Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Friday, October 11, 2024
Niners hang on for key win vs. Seahawks despite Mason injury
“I’ve talked about some hard losses are harder than others and when you feel like you have those won, especially division games, that’s made us sick about it,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “We’ve been talking about how these two losses are a reminder of how the NFL works, and I think we got a little spoiled in that way of just human nature of sometimes feeling too relaxed and you can never feel too relaxed.”
3 takeaways after 49ers bend, but avoid breaking again in crucial win over Seahawks
“The most glaring point of dysfunction with the 49ers offense is the lack of success in the red zone, and that Brock Purdy is almost always scrambling. Purdy can simultaneously be criticized and sympathized with: San Francisco’s interior offensive line is simply not holding up and Purdy is not trusting the pocket.
He’s also inconsistently looking the way of Brandon Aiyuk, the 49ers’ best separator and true receiver. Aiyuk was targeted just four times Thursday night, and one of his catches came with both Deebo Samuel and George Kittle off the field hurt.
Purdy made some excellent throws Thursday night, but he also missed some because he jumped around in the pocket. I realize this might seem a bizarre point if you just looked at the box score. The 49ers scored 36 points, ran for 229 yards and Purdy was 18-of-28 for 255 yards with 3 touchdowns.”
Maiocco’s report card: Grades in much-needed win over Seahawks
“The 49ers get mostly high marks across the board in this one. The lone blemish was on special teams, where they did some good work but also gave up a huge momentum-changing play.”
Hutchinson: The 49ers bought themselves exactly enough time to get right
“That said, I don’t think Pearsall needs to go for 10 catches and 150 yards to fundamentally alter and improve San Francisco’s offense. He was drafted 31st overall because he is someone the 49ers believe can be a difference maker. I agree with their assessment.
Where they have struggled is in the red zone, and in beating man coverage, which Brock Purdy himself said he expects teams to throw at the 49ers this season. In the red zone the 49ers entered Thursday night with the worst average separation in the league at 2.8 yards.
Defenses couldn’t do that with a man-beater nightmare in McCaffrey. Without McCaffrey, they have a problem.
Jordan Mason can settle in zone, but he’s not a real route-running back. Deebo Samuel is more Swiss Army knife than receiver. He simply does not separate from man coverage. Jauan Jennings can win, and does, especially on third downs. But he doesn’t frequently create meaningful separation. George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk are both excellent and capable of creating separation against man.
But with just those two to really worry about in man, teams frequently funnel safety help to at least one of them, and in the red zone, defensive backs can sometimes cut off throws to multiple targets on high-low concepts.”
49ers’ Deommodore Lenoir crows after limiting DK Metcalf: ‘One of us showed up’ (paywall)
“Against a secondary that was without his antagonist, All-Pro cornerback Charvarius Ward, who was sidelined with a knee injury, Metcalf didn’t do anything like he’d done in the season’s first five games. He arrived Thursday ranked fourth in the NFL in receiving yards (421), but he left with just three catches for 48 yards on 11 targets.
When Metcalf’s stat line was relayed to Lenoir, he feigned surprise.
“Oh, wow,” Lenoir said. “That’s crazy. Three (catches)? Not 14. The big guy? Not him.”
Kawakami: The 49ers had to go to Seattle to figure out how to be the 49ers again
“There’s just a feeling around the team about this stuff. The young guys pick up on it. The coach doesn’t need to give too many speeches. He mostly presumes the culture of the locker room will bring this out.”