Also, there were plenty of good plays from the offense that we’re not discussing
The 49ers did not lose the game because of one person or one specific drive or even one coaching decision. But, if you were to look around social media or ask fans, you’d think San Francisco just got blown out by the San Jose State Spartans.
The 49ers’ success rate through the air was 52%, with 42% of those plays turning into first downs. On third and fourth down, that success rate jumped to 69%. The trouble came on first and second down, where San Francisco had a negative EPA both on the ground and in the air.
Pretending the 49ers didn’t do anything well on offense is foolish — that includes Jimmy Garoppolo. There were chess matches and wrinkles that were new that each team used during the game.
In the video below, I explain the Packers‘ adjustments on defense that gave the 49ers issues both in coverage and on the ground. Also, just because it’s a loss doesn’t mean we only have to focus on the bad plays. There were too many good ones in this game to leave out.
Plays covered:
- A missed sight adjustment from Deebo Samuel that forced the 49ers to punt where Jimmy G likely gets blamed by the casual observer.
- A counter play with Deebo as the lead blocker, George Kittle as the ball-carrier, and Brandon Aiyuk blocking his butt off. (On this play, I misspoke and said Trent Williams is responsible for the C-gap player. I meant the B-gap player.)
- The problem it creates for your passing offense when you don’t throw the ball deep
- Trey Sermon’s 16-yard carry
- Why process>results for Jimmy
- Why Deebo getting a red zone carry is bad news for Sermon
- Jimmy G’s touchdown throw to Aiyuk and throwing with great anticipation
- Garoppolo taking a sack and missing his check down route
- Shanahan’s final wrinkle that ended up being an easy pitch and catch to Kyle Juszczyk
- Why timing is everything in this offense
- “Dagger” concept
- A concept that floods the Packers zone coverage with three verticals
- A dime to Deebo that was incomplete
- Hospital balls
- The last play is why it’ll be tough for Shanahan to quit Garoppolo
The offensive line pass protected well, but there was zero push on the ground game. There were a few reps where Alex Mack was embarrassed. San Francisco struggled with the Packers putting a nose tackle over Mack, which in turn hurt Daniel Brunskill and Mike McGlinchey.
Inconsistencies at each level hurt the team on Sunday.
One of the new wrinkles that George Kittle described after the game as a “double edge” was to ensure the 49ers couldn’t get outside of the pocket and run their bootleg plays. That’s a big part of Shanahan’s passing game.