49ers Blow Late Lead, Fall to lowly Jets in OT

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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