TD run to daylight at the start of the 3rd quarter to put the game to bed early. 

The defense was not to be outdone by the offense. They held the Bucs scoreless in the first half with a suffocating defense, then came away with three takeaways in the second half to make sure the Bucs could not find a way back into the game. While the DL failed to register any sacks, they did create pressure on Brady and forced him into a number of errant passes, two of which were picked off. The back seven was even more impressive. They provided constant tight coverage and played with ferocity throughout. Dre Greenlaw in particular had a monster game with 15 total tackles and an acrobatic INT. Jimmie Ward also stood out with a number of big plays.

The only blemish on the day was a few injuries, including what looked like it could be a devastating lower leg injury to Deebo Samuel. The early prognosis though is not as bad as feared, with the news out of the locker room being a high ankle sprain with a 3-6 week window for his return. Kevin Givens and Kerry Hyder also appeared to pick up injuries that see them miss time, while the man of the moment himself, Brock Purdy, will need to prove his fitness ahead of the coming TNF game with the Seahawks as he suffered an oblique injury. 

Looking forward, it remains too early to say whether Purdy will prove himself to be a competent starting QB in the NFL or capable of taking this team deep into the playoffs. But one thing is for sure, the past two weeks have given 49er fans plenty of reason for optimism.       

Week 14 Matchup: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. San Francisco 49ers

 

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to your live blog for 49ers football. Today's matchup features Mr. Irrelevant against the Goat. Jimmy G was money on 3rd downs and Purdy will need to look for 3rd and Jauan to keep the offense on schedule. Lots of moving parts for this game with weather being one of them. Field conditions are expected to be somewhat muddy from raining. With the 49ers activating Coleman, I expect a heavy OZ running game to avoid Vea in the middle. TOP will be more valuable than ever given the 49ers have a Thursday night game against their division rival, the Seattle Seahawks. If they can get out of this game with a win while mitigating snap counts for players like, Bosa and Armstead, we should all be singing, Jingle Bell Brock by the end of the day. Go Niners!

49ers’ inactives: Jimmy Garoppolo Tarvarius Moore Hassan Ridgeway Ty Davis-Price Ross Dwelley Nick Zakelj Curtis Robinson

Week 14 Game Preview: 49ers vs Bucs

By Scooter_McG

The 49ers take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week 14 in a battle of two NFC division leaders. The 49ers come into the game on a five game winning streak while the Bucs have been in indifferent form all season and required some late game Tom Brady heroics (and some mistakes by their opponent) to beat the Saints last week.

On form, this should be an easy win for the 49ers. But this game isn't about form, its about the two QBs. Tom Brady, the most experienced and winningest QB in the NFL, will be taking on a QB making his first NFL start for the seventh time in his career. This time it will be against a rookie who was the last pick of the NFL draft - the 49ers newest great hope, Brock Purdy. 

Brady's record against first start QBs is unblemished to date. But, while he remains a top QB, this season has not been one of his best. After averaging 9.1 and 8.1 air yards per attempt in 2020 and 2021, he is down to just 6.9 this season as the offense has become more dink and dunk with few deep passing attempts. This has coincided with his time to throw or be pressured dropping to a new low of just 2.2s. But the reduction in pass depth and time to throw has not coincided with an increase in yards after catch to compensate. While he continues to complete a lot of passes, the Bucs have struggled to keep drives alive and score points with their highly conservative passing game; they rank 27th in the NFL in points per game. A last ranked running game, averaging just 3.3 yards per carry, has certainly not helped matters.

Brock Purdy, on the other hand, comes into this game riding the high of leading the 49ers to victory against the high flying Dolphins last week after Jimmy Garoppolo was hurt on the opening drive. Purdy showed good poise in the pocket as well as an understanding of when and how to escape pressure, and the offense didn't seem to miss a beat after Jimmy G went down as a result. But it is one thing to perform in a game where you had no expectations on you, another to do it when you are the starting QB and teams have an opportunity to game plan for you. And as we all know, the 49ers record under Shanahan with any QB not named Jimmy is poor. 

It is a big ask to expect Purdy to keep the 49ers season afloat, but one thing he has in his favour (and something the other non-Jimmy QBs didn't have for most of their starts) is a highly talented and mostly healthy team around him. If Purdy can avoid the big mistakes and just continue to play mostly efficient football, the 49ers still have a good chance of making the playoffs and potentially being a nuisance come January. 

But that is getting ahead of ourselves. Purdy's first task is taking down the greatest to ever do it (no pressure!). The Bucs have a good defense that has kept opponents in check most of the season and is a key reason the Bucs have managed to stay in games and lead their division. It will be a tough game for the inexperienced rookie, but will also be a great litmus test - if he can come away from this game without faltering it bodes well for the remainder of the season. 

With a rookie QB making his first, against a good pass defense no less, it would seem to make sense for the 49ers to lean heavily on the running game. However, teams have done a very good job in recent weeks of taking the running game away and with Purdy under centre you can be sure the Bucs will focus heavily on doing just that again this week. If the 49ers are going to effectively move the ball it will likely come down to Shanahan and Purdy executing in the quick game and making use of their weapons over the middle of the field. A key matchup in this game will thereby be how the 49ers OL holds up - they have struggled in recent weeks but if they can keep pressure off Purdy then it will go a long way to securing victory. 

Another key matchup will be McCaffrey and Kittle vs Bucs LB Devin White, who has struggled all season. I expect to see Shanahan dial up plays to isolate White 1-on-1 and try and take advantage of the favourable matchup against the 49ers weapons. 

On defense, the Bucs biggest issue is their OL which is banged up and struggling to create holes for their run game or give Brady time to hurt teams downfield. Obviously with Brady getting rid of the ball as fast as he does this hasn't necessarily translated to a lot of sacks, but it does open up opportunities for the 49ers DL to dominate the game if the 49ers back 7 can make Brady hesitate to pull the trigger even for a moment. A big question mark, however, is whether Bosa will be ready to go after missing practice all week, and if he can go how effective he can be. If Bosa is fit and able to go then the matchup against the Bucs OTs looks like a good opportunity for him to add to his NFL leading sack total. 

Overall, despite being Purdy's first start, I feel this is a game the 49ers should win so long as Purdy is given time by the OL and is not overawed by the moment. 

One big concern I have for this game, aside from how Purdy will fare in his first start, is the looming Thursday night game against the division rival Seahawks, which depending on results could be a game to decide the division lead. It is important the 49ers don't look past the Bucs to make sure they maintain their division lead ahead of the Seahawks contest.  

Week 13 Post Game Review: 49ers vs Dolphins

By Scooter_McG

The battle between ex-49ers OC Mike McDaniel and his old mentor Kyle Shanahan went the way of the master, with the 49ers coming away with the victory 33-17. The win makes it five on a trot for the 49ers and keeps them a game ahead of the Seahawks in the division race. 

Ahead of the game much was made of the battle between the Dolphins offense and 49ers defense. I outlined in my game preview that the 49ers should have little trouble making the Dolphins one dimensional and that proved the case as they were held to just 33 yards on the ground on 8 carries. 

It was always going to come down to how the 49ers defense held up against the Dolphins passing game that mattered, and in this contest it was a very one sided affair. The Dolphins started fast start with Tua Tagovailoa connecting with former 49er Trent Sherfield on a 75 yard catch and run on the opening play of the game. It's not the first time the 49ers defense has been a bit slow out of the gate this season and is an area they could stand to improve moving forward. But after that first play the defense played well for the most part, while Tagovailoa, who has been excellent on the season, really struggled throughout with his accuracy as he missed a lot of passes that he should have made and could have been big gains while also being picked off twice. 

It could be easy to say the 49ers got a little lucky with some of the missed opportunities the Dolphins had. But that would do a disservice to the 49ers defense and their game plan. Part of Tua's struggles can be placed on the excellent coverage over the middle of the field which forced Tua to look to other areas where he is less accurate. Warner and Greenlaw in particular were excellent once again in this one. And part of it can be attributed to the 49ers DL getting good pressure throughout the game, in particular Nick Bosa who finished with three sacks all told, including the game sealing sack fumble that Greenlaw returned for a TD. 

Really the only downside on defense was the two long TDs they gave up - the one to Sherfield as well as a 45 yarder to Tyreek Hill. On both occasions it looked like Hufanga made the wrong decision on who to cover, leaving his receiver wide open for the easy catch with room to run. As good as Hufanga has been, and as good as his instincts on the field can be, he can be found out of position and has been responsible for some ugly big plays against the defense this season. 

While the defense won the matchup against the Dolphins explosive offense quite handily, the main story out of this game surrounds the 49ers offense and the QB position. Disaster struck for the 49ers at the end of their opening drive as Jimmy Garoppolo got his foot caught underneath a defender, and is reported to have broken bones in his foot. He is now scheduled for season ending surgery on his foot and will join starting QB Trey Lance on IR. 

The injury opened the door for this years Mr Irrelevant, Brock Purdy, to step in and make his first meaningful contributions as the 49ers QB. It is hard enough for any rookie QB to step in and lead his team to victory, let alone a rookie QB taken in the 7th round against an opponent with an 8W-3L record. But he not only came away with the all important win, he looked composed throughout. In the end he outplayed his more illustrious opponent and did a nice job hitting his receivers despite the Dolphins bringing plenty of pressure to try and rattle him and keeping the 49ers running game in check. He was able to keep the offense moving and getting into scoring positions to keep the 49ers ahead for most of the game and putting scoreboard pressure on the Dolphins. 

Looking forward, the loss of now both their starting and backup QBs for the season should be seen as a significant hurdle to the team's chances of making the playoffs and being a contender if they make it. While Purdy looked competent and composed in this game, we should expect to see some ups and downs over the next few weeks, which could cost some games. And there is no mistaking that Purdy is a limited passer - he will struggle to threaten the perimeter or deep. But then... the same can be said of Jimmy G. And Purdy has shown throughout his college career that he is a winner and is a 'gamer'. 

To help Purdy out the 49ers really need the OL to step up. They've been good this year, but the past two weeks have seen them struggle to create holes for the running game and keep defenders off the QB. It is no coincidence that Jimmy G picked up a knee injury last week and the foot injury this week, as the past two games have, at least to my eyes, been the worst performances by the OL this year. 

But while losing Jimmy G will make for a bigger challenge, there should still be strong belief this team can make some noise. The play of the defense continues to be excellent and so long as the offense can limit its errors and take its opportunities the defense is good enough to keep winning games.     

Week 13: Miami Dolphins vs. San Francisco 49ers

 Good afternoon everyone and welcome to your live blog for 49ers football. Today we have a matchup that has become personal with the Dolphins Mostert bad mouthing the 49ers front office for the way they handled his injury, and a passive aggressive slap at Jimmy Garoppolo's ability. Student returns to his classroom to face his Teacher in what should have been the game of the week. The return of Armstead should not be underestimated as he's not only going be a skyscraper for Tua to throw over, but he'll also free up Bosa, which is bad news for the Dolphins backup left and right tackles. I expect a physical game from the 49ers on both sides of the ball. Mason will get his first start and his running style and fresh legs could have him rushing for 100 yards today. Defensively the 49ers will look to drop the ball carriers with hard hits making them apprehensive catching the ball. I like the 49ers big in this game. Go Niners!

#49ers inactives: TE Ross Dwelley DT T.Y. McGill LB Curtis Robinson OL Spencer Burford

Week 13 Game Preview: 49ers vs Dolphins

By Scooter_McG

49ers West Coast meets 49ers East Coast this week, as former 49ers OC Mike McDaniel brings his squad, littered with ex-49ers on offense, to the Bay Area. The Dolphins are flying high this season with a 8W-3L record and on a five game winning streak. In the 49ers they meet a team that is also riding a run of good form having won their past four contests. 

This game looks like it should be the toughest contest for either team in over a month and can be seen as something of a barometer test for both squads. 

The matchup everyone will be focusing on is the Dolphins #3 ranked by yards and #2 ranked by DVOA offense against the 49ers vaunted defense (#1 in yards allowed, #5 in DVOA). Looking at stats it would seem the 49ers should have little trouble making the Dolphins offense one dimensional in this matchup, with the 49ers #1 in terms of rushing yards allowed while the Dolphins rank 28th in rushing yards gained and 27th in yards per carry. However, their average yards per game has lifted since they acquired Jeff Wilson from the 49ers, though that is partly skewed by one big game against the Browns. 

The contribution of Wilson and Mostert on the ground should not be taken for granted and it will be imperative that the 49ers keep them contained, but it is in stopping the Dolphins passing game that will dictate the 49ers success on defense in this game. 

It has been well documented this week that Mike McDaniel and the Dolphins have looked attack the intermediate middle often and with great success. The threat of Hill and Waddle with their elite speed helps open a lot of windows for Tua to exploit. Teams are forced to respect that threat and it has resulted in the Dolphins facing the lowest percentage of man coverage in the NFL and the most split safety looks.  

With such explosive players you might think most offensive coordinators would be tempted to use a lot of longer developing pass plays to hit teams deep regularly. While this is certainly part of their offense, Mike McDaniel has mostly taken the approach he and Kyle Shanahan developed in San Francisco of looking to get his playmakers the ball in space. Waddle in particular is a player they look to get the ball to in space in the quick game so he can use his speed and elusiveness to take a short play into a big gain. As a result, Tua has one of the lowest average times to throw in the NFL this season at around 2.6 seconds. 

Needless to say the Dolphins offense, in particular their passing game, will put a lot of strain on the 49ers defense this week. But the good news is the 49ers have been the best in the NFL since 2018 in defending the intermediate middle of the field (and yes, it is no coincidence that is the same timeframe that Fred Warner has been a 49er). The middle defenders will need to stay disciplined and cover a lot of ground this week, but they have the speed and athleticism to do so. The DBs will also need to be alert about the speed of Hill and Waddle and make sure they aren't afforded too much space and are closed down quickly. 

Helping the 49ers, it looks like both starting OTs Terron Armstead and Austin Jackson could be missing this game. Armstead in particular has been a big loss for the Dolphins whenever he has missed time this season. A dominant display from the pass rush would go a long way to slowing down the Dolphins offense and potentially forcing them into a few mistakes. 

Offensively, the 49ers will want to establish their running game in this contest. Not just because it is the heart of the offensive identity, but because against a team like the Dolphins it is a good idea to shorten the game, limit their opportunities, and give your defense as much of a break as possible. But teams in recent weeks have been setting themselves to stop the 49ers running game and this week is unlikely to be any different. And with Elijah Mitchell now out again with another knee injury, I expect to see the 49ers looking to use the quick game as an extension of the run a lot in this contest. Miami's defense is pretty much middle of the pack to bottom third in most metrics and the 49ers should have an easier time of things than they had against the Saints last week. 

One area they must improve on from last week though is in pass protection. Jimmy G was under heavy duress against the Saints and as a result he put the ball in harms way more often than he had done the previous three games. When given time this season he has looked composed and efficient, and that is the Jimmy G the 49ers need this week. 

This has the potential to be the game of the season if both squads play to their potential.