Week 16 - With the (1-13) San Francisco 49ers on the road for the final time in the 2016 NFL season, Chip Kelly's 49ers would pay a visit to the L.A. Coliseum to face the (4-10) Rams, the one and only team San Francisco has had any luck against this season. But since their dominant 28-0 victory over the Rams to begin the season, a lot has changed for both teams. While the 49ers have yet to win a game since the Monday Night opener and entered Sunday's game suffering a 13-game losing streak, their worst losing skid in franchise history, the Rams have also had their fair share of ups and downs, including the firing of head coach Jeff Fisher less than two weeks ago which came just days after the team announced they signed him to a 2-year extension. Both teams would also have a different quarterback under center since their Week 1 meeting.
In the house that witnessed the first NFL completion of 49ers all-time great QB Joe Montana, San Francisco would face off against the number one overall pick Jared Goff who grew up a Niners fan and wears No. 16 in honor of Montana. But on Christmas Eve in front of a predominately pro-49ers crowd, Goff would want nothing more for Christmas than to earn his first career NFL victory against the team he grew up rooting for in a match-up between two struggling NFC Western Division foes. Unfortunately for the Cal Berkeley alum, the 49ers would have other plans as Colin Kaepernick and company would plan to play the role of the Grinch who stole Christmas. On Los Angeles' first drive, Goff would be greeted by 49ers cornerback Tremaine Brock who jumped out in front of Rams receiver Kenny Britt for his first interception of the season and returning it 39 yards to put San Francisco in striking distance. Just two plays later, Kaepernick would find his running back Carlos Hyde across the middle who then found the end zone for a 19-yard score. But the Rams would have no problem answering on their ensuing possession as a 51-yard kick return by Pharoh Cooper ignited Los Angeles' offense to score 21 unanswered-points, including their first seven on a 1-yard run in by Todd Gurley.
The 49ers offense would run into some problems of their own as their ensuing possession went into flames much like L.A.'s first possession as Kaepernick overthrew his intended target and was picked off by defensive back Cody Davis. The Rams would pull ahead just one play later as Tavon Austin took the hand-off to the house for a 30 yard touchdown. The run would be the longest rush of the season for the Rams and gave them their first set of back-to-back touchdown-scoring drives since Week 6. An uneventful stretch on either side of the ball from both teams in the second and third quarters would set up a roller coaster ride in the fourth. One play into San Francisco's first drive of the fourth quarter would end in disaster as Carlos Hyde caught a pass and was struck in his left knee by E.J. Gaines immediately after turning his head and planting his foot. With the ball squirting out and recovered by a Rams defender, the ruling on the field was an incomplete pass but would later be reversed to a fumble as L.A. challenged the play. While the 49ers would turn the ball over, the worst news would be that of Carlos Hyde's health as he was forced to leave the game with what was later revealed to be a serious MCL sprain that wouldn't require surgery but would put an end to Hyde's 2016 campaign.
Already in field goal range after recovering the fumble, Goff would complete his one and only touchdown on the afternoon, a 2-yard pass to rookie tight-end Tyler Higbee to make it a 21-7 game. Though the 21 points scored by the Rams would be their most points at the Coliseum this season, it wouldn't be enough. While we've seen the 49ers squander a handful of 14-point leads this season, we've never seen them come back from one. At least not until Saturday as Kaepernick worked some late game magic with his team trailing 21-7 with 10:32 remaining. After making it beyond mid-field and facing a fourth and 8, Kaepernick would keep the drive alive by finding his receiver Rod Streater along the sideline for a 10-yard gain. Following two consecutive incompletions, Kaepernick would decide to do it himself, dodging tackles and scrambling for a 13-yard touchdown to pull his team within seven. In need of a stop, the 49er defense would come through after forcing a Rams three and out to give Kaepernick and co. one last chance.
With just over three minutes to march down field and two timeouts remaining, the 49ers would make their way into enemy territory after a series of short passes. And with 36 seconds remaining, Kaepernick would find Streater streaking down the middle for the touchdown. But instead of going for the game-tying point after, Niners head coach Chip Kelly kept Kaepernick and the offense on the field to try and go for the win. And after solid coverage by the defense and with nobody to throw to, Kaepernick would take it in himself, soaring into the air and extending the ball past the pylon for the successful two-point conversion. Despite the 49ers taking a 22-21 lead with under a minute remaining, the game wouldn't be over just yet as a taunting penalty by San Francisco would give the Rams an extra 15-yards from the spot of the ensuing kick. With the ball at the 42 yard line, Goff would be picked off by Rashard Robinson, sealing the victory and stealing a win from Goff who was left still seeking his first career victory. San Francisco managed to pull off the epic comeback without their bell cow in Carlos Hyde who ran for 38 yards on the afternoon and fell just 12 yards short of his first career 1,000 yard season. The 22-21 victory was San Francisco's first over the Rams at the L.A. Coliseum since 1976.
For a team that has struggled mightily on defense this year, San Francisco managed to hold Goff to only 90 yards passing on 11 of 24 attempts and contained Todd Gurley to just 67 yards on the ground (23 carries), logging another solid performance against the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year. Meanwhile, Kaepernick tossed for 266 yards passing, 24 of which went to Hyde.
Week 17 Preview - Coming off only their second victory of the season, the (2-13) 49ers will look to closeout the 2016 season with a winning streak as they return to Levi's Stadium to face the bitter rival Seattle Seahawks who are coming off a 34-31 loss at home to the Arizona Cardinals. Having already clinched the NFC West Division at 9-5-1 and not much to play for in this one, I'm guessing Seattle will most likely rest a majority of their starters for a good portion of this game, giving the Niners somewhat of a chance to defeat Seattle for the first time since December 2013. In their first meeting earlier this year, Seattle ran away with the 37-18 blowout victory at home as running back Christine Michael scored two touchdowns on the ground and rushed for over 100 yards. But with Michael now on the Packers and the Seattle run game not quite what it used to be, it's been the passing attack that has led the offense. And with defensive studs Earl Thomas out for the season with a broken leg and Kam Chancellor nursing an ankle injury, the Seahawks defense isn't quite as stout which could be alarming heading into the playoffs. Not to mention how much better the Seahawks are at home opposed to on the road which they'll be come playoff time.
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Week 15 - Heading into their Week 15 match-up in Atlanta with the (8-5) Falcons, the (1-12) 49ers knew they had a tall task ahead as Atlanta entered the game averaging over 30 points per game and coming off a 42-14 road shellacking of the Rams. And with San Francisco still seeking its first road win of the season, it was unlikely it would come against a high octane offense like Atlanta's who would be without their star receiver in Julio Jones. With Jones nursing a toe injury, the Falcons would rely heavily on their dominant run game as their trio of backs would pile up over 200 yards rushing on the afternoon, carving up a 49ers defense that is more than ready to call it a season.
With San Francisco starting things on offense, they would open the game by going three and out for the 47th time this season, second in the NFL only to the rival Rams. They would then be taken to school by Matt Ryan and the Falcons offense as they made their initial drive look effortless while taking over near midfield. After marching into the red zone and setting up shop inside the 5-yard line, running back Devonta Freeman would take it into the end zone for his first of three touchdowns on the day as Atlanta recorded their league-leading seventh touchdown-scoring drive on their first possession this season. Looking to answer with a scoring drive of their own, San Francisco appeared to be on track to do just that after a 41-yard kick return by JaCorey Shepherd put the Niners at midfield. Two plays later, however, the 49ers would suffer their one and only turnover of the game. Coming off a career day against the Jets, running back Carlos Hyde would fumble at the 49-yard line, giving Atlanta great field position once again to follow up a performance in which the Falcons recorded a season-high five forced fumbles against the Rams the week before. As for San Francisco, the woes continued as it was their 12th lost fumble of 2016.
Atlanta would add to their lead by scoring touchdowns in each of their next two possessions to give them three straight scoring drives to open the game. While it would be a somewhat of a quiet day for QB Matt Ryan considering what he could've done against the Niners' anemic secondary if he wanted, his touchdown passes to Taylor Gabriel and Austin Hooper would make it a 21-0 ballgame in only the first quarter. The second quarter would be much more kind to the 49ers than the first, as they would score a pair of touchdowns to attempt to make it a ballgame in the first half. Their first score would be on a dart pass to backup tight-end Garrett Celek from 16-yards out. With Atlanta looking to answer back, they would march all the way down the field to the 1-yard line where they would suffer their first turnover by a running back this year (381 carries) as middle linebacker Michael Wilhoite forced and recovered the fumble by Freeman at the goal-line. Unfortunately for San Francisco, the break would only be temporarily as the Niners were unable to do anything with the takeaway and allowed Atlanta to score on their very next possession.
Facing a 28-7 deficit, Niners QB Colin Kaepernick would toss his second touchdown of the quarter just before halftime as he connected with Rod Streater from 5-yards out to make it a 15-point game following a missed point-after by kicker Phil Dawson. The score would be the first for Streater in a 49ers uniform and his first touchdown since 2014. By halftime, Atlanta had totaled 319 first half yards, their most in a first half all season, San Francisco on the other hand would have only 272 yards in total through all four quarters. Facing a large second half deficit, San Francisco would be forced to desert the run game and rely on the arm of Kaepernick who would fail to throw for 200 yards for a third consecutive game, despite completing 20 of 33 pass attempts. With Atlanta producing big play after big play including 10 plays of 20+ yards, something they lead the league in this season, their lead would reach 41-13 after Freeman's third and final touchdown and a pair of Matt Bryant field goals. It would mark the second time this year that the Atlanta offense put up 40 points in a game in back to back weeks and only the third time in team history. As if the blowout loss wasn't painful enough for Chip Kelly's 49ers, Devonta Freeman's 139 yards rushing would mark the 11th time this season that the Niner defense allowed a 100-yard rusher, second most all-time to only the 2008 Detroit Lions.
With two games remaining, the 49ers defense has already allowed the most rushing yards in franchise history at over 2,400 yards and that number continues to climb. With Atlanta looking to stave off division-rival Tampa Bay for the NFC South title, the Falcons improved to 9-5 on the season and were helped by a Bucs loss on Sunday night. The 41-13 loss by San Francisco drops them to 1-13 on the year as their forgetful season continues to pile on.
Week 16 Preview - With the 49ers heading to southern California to renew rivalries with the one and only team they've beaten this season -- the 4-10 Los Angeles Rams, they'll look to repeat the same dominance they accomplished in a Week 1 Monday Night blowout in hopes of pulling off their one and only road win of the season. With the Rams currently on a 5-game losing skid of their own, they'll look to bounce back on Christmas eve at home where they've only won one game all year compared to the three victories they've achieved on the road away from the Coliseum. The Rams are dead last in the NFL with only 21 touchdowns scored all season and the 49ers will look to keep that trend going versus the first overall pick in the 2016 Draft Jared Goff who played his collegiate ball just a stones throw away from San Francisco at Cal Berkeley. It'll be the 49ers first crack at Goff who grew up a 49ers fan and wears the number 16 in honor of the great Joe Montana. If San Francisco can cause trouble for the rookie QB and manage to contain running back Todd Gurley like they did in their Week 1 match-up (47 yards on 17 carries), the 49ers just might return home with an early Christmas present in the form of their second win of the season. Also, with 50 yards on Sunday, Carlos Hyde can become the first 49ers RB to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season since Frank Gore in 2014, but it won't come easy as the Rams still own one of the toughest run defenses in the league despite their struggles.
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Week 14 - With the (1-11) San Francisco 49ers hosting the (3-9) New York Jets in a battle of two struggling teams, we'd bare witness to a tale of two halves as one team went from scalding hot in the first half to ice-cold in the second half , meanwhile, the other team managed to do the complete opposite. Hoping to get a glimpse of the future and solve their prolonged quarterback situation, Jets head coach Todd Bowles decided to give the ball to QB Bryce Petty who in his second year would make only his second career start while facing the 49ers. And in a first half dominated by the home team, Petty's inexperience would show early on.
After receiving the ball to start the game, Petty would make his first mistake on only the second play of the game as a pass intended for receiver Quincy Enunwa was picked off by cornerback Jimmie Ward who read Petty like a book and jumped the route to set his team up inside the red zone. 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick would waste no time to capitalize on the turnover as he found Carlos Hyde for the early touchdown on a 7-yard dump off on their very first play. For Hyde, it would be the start of what would end up being a career day for the Niners running back who entered the game seeking his first 100-yard performance since Week 3. And versus the fourth best rushing defense in the NFL entering Sunday, he would eclipse the century mark in less than two full quarters in this one as he broke off big gain after big gain, including a 47-yarder on San Francisco's next possession which set up backup running back Shaun Draughn who scored on the very next play with a 4-yard rushing touchdown of his own.
Looking to tack on more and take a commanding lead, the 49ers relied on their dependable kicker Phil Dawson who came into Sunday's affair having made 17 of his 18 field goal attempts this season. But not even San Francisco's Pro Bowl kicker would be perfect in this one as he missed back to back field goals on 44 and 48 yard tries on consecutive possessions. After watching Jets kicker Nick Folk make one from 36-yards out to put New York on the board in the second quarter, the third time would be a charm for Dawson who split the uprights with a 47-yarder to give the 49ers a 17-3 lead that they would take with them into the half. But like they've done so often this season, San Francisco would forget to bring their offense with them in the second half as yet another 14-point lead would soon be evaporated. Leading 17-6 with 5 minutes remaining in regulation, a combination of poor tackling and predictable play-calling would be the Niners' demise and allowed the Jets to get right back in it as Petty followed up a Bilal Powell rushing touchdown with a successful two-point try to pull his team within a field goal.
Even with the worst two minute offense in the league entering Sunday for the Jets, San Francisco's lackluster defense would once again let us down as Petty managed to march his team down the field and in position to set up his kicker for a game-tying field goal. And from 51 yards out, Folk would do just that, sending the game into overtime. Though 49ers running back Carlos Hyde would feast with a career-high 193 yards rushing and 7 yards receiving to give him 200 total yards on the day, the most by a 49ers RB since Frank Gore's 207 yard performance on September 20, 2009, his team would fail to ride his big game into victory as the Jets completed the comeback and won in overtime, 23-17, on a 19-yard touchdown by Powell. Powell would also finish with an impressive afternoon, compiling 179 total yards (145 rushing) and a pair of touchdowns. Petty's first career win would hand San Francisco their franchise-worst 12th straight loss. The quarterback the Jets are hoping will solve their woes at the QB position threw for 257 yards compared to the 133 yards by Colin Kaepernick who struggled to get anything going offensively in the second half, as has been the case virtually all season long for both Kaepernick and Chip Kelly's 49ers who've been unable to closeout games week after week.
Week 15 - After failing to come out with a win on Sunday at home to the lowly Jets, the 49ers will have their hands full with a trip to Atlanta next to take on the NFC South-leading Falcons. Sitting at 8-5 on the year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also at 8-5 and breathing down Atlanta's neck for first place, the Falcons are coming off a 42-14 road shellacking of the Los Angeles Rams and are looking to extend their lead in the division which is bad news for a 49ers team still seeking its first road victory of 2016. Led by quarterback Matt Ryan who began the season as an MVP candidate, Ryan helped hang a 42-spot on the road against the Rams by throwing for 3 touchdowns, all without his best receiver in Julio Jones who was unable to play due to an injured toe. The Niners figure to dodge a bullet as Jones is expected to also be out in Week 15, but the 49ers will still have plenty on their plate as they look to stop all the other play-makers Atlanta has on offense, including the 1-2 punch of running backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. Another big day by Carlos Hyde would be a nice counter for the 49ers, but unless Kaepernick and company can contribute through a full four quarters and the defense can show up, this one could get ugly in a hurry.
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Week 13 - In a match-up between the NFC's two worst teams -- the (2-9) Chicago Bears and the (1-11) San Francisco 49ers, the struggle would continue at damp and snowy Soldier Field. The poor conditions with slush-like snow falling from the sky helped make for an even uglier brand of football than we've grown accustomed to seeing from both teams this year. With the 49ers still seeking their first road win since a meeting with the Bears last December, neither team would complete a pass in the opening quarter as it was the ground game that both teams relied heavily on in the early going. That would be especially true for San Francisco as nearly every passing play was either incomplete or ended in a quarterback sack as QB Colin Kaepernick spent much of his time either on the turf or struggling to find the open man on Sunday. As if the elements weren't enough for the 49ers signal-caller to deal with, he had his former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio on the opposing side, dialing up plays that proved to be a headache for Kaepernick and coach Chip Kelly's 49er offense.
With 23 run plays to 10 passing plays for San Francisco in the first half, we would get a steady diet of Carlos Hyde who tallied 92 rushing yards on the afternoon and helped the 49ers dominate in the time of possession department in the first half as they held the ball for 20 of the games first 30 minutes. Somewhat of a surprise considering San Francisco entered the game ranked last in the league in time of possession. Sadly, they would manage to score only six points in all that time as a pair of Phil Dawson field goals was all San Francisco had to show for despite the time advantage. With Chicago pinned back in their own end zone on fourth down, 49ers backup running back Shaun Draughn would get a hand on a Pat O'Donnell punt attempt which helped put the Niners in position to kick their first field goal. Draughn would come up big yet again on special-teams as he stripped Bears return man Deonte Thompson of the ball on the ensuing kick, thus setting up another 49er field goal to make it a 6-0 San Francisco lead.
With just under two minutes to go before halftime and Bears quarterback Matt Barkley still without a completion, the former USC Trojan would begin completing pass after pass as he stringed together four completions on the ensuing drive. Following a controversial pass interference call in the end zone which put the Bears in business at the 1-yard line, Barkley handed the ball off to his rookie running back Jordan Howard who did the rest by punching it in for the go-ahead touchdown. The go-ahead score would be the start of 26 unanswered-points scored by Chicago and the first of three rushing touchdowns on the afternoon by Howard. Adding to his busy afternoon, Howard finished with 117 yards rushing, becoming the ninth back to eclipse the 100-yard mark against the 49ers defense this year. Putting that dismal number into perspective, no other team has allowed more than four 100-yard rushers this season. Sadly, that wouldn't be the most woeful stat of the day for San Francisco as that dubious honor would belong to Colin Kaepernick who was replaced by Blaine Gabbert with 12:55 remaining in the fourth quarter after throwing for only 4 yards on 1-of-5 pass attempts.
Making matters worse for Kaepernick who has had somewhat of a roller coaster campaign in 2016, he would watch Gabbert log more passing yards on his first play of action (an 18-yard completion to Jeremy Kerley) than Kaepernick had in the entire three quarters he spent on the field. Gabbert would finish with 35 yards passing on 4 of 10 attempts before being taken down in his own end zone for a safety in the final minutes of San Francisco's 26-6 loss. After factoring in the six total sacks that the 49ers quarterbacks would suffer, San Francisco combined for a total of 6 net passing yards, the second lowest mark in franchise history. It would also be the fewest yards allowed by a Bears team since the 1985 Monsters of Midway Chicago Bears team that won the franchise's one and only Super Bowl. As for their offense, the 26-points scored by Chicago would be a season-high in what would end up being the first career win for Matt Barkley who finished the game with 192 yards passing on 11-of-18 attempts. The 49ers will now at least have a top-4 pick in next year's NFL Draft as their franchise-worst losing-skid has now reached 11 games. Meanwhile, Chicago improves to 3-9 on the year.
Week 14 Preview - With the 49ers returning home to face the 3-9 New York Jets who are coming off a 41-10 blowout loss at home to the Colts on Monday Night Football, San Francisco will find themselves in rare territory as odds makers have them favored by 3 points, something we've seen very little of this season. Currently suffering a four-game losing streak of their own, the Jets have been one of the most disappointing teams of the season and are likely to press the reset button at seasons end with speculation regarding the potential firing of head coach Todd Bowles. Like Chip Kelly, Bowles has had a quarterback carousel of his own to deal with with Ryan Fitzpatrick, Geno Smith and now Bryce Petty who will make his second career start on Sunday. Petty, drafted last year out of Baylor, started in a Week 10 loss to the Rams in which he threw for 163 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. With Jets fans hoping they've got their quarterback for the future, a game against the lowly 49ers defense might not be a very good gauge to figure out if Petty is in fact the solution to their problem. As for their defense, New York's strong D-line might cause problems for San Francisco's run game, forcing them to rely through the air which isn't very promising considering their most recent performance. Thankfully, there won't be any snow or subzero temperatures to worry about in this one.
Noteworthy: 49ers Pro Bowl offensive tackle Joe Staley will miss his first game of the season on Sunday with a hamstring injury, snapping a streak of 92 consecutive games started.
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