Week 3 - With the 49ers and Seahawks both 1-1 on the year and coming off of their first loss of the season, Sunday saw the two division foes renew rivalries in Seattle where San Francisco hasn't had any luck since Alex Smith was the quarterback. But with Seattle entering the game having scored only one touchdown through their first two games, you would've thought Chip Kelly's team had a chance to steal one from the struggling Seahawks, right? Wrong. Instead, a return home to host one of their most hated rivals would awaken Seattle from their offensive slumber, scoring a touchdown just three plays into the game.
For the past six years, the 49er defense has had their hands full with trying to contain Marshawn Lynch who would almost always reek havoc against them before deciding to retire this past offseason. But even with Lynch no longer on the field to give San Francisco a headache, the Niner defense couldn't seem to find an answer for the Seattle run game as Christine Michael found hole after hole in the first half and collected his first two career touchdowns before finishing the game with a career-high 106 yards rushing. With both of his touchdowns coming in each of Seattle's first two drives, the 49ers allowed Michael to become the first Seahawks running back to tally a pair of first quarter touchdowns since Shaun Alexander in 2005. With the 49ers offense being no stranger to the three & out this year, they would add to their league-lead with five more on Sunday. Unable to generate any offense of their own in the first half, a field goal would be all San Francisco would have to show for thanks to Pro-Bowl linebacker NaVorro Bowman who forced a Jimmy Graham fumble to put kicker Phil Dawson in business. Unfortunately, Graham would redeem himself on Seattle's following drive.
With Seattle QB Russell Wilson playing through an ankle injury suffered in Week 1, the 49ers secondary was still unable to find a solution for the Seahawks' passing attack as Doug Baldwin hauled in a 59-yard reception in the second quarter followed by an 18-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Graham on the very next play. Though it would be all the points they would need, they would add a Steven Hauschka field goal before the half to take a 24-3 lead into the locker room. Wilson would torch the Niners thru the air for 243 yards before getting hurt in the third quarter when second-year linebacker Eli Harold sacked Wilson and landed awkwardly on Wilson's left ankle. And though he would only sit out for a play before returning to prove he was alright, Pete Carroll chose not to risk further injury to his franchise quarterback and elected to bring in the backup. Rookie Trevone Boykin would keep the route going by throwing for his first career touchdown just a few drives later when he connected with Baldwin for a 16-yard TD who went on to rack up a career-best 164 yards receiving. With his first career touchdown under his belt, Boykin would also be greeted with his first career interception as Niners linebacker Nick Bellore stepped in front of a pass to come up with the easy pick which would also be his first.
As for the 49ers, QB Blaine Gabbert would have another forget performance passing for only 119 yards and an interception to give the Seattle defense their first takeaway of the year. Carlos Hyde would be the lone bright spot on the day for the 49ers as he turned a would-be mediocre performance into a career day thanks to a strong fourth quarter. With only his second career 100 yard performance, Hyde became the first running back to rush for over 100 yards against the Seattle defense since Kansas City's Jamaal Charles did so on November 16, 2014. And though both of his touchdowns would both come during garbage-time in the fourth quarter with the game well out of reach, they would both come against Seattle's first-string defense as Carroll elected not to dump his starters for the bench late in the game. Hyde's late-game heroics would make the game look a lot closer on the scoreboard than it actually was as Seattle pulled off the 37-18 victory.
Week 4: With (1-2) San Francisco returning home to host the (2-1) Dallas Cowboys, Chip Kelly and company is hoping a return to Levi's Stadium will help ignite the defense which kept the opposition from scoring in their Week 1 win at home. But with Rookie QB Dak Prescott playing turnover-free football thru the first three games of his career, it'll be an intriguing match-up if the 49er defense can play anywhere near as dominant as they did in the Monday night opener. Coming off back-to-back wins following a season-opening loss to the Giants, the Cowboys appear to have struck gold with Prescott filling in quite nicely under center for the injury-riddled Tony Romo. Prescott isn't the only Cowboy the 49ers will have to keep a close eye on as Rookie RB and first round draft pick Ezekiel Elliott is coming off his first career 100 yard performance (140 yards on 30 carries) and is looking more and more like the dominant back we saw at Ohio State week after week. Having been torched in consecutive weeks, the 49er secondary could catch a huge break if Pro-Bowl wide-out Dez Bryant who is currently awaiting the results of an MRI for his knee, isn't able to play on Sunday.
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Week 2 - With the 49ers on the road in Carolina on short rest to face the defending NFC Champion Panthers (0-1), they'd be given a tall task if they wanted to improve to 2-0 on the year. As if being on short rest wasn't already a disadvantage in the NFL, Carolina on the other hand had as much rest as you could possibly want, having played four days earlier than San Francisco in the Thursday night opener in a Super Bowl rematch against the Broncos. And with the Panthers coming up short, suffering a heart-wrenching 21-20 loss on a missed field goal by kicker Graham Gano as time expired, we all knew Carolina would come into their home-opener with a chip on their shoulder and in need of a big win to bounce back and avoid an 0-2 start. After kickoff, it would be the 49ers who got off to a fast start as the San Francisco defense came up with an interception on Cam Newton's first pass attempt of the afternoon just two plays in.
Unfortunately, the 49ers would have to settle for a Phil Dawson field goal. After forcing Carolina to punt on their second possession, the Niners had a chance to jump out to an even bigger lead in the 1st quarter, but a Carlos Hyde fumble inside his own 20 would put the Panthers on the board and ahead as the ball was recovered and taken into the end zone for a Carolina touchdown. The 49er defense would turn the tables on Carolina's next offensive possession, forcing a fumble and this time capitalizing with a trip to the end zone as Blaine Gabbert found Torrey Smith for a 28-yard touchdown. San Francisco's 10-7 lead would be short lived, however, as a 78-yard bomb on Carolina's next play would put them back ahead for good as Newton connected with his tight-end Greg Olsen who was left all alone down the middle. The Panthers would add a late field goal to take a 17-10 lead into the half as San Francisco still had hopes of pulling off the upset.
Those hopes would vanish, reappear and then vanish once again in the second half as the game soon became the Kelvin Benjamin show. Having missed all of the 2015 season last year with a torn ACL suffered during training camp, the former first round draft pick has picked up right where he left off before the injury and has shown no ill effects of a surgically repaired knee as he caught touchdown passes on back to back drives to open the second half. Thanks to their dominant 3rd quarter, the Panthers lead would improve to 31-10 as the game seemed well out of reach for the 49ers. But as soon as the 4th quarter started, things began to turn in the 49ers favor. Two plays into the final period, the San Francisco defense would flush Newton out of the pocket for a sack, forcing him to fumble and turning the miscue into three points. A muffed punt return by Ted Ginn Jr. on the ensuing kick would put the Niners offense right back in business on the 1-yard line. Gabbert would do it himself on the very next play, prancing into the end zone untouched.
With plenty of game left and the Panthers hanging onto a 34-20 lead midway thru the 4th, the 49ers would pull off their biggest play of the game on a 75-yard catch and dash touchdown as Gabbert found tight-end Vance McDonald who was aided with a nice block from receiver Quinton Patton as he ran down the sideline for the score. After Carolina answered with a field goal to make it a two possession game, Gabbert who had registered a clean game up to that point, would suffer a pair of late 4th quarter interceptions, dooming any chance of pulling off the miraculous comeback. Newton would put the Niners out of their misery with a late touchdown to Devin Funchess, giving him four touchdown passes on the afternoon and putting him over the 350-yards passing mark. Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart would suffer a hamstring injury early on in the game which opened the door for backup RB Fozzy Whittaker who filled in quite nicely by rushing for 100 yards on 16 carries in Stewart's absence. As for San Francisco's run game which wasn't nearly as effective as it was in Week 1, Carlos Hyde and Shaun Draughn were held to a combined 55 yards on 23 carries. Gabbert finished with 243 passing yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in the 46-27 loss.
Week 3 Preview - With the 49ers traveling to Seattle to take on the bitter rival Seahawks (1-1) in Week 3, San Francisco will need a win in order to hang on to first place in the division. With the Rams, Cardinals, Seahawks and 49ers all 1-1 thru the first two weeks of the season, the 49ers are the only team in the NFC West with a 1-0 record within the division, thus giving them sole possession of first place in the early going. Though it's been years since the 49ers have able to pull off a win in Seattle, Pete Carroll's Seahawks haven't looked too good thru the first two weeks after surviving a late scare at Home to the Dolphins in Week 1 followed by a loss to the Rams on Sunday. But by no means will coach Chip Kelly and company be able to underestimate Seattle QB Russell Wilson, even if he's still hobbled by a sprained ankle suffered in Week 1. With another stout effort on defense and a bounce back performance on the ground from Carlos Hyde as well as clean game in the turnover department from Blaine Gabbert, the 49ers may be able to leave Seattle with a 'W'.
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The Silence of the Lambs - With the 49ers and Rams the last two teams to take the field to start the 2016-17 NFL season, all eyes were on Los Angeles and San Francisco for many reasons as football fans in L.A. finally had a team to call their own again and fans of the red and gold anxiously awaited the start of the Chip Kelly era. And with the 49ers 2 1/2 point underdogs at home despite an eight game winning-streak on Monday Night Football (all by double-digits), San Francisco took it to the odds makers once again after pulling a 20-3 upset against the Vikings to open last season on Monday night. And boy would the books be wrong once again in this one as the 49ers recorded their first ever shutout victory to open a season in franchise history.
After a punt on their initial drive, the 49ers got things going on their second possession with running back Carlos Hyde capitalizing on an 11-yard touchdown run up the middle to put San Francisco up early. As for Hyde's counterpart -- Todd Gurley, who ran amok in his rookie season last year, including a dominant Week 8 performance against the Niners in which he tallied 133 yards on the ground, the San Francisco defense was well prepared for the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year this time around as they held him to a measly 47 yards on 17 carries. With the game expected to be an offensive struggle with both team's leading running backs expected to carry the load, only half of that expectation would live up to the billing as Gurley and company were simply stopped in their tracks and failed to get anything going on offense throughout. The one first half drive which appeared to be promising for the Rams, soon went up in flames as Keenum had a pass deflect off a teammates helmet and into the arms of 49ers Pro Bowl linebacker NaVorro Bowman for an interception. It would be the first of two interceptions by the 49ers defense as pre-season standout Ray-Ray Armstrong continued to shine on Monday night with an interception of his own late in the third quarter.
Hoping to turn that turnover into points, the 49ers would do just that as San Francisco marched their way down the field with backup running back Shaun Draughn punching it in from 3-yards out to pull ahead, 14-0. Looking to make it three consecutive scoring drives for the Niners, they would appear to be heading in the right direction after crossing midfield and into enemy territory on an 11-yard catch and go to Draughn who dodged a pair of tackles, but the second-year 49er would be stripped from behind after one too many nifty moves. Luckily, it wouldn't come back to haunt the Niners as they went into the half in command of a 14-0 lead. While the Rams were still unable to generate any offense to start the second half, their defense managed to step it up, forcing four straight three and outs by the 49er offense as they failed to convert a single first down in the third quarter. To put the struggle into perspective, at one point in the game there would be more punts (15) than points scored (14). But as soon as the fourth quarter began, it's like the 49ers remembered how to play offense again, driving down the field to score their third touchdown, this time through the air as QB Blaine Gabbert found tight-end Vance McDonald for the easy score to make it 21-0.
With the game out of reach and down to its last few minutes, things would get chippy when Rams Pro-Bowl defensive tackle Aaron Donald got into a scuffle with Niners receiver Quinton Patton, knocking the helmet off his head before making contact with an official. After tacking on a pair of penalties, Donald would be disqualified as he slammed his helmet on the turf before walking off the field. It would only get worse as Carlos Hyde ran it in for his second touchdown of the night just plays later as the 49ers put the Rams out of their misery by making it a 28-0 route. Converting 28 first downs compared to L.A.'s 10, it would be the first shutout victory for the Niners since a 2012 victory against the Jets and their sixth consecutive season-opening win, the most they've stringed together in franchise history as they begin the year 1-0 in the Chip Kelly era.
As for the Rams and their fans living in L.A., the 21 year wait was spoiled as they were held scoreless for the first time since Week 11 of 2011. After trading up in the off-season to acquire the first overall pick in the NFL Draft to select QB Jared Goff out of Cal, the Rams elected not to start the season with Goff as the quarterback following a disappointing pre-season in which he struggled mightily. But after seeing QB Case Keenum's poor attempt at the position, it's hard to believe the Rams aren't better off handing the reigns to Goff going forward just to get him as many reps as possible. Not to mention he can't do much worse under center than Keenum did as he was held to just 130 yards while completing 17 of 35 pass attempts. Gabbert didn't necessarily have himself a game for the ages either, completing 22 of 35 passes for 170 yards and adding another 43 yards on the ground, but he did what he needed to and allowed Carlos Hyde to do the rest, rushing for 88 yards and a pair of TD's.
Week 2 Preview: With the exception of a Shaun Draughn fumble in the second quarter, the 49ers played an extremely clean game, committing only two penalties and not allowing a single sack. Though it's just one game, it's a huge step forward after being one of the most penalized teams in the league a season ago and owning one of the NFL's worst offensive-lines. With a match-up on the road against the defending NFC Champion Carolina Panthers in Week 2, the Niners will once again need a stellar performance on defense and a clean game in the penalty department if they want to improve to 2-0 with another upset victory over reigning MVP Cam Newton and company. It won't be easy, however, as Carolina's linebackers Luke Keuchle & Thomas Davis will most likely be a handful for Gabbert and the 49er offense. Not to mention the Panthers will be playing with a chip on their shoulder while looking to avenge a tough loss at Denver to open the season on Thursday night which means they'll be very rested come kickoff.
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If the month of July was a bad dream for the San Francisco Giants who saw their division lead in the NL West drop to as low as 1-game, August was a nightmare with Buster Posey's head-first slide (shown above) being the lasting image of another disappointing month. Beginning the month by losing four of their first five series to the tone of a 5-10 record, the Giants' free-fall continued as August 16 saw the G-Men fall out of first place for the first time since the month of May. With the archrival Los Angeles Dodgers playing some of their best ball of the year despite being without their best player in ace Clayton Kershaw and the Giants doing the exact opposite, San Francisco would watch L.A. leap-frog them in the standings by as many as 3 games.
After a sluggish 9-game road trip in which the Giants lost back to back series in Philadelphia and Washington D.C. by dropping two of three before turning the tables in Miami to take two of three against the Marlins, San Francisco returned home where they would lose seven of ten. A heart-wrenching loss to the Baltimore Orioles in the series-finale which the Giants were 1-out away from winning, coupled with a 3-game sweep at the hands of the Pirates left a sour taste in the mouth of Giants fans. And though they would take the first two games at home against the reigning National League champion New York Mets, they would drop the next two to split the 4-game series. Even considering their month-long struggle, the Giants remained in striking distance of rival L.A. and had themselves a golden opportunity to recapture first place with a date with the Dodgers. Unfortunately, Bruce Bochy's ball club would fail to show up to yet another series as they dropped the first two games before salvaging the series-finale thanks to a career night from the newly acquired Matt Moore who came within one out of becoming the first Giants pitcher to no-hit the Dodgers in over 100 years.
Needing one more out to etch his name into the record books, Dodgers rookie Corey Seager fought off a 2-out single to end Moore's near perfect night as the Giants completed the 4-0 victory. Though Moore would fall just short, one Giants pitcher who did make history was All-Star Madison Bumgarner who recorded his 200th strikeout of the season against the Dodgers, joining some elite company (Christy Mathewson, Amos Rusie, Juan Marichal and former teammate Tim Lincecum) with his third consecutive 200 strikeout season and becoming the first left-hander in franchise history to accomplish the feat.
Following the brief three-game trip to L.A., the Giants returned home to AT&T Park for five games where they would play host to the lowly Atlanta Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks. After taking two of three against the Braves including a 13-4 shellacking in which the Giants matched a franchise-record (SF-era) with four triples in the same game which would also witness second baseman Joe Panik log his first career multi-home run game, San Francisco split the two-game set with the D-Backs, thanks to another strong outing from Matt Moore to closeout the month. With an 11-16 record in August, the Giants currently sit 1.5 games behind first place with an overall record of 72-60. And unless they wake up fast, the Giants could see the window of opportunity close as their first match-up of September will be no easy task when they hit the north side of Chicago for a four-game meeting with the Cubs who own the best record in all of baseball at 85-47. And with a 3-game stop at Colorado's Coors Field to follow, the first week of September will be challenging to say the least. With six games against the Dodgers remaining on the schedule, including four in September, the Giants have ample time and a fair chance to catch up and surpass L.A. in the standings, but not if Buster Posey and company continue to slump at the plate like they have been. With a slight edge over the St. Louis Cardinals for the first of two NL Wild Card spots, the Giants will need to finish September strong if they plan to maintain a playoff spot and continue their even year streak of being World Series champions.
Noteworthy: One of the brighter highlights in the month of August was the 7-hit performance by Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford who collected seven base knocks, including a go-ahead knock in the 14th inning of an 8-7 win over the Marlins. Crawford tied an all-time single-game National League record with seven hits in eight at-bats and has continued to be one of the better run-producers for the Giants, leading the team by more than 10 RBI's. With his 7-hit performance, Crawford joins the rare company of Rennie Stennett (1975) and Wilbert Robinson (1892) as the only players in the history of the National League to connect for seven hits in a single ball game.
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