49ers Slip and Slide in Loss to Colts

Week 7 - On tap for the San Francisco 49ers (2-3) in Week 7 coming off the BYE would be a meeting on Sunday Night Football with the Indianapolis Colts (2-4). With both teams under .500 and in desperate need of a win, San Francisco could ill-afford dropping another game in the NFC Western Division standings as they and the rest of the conference plays catchup behind the last of the unbeatens in the Arizona Cardinals (7-0) who won again on Sunday. But with a 100% chance of rain and wind gusts reaching up to 40 mph, inclement weather would very much be a factor heading into Sunday night's game as the conditions were damp and ugly all night long. Expected to be a run-heavy night for both teams, 49ers rookie running back Elijah Mitchell did not disappoint and wasted little time to get things going after kickoff as the game plan quickly turned to feed Mitchell and feed him often as he amassed 57 yards on five carries to begin the game. In comparison, the Rajin' Cajun alum finished with only 43 yards on 9 carries in his previous game versus Arizona.

After the first five plays of the opening-drive netted a pair of 49er first downs, Mitchell broke free on three consecutive carries of 20, 14 and 14 yards, the last of which going for a touchdown to put his team up early. Following a missed point-after by the newly acquired Joey Slye, the 49ers kicker would have a chance to redeem himself just a few moments later. After a touchback on the ensuing kick, the 49er defense who have been on the wrong side of early turnovers so far this season, finally had a bone thrown their way, forcing a turnover on Indy's first play from scrimmage as cornerback Josh Norman punched the ball free from Colts running back Jonathan Taylor for a fumble after a short gain. In business again, San Francisco cashed in on the early turnover with a 34-yard field goal from Slye to take a 9-0 advantage. Taylor's early mistake would be an indication of how things would play out the rest of the way. As the weather conditions worsened, so did both team's ability to hang onto the ball. With nothing going for the Colts offense on their first three plays -- fumble, 1-yard loss and incompletion, QB Carson Wentz took a page out of Aaron Rodgers' book on Indy's second possession, throwing up a pass downfield on third and long and hoping for a pass-interference penalty which he would get as San Francisco's Josh Norman was draped all over Michael Pittman who came down with the reception anyway for a 57-yard gain. Three plays later, the Colts would answer with a touchdown pass from Wentz to receiver Mo Allie-Cox. 

With another field goal on San Francisco's next possession, the 49er offense would register scoring drives on each of their first three possessions of the game as Joey Slye split the uprights from 56-yards out, the 49ers' longest made field goal since 2013 (Phil Dawson) to put them ahead, 12-7 in the first quarter. Unfortunately, from that moment on, the Niner offense would embark on a struggle-filled second and third quarter which featured four punts and two fumbles before their next trip to the end zone. Facing another third and long, the 49er defense was again called for pass-interference on a deep ball, this time a 40-yarder with K'Waun Williams as the guilty party. A 33-yard carry from Taylor before being tripped up inside the 5-yardline appeared to have the San Francisco defense on their heels, but Kentavius Street would turn up the heat two plays later, getting a hand on Wentz and forcing him to bobble the ball in the air and into the lap of a 49ers defender for the turnover. The Niners would be unable to do anything with the takeaway as both teams exchanged three punts each before the next mistake was made. 

After a fumble snap that 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo picked up and ran forward for a positive gain, receiver Deebo Samuel wouldn't be as lucky two plays later as his 10-yard reception went up in flames as he had the ball jarred loose for a fumble. The Colts knew just what to do with it: throw it up into the air and rely on the inability of San Francisco's secondary who just can't avoid the defensive pass-interference as Emmanuel Moseley was dinged for another 19-yarder. Facing a 3rd and goal from the 1, Carson Wentz would do things himself, rushing into the end zone for the go-ahead score. Electing to go for two, the Colts would come up short but found themselves leading, 13-12 heading into the half. Capping off an ugly half of play by both teams, it would be the first NFL game of the season where both teams entered the locker room at the half having completed less than 50% of their passes. 

Opening the second half just as bad as they finished the first on offense, the 49ers would fumble the ball away yet again, this time on a strip-sack as Garoppolo had nowhere to go, dodging one defender before being gobbled up by another. The Colts would again capitalize on San Francisco's costly miscues, but not before another pass interference penalty awarded Indy 38-yards as Pittman was held by Jaquiski Tartt. A few plays later, Jonathan Taylor would strike pay dirt to make it a 20-12 Indianapolis advantage. In need of response, the 49ers would finally find the end zone again to begin the fourth quarter when Garoppolo and company marched 70-yards in three plays which took only 1:11, capped off by Jimmy G finding Deebo Samuel for the touchdown. Looking to tie things up at 20-all, a failed two-point conversion attempt allowed the Colts to hang onto a 20-18 lead. 

Following a Colts field goal, San Francisco had a chance to take a fourth quarter lead, but a pass in traffic to Samuel popped out of the hands of the receiver and into the hands of the defender as Indy's Xavier Rhodes came away with the interception. Cashing the turnover in for points, Wentz, with the 49ers secondary wrapped around his finger, lobbed a pass 28-yards out to Pittman who came down with the ball and bullied his way into the end zone. Adding insult to injury, Garoppolo would be picked off again on their next possession when a deep pass intended for Jauan Jennings squirted away from the quarterback and into heavy traffic for the easy pick. Fittingly enough, the game would ultimately end on a quarterback sack registered by former 49er DeForest Buckner who brought down his former teammate Jimmy G to seal the Colts' 30-18 victory. 

Carrying a bulk of the load for their respective teams, running backs Elijah Mitchell and Jonathan Taylor mirrored one another by finishing with 107 yards rushing and a touchdown on 18 carries. Both Deebo Samuel of the Niners and Michael Pittman of the Colts finished with 100 yards receiving and a touchdown, but it all came down to the play of the quarterbacks as Garoppolo outgained Wentz 181 yards passing to 150, but Wentz threw for two touchdowns to Garoppolo's one, while also committing far less turnovers -- three to one. The two teams would combine to make history, marking the first time that both teams had a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receiver, but neither team had 300+ total yards. As much as I'd like to complain about how flat and unprepared this 49ers team looked coming off the BYE week, the weather was just too much of a factor as Indianapolis just had a few more slips and falls go their way.  

Week 8 Preview: With the 49ers dropping to 2-4 on the year and 0-3 at home this season, San Francisco will be glad to leave their own digs of Levi's Stadium where they're just 1-6 over the last two seasons and winless in three tries this season. Instead, they'll take a trip to the Windy City to face rookie quarterback Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears (3-4) at Solider Field. Coming off a forgetful game of his own, the rookie Fields will also look to rebound after a three interception, two fumble performance in Chicago's blowout loss to the reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With the 49ers being one of the teams that showed the most interest in Fields prior to selecting QB Trey Lance 3rd overall at April's Draft, Fields will likely have a chip on his shoulder come Sunday and will have some added motivation in wanting to take it to Kyle Shanahan and company for passing on him. The 49ers on the other hand will look to get back in the win column and spoil the party for Bears head coach Matt Nagy who's on the hot seat and could be fired by seasons end if Chicago fails to turn things around. 

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Struggles on 4th Down lead to 49ers Downfall in the Desert

Week 5 - Paying a visit to the desert in Week 5, the San Francisco 49ers would look to end their two-game skid against an NFC Western Division foe, but would have their work cutout for them against an undefeated Arizona Cardinals (4-0) team. With quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo out with a calf injury he suffered during the first half of the Week 4 loss to Seattle, rookie QB Trey Lance who was selected third overall in the 2021 NFL Draft just five months earlier, would get the nod in Jimmy G's place. But even before Lance took the field to make his first career start, the young signal-caller received word that he would be thrusted into the lineup without arguably his best target in tight-end George Kittle who was ruled out of Sunday's game and placed on Injured Reserve on Saturday with a calf injury that he sustained in Week 1. With Kittle on the shelf for at least the next three games, coach Kyle Shanahan would need more production from Deebo Samuel who entered Week 5 leading all receivers in receiving yards.  

Receiving the ball to begin the game, the 49er offense appeared to be in good hands after the first two plays as Lance showed his mobility with a 14-yard scramble, followed by a 16-yard strike to fullback Kyle Juszczyk for back-to-back first downs. But just two plays later, the drive would go up in flames as Lance airmailed a pass intended for Travis Benjamin that was intercepted by Cardinals safety Budda Baker. Like San Francisco prior to the turnover, the Arizona offense would have no problem moving the football as they cashed in on the interception with a touchdown on their first possession as running back James Connor rushed into the end zone from a yard out. In an early 7-0 hole, coach Shanahan's offense would face a number of 4th down situations where he elected to go for it, including on their second and third possessions. After failing to convert on a 4th and 2 run by Lance, the offense gave it another go one possession later. Pinned back near their own end zone at the San Francisco 6, the 49er offense would march all the way to the 1-yardline before facing another gutsy 4th down decision which ended in Lance being stood up at the goal line for another turnover on downs. 

After adding a Matt Prater field goal to take a 10-0 lead, the Cardinals would attempt to increase their lead by way of the field goal just before the half with a 61-yard attempt that sailed wide-right. Opening the second half on defense, San Francisco held Arizona to their first set of back to back three and outs of the season to start the third quarter. Seeking their first trip to the end zone, the 49ers would get a big play from receiver Brandon Aiyuk who hauled in a 26-yard grab that turned into a 41-yard gain following an unnecessary roughness penalty against Arizona. Several plays later, the 49ers would finally strike pay dirt on a 13-yard toss to Deebo Samuel. San Francisco would have a chance to take their first lead of the game after forcing another Arizona punt, but another failed attempt on 4th and 1 near midfield would result in their third turnover on downs of the afternoon as Juszczyk took a direct-snap that proved ineffective. The Niners would get another shot at taking the lead when cornerback Dontae Johnson stripped running back Chase Edmonds of the ball on the Cardinals' following possession. But San Francisco's fourth and final turnover on downs would halt those hopes as Lance's pass on 4th and 4 was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Arizona's J.J. Watt. 

Having kept DeAndre Hopkins relatively quiet for most of the afternoon, Cardinals QB Kyler Murray waited until the last half of the fourth quarter to get his best receiver more involved. Hopkins who is among the game's elite at the wide-out position and is without a doubt the best receiver on his team, passed another Cardinals great in Larry Fitzgerald for most receptions (764) by a player prior to their 30th birthday in NFL history. Among those receptions were a pair of grabs on consecutive plays, including a 30 yard catch that setup shop for the back-shoulder toss into the end zone for the touchdown on the very next play, also to Hopkins. Lance and company would show no signs of quitting as they would get a 47-yard field goal from the latest 49ers addition in kicker Joey Slye, making it a one-score game again at 17-10. Unfortunately for the Niners who were in need of a stop on defense with less than five minutes to go, the Cardinals converted on a pair of first downs that allowed Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury to run out the clock and seal the win. 

While it wasn't the end result that San Francisco wanted, there were positives on both sides of the ball to be taken from the loss. To their credit, the 49er defense managed to make Kyler Murray look rather pedestrian after having put up MVP-like numbers through the first four weeks of the season. Holding him to just 240 yards of total offense and one touchdown, San Francisco did have some success applying pressure while sacking him twice. Though it's usually Murray who causes fits and torches opposing defenses on the ground with his legs, the first overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft was outdone in that department by San Francisco's Trey Lance. The 49ers' duel-threat QB rushed for a game-high 89 yards on 16 carries, the fourth-highest total for a QB making his first career start (Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts and Randall Cunningham are the others). However, Murray did outgain Lance in passing yards, 239 to 192, respectively. After winning their first two games of the season, both on the road, Kyle Shanahan's 49ers have now lost three in a row, dropping to 2-3 on the year. Meanwhile, the Cardinals remain as the last of the NFL's undefeated at 5-0 for the first time since 1974 when they were the St. Louis Cardinals. 

With his family in attendance, the big stage didn't necessarily appear to be too big for the 21-year old Lance, but he didn't have a whole lot working for him in his first career start either. Even without his first-string tight-end, the receivers Lance did have to throw to on Sunday didn't do him any favors as there were a number of dropped balls, and the many penalties only made things worse. It's more than obvious Lance oozes with raw talent that just needs to be honed before Shanahan can fully release his unrefined specimen, my biggest knock on the rookie is his rifle of an arm. It's both a blessing and a curse as Lance was able to zing a number of passes down the field with ease, but also had a little too much heat on other passes that were over or underthrown. When also factoring in his mobility to go along with his cannon of an arm, Lance reminded me a lot of Colin Kaepernick at times and that's not a bad thing. With his first professional start finally out of the way, Lance will learn from the experience and now has something to expand upon, whether that be again this season or in 2022. 

Week 7 Preview: After a BYE Week in Week 6, the 49ers will return home in Week 7 to face Carson Wentz and the Indianapolis Colts (1-4). Like San Francisco, Indy is off to a start they did not foresee and are coming off a Monday Night loss in which they blew a 19-point lead on the road to Baltimore. In his first season with the Colts, QB Carson Wentz is coming off his best performance of the season after throwing for 402 yards and a pair of touchdowns, despite being out-dueled by the Ravens' Lamar Jackson. Facing former 49ers first round pick DeForest Buckner for the first time since trading him to the Colts for a first round pick a year ago, Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan is unsure who his quarterback will be come Week 7 as Garoppolo is working his way back from injury, and Trey Lance reportedly suffered a knee sprain in Sunday's loss to the Cardinals. However, Shanahan has mentioned if Jimmy G is healthy in time for gameday, he will be under center, regardless of Lance's status. While the question at quarterback remains unanswered at this time, there's no denying that the 49ers continue to have unbelievably bad luck with the injury bug. 

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More Injuries and Costly Turnovers spell doom vs Seattle

Week 4 - If there was ever one word to best describe the 49ers season thus far, it would be "injured." Before the game even started on Sunday between the San Francisco 49ers (2-1) and archrival Seattle Seahawks (1-2), the Niners who have already suffered a number of injuries up and down the lineup on both sides of the ball, would learn that they would be without kicker Robbie Gould who injured his groin in pre-game warmups. And his absence would be felt rather early as punter Mitch Wishnowsky would be forced to try his luck at the unfamiliar position. Though things ultimately wouldn't end well for the home team, it wouldn't all be bad at the start as the 49ers looked good both offensively and defensively at the onset. The 49ers had as dominant a start as you could have in the first half without being up by double-digits. 

After forcing a three and out on defense during Seattle's opening-possession, the 49er offense then delivered on their end of the bargain. Following a slow start on offense at home in their previous game against Green Bay, Jimmy Garoppolo and company did the complete opposite on Sunday, moving the ball with ease before a 21-yard touchdown grab in the end zone from tight-end Ross Dwelley. Continuing to share the love on offense, the score by Dwelley would mark the Niners' 12th offensive touchdown scored this season, all of which by 12 different players. Forcing another three and out on defense, San Francisco again appeared to be in business. Instead, their second offensive possession would go up in flames as Jimmy G was intercepted on a pass intended for George Kittle. Again forcing a Seattle three and out, the 49er offense would move the ball into field goal range where Wishnowsky would attempt a 41-yard field goal that sailed wide-left. After forcing another pair of Seattle three and outs to give them five in as many possessions, Russell Wilson and company would get things going before the half. A pair of big plays on passes from Wilson to running back Alex Collins and wide-receiver D.K. Metcalf would setup the game-tying score as both teams headed into the locker room tied up at 7 at the half. 

Continuing the never ending trend of injuries, the 49ers would open the second half with a new quarterback under center as Jimmy Garoppolo was listed as questionable to return with a calf injury. He would not see the field for the remainder of the game as rookie Trey Lance took over the QB duties. After exchanging punts to open the second half, Seattle would take a 14-7 lead on a QB scramble by Wilson who dove across the goal-line for the go-ahead score. Unfortunately, San Francisco's offense wouldn't even get a chance to answer as their costly mistakes made their way to the special-teams side when 49ers return man Trenton Cannon who was praised for giving San Francisco a jolt when they needed it most a week ago against the Packers, muffed and fumbled the ensuing kick. Giving Seattle the ball back inside the red zone, the Seahawks would need only two plays to capitalize on the costly turnover. Just when the 49er defense appeared to have Wilson dead to rights for a sack to bring up a third and long, the shifty QB squirmed free before lobbing up a pass into the end zone for a touchdown to receiver Freddie Swain. 

With Russell Wilson and the Seahawks coming off back to back losses, the 8-time Pro Bowl QB has never lost three straight games in his career and he wouldn't fall victim to his first three-game skid on Sunday, especially against a 49ers team he's owned throughout his career (15-4 record against SF including playoffs entering Sunday). Like Wilson who seemingly plays his best against San Francisco, 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel has also enjoyed his most success when facing Seattle. With only six career games of at least 100+ receiving yards, three of those games have come against the Seahawks. After being up by a touchdown to trailing by two scores, the 49er offense would find an answer on their ensuing drive when Trey Lance dropped a pass over the top and into the lap of Samuel who ran up the sidelines untouched for a 76-yard score. Sadly, their kicking woes would continue as Wishnowsky missed the point-after. With defensive pass-interference on third down being a hot-topic for the Niners following a trio of pivotal calls in their loss to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers the week before, another P.I. call on third and 10 would hurt the defense and give new life to the opposition as 49ers newcomer Dre Kirkpatrick was flagged for a 23-yard penalty and automatic first down. Two plays later, Alex Collins would run up the middle for another Seattle touchdown. 

Trailing 28-13 with under five minutes to go in the fourth quarter, San Francisco would pull within a touchdown as Trey Lance again found Deebo Samuel for the touchdown, but an unsuccessful onside-kick attempt would put an end to any chance of pulling off the comeback as Seattle milked the clock to a 28-21 final. Rookie running back Trey Sermon had his best game yet on the ground, rushing for 89 yards on 19 carries, but Deebo Samuel would lead the way on offense, hauling in game-highs with eight receptions for 156 yards and two touchdowns to join Jerry Rice and Dwight Clark as the only SF players since 1950 with 90+ receiving yards in three of the team's first four games of a season. Garoppolo finished with 165 yards, one touchdown and one interception on 14 of 23 pass attempts, while Lance threw for 157 yards and two touchdowns on 9 of 18 attempts. Seattle's Russell Wilson threw for 149 yards and two touchdowns on 16 of 23 passes. 

Week 5 Preview: Continuing their gauntlet of facing formidable foes in the NFC West, the 49ers will attempt to bounce back from their current two-game skid while also continuing their winning ways on the road where they're 2-0 this year, with a trip to the desert up next to face the undefeated Arizona Cardinals (4-0). Sitting atop the division in first place after winning on the road and handing the L.A. Rams their first loss of the season, Cards QB Kyler Murray looks like an early favorite for the MVP Award. With Jimmy G scheduled for an MRI in the coming days to determine the severity of his calf injury, it's almost certain Trey Lance will make his first career start in Week 5. Hopefully he'll have his running backs and kicker back as San Francisco will need all the help they can get if they want to stop the bleeding and prevent themselves from falling below .500 on the season. 

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