49ers Defense pitches Shutout vs Saints

Week 12 - Known to have one of the more talented offenses and one of the best offensive play-callers in all of football, the offense of the (6-4) San Francisco 49ers would take a backseat on Sunday as their game versus the (4-7) New Orleans Saints was all about the defense. Entering Sunday's game boasting the NFL's best defense and ranking No. 1 in both yards and points allowed, San Francisco's stout defensive attack did not disappoint in their return to Levi's Stadium. With shutouts on defense in the second half of their last three games, defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans' bunch turned things up a notch by pitching a shutout for the entire game as the defense stood on their head in a 13-0 win for the 49ers. 

With an NFL-leading 19 turnovers on offense prior to Sunday's game, the Saints kicked things off with more of the same right out of the gates when their first offensive possession went up in flames after San Francisco's Fred Warner forced a fumble on New Orleans running back Alvin Kamara. The 49ers would take advantage of the stellar field position by getting on the scoreboard, but were only able to walk away with a field goal. As good as San Francisco's defense was on Sunday, the Saints defense also held their own by making things hard for a star-studded 49er offense virtually all afternoon long. Knocking on the door of their first touchdown of the game, Jimmy Garoppolo and company were denied on each of their first two trips to the red zone, including a goal-line stand on a quarterback scramble that kept a lunging Jimmy G just short of the end zone. However, the 49ers would redeem themselves on their next possession as Garoppolo's pass found the arms of receiver Jauan Jennings who showed great concentration on a tip-drill in the back of the end zone. The right place at the right time situation would give San Francisco a 10-0 lead just before the half with 0:19 remaining. 

Receiving the ball to open the second half, the 49ers would catch a break when a Jimmy Garoppolo interception was called back on an illegal-contact penalty against the New Orleans defense. While the offense didn't register another visit to the end zone like they had hoped, they did get another field goal on a 46-yarder from Robbie Gould to increase the lead to 13-0. San Francisco's second half shutout-streak nearly came to an end on the Saints' next possession, but that was until a 48-yard field goal attempt by Wil Lutz sailed wide left. The Saints would also threaten on each of their next two possessions by making it to the red zone, but that's where the vaunted San Francisco defense turned up the heat and stepped up their game. With the ball at the San Francisco 6 yard-line, Saints quarterback Andy Dalton checked down a pass to Kamara who made it to the 1 before being met by 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw who fought off the Saints' Pro-Bowl running back just enough to allow Talanoa Hufanga to break up the play and force a fumble as he shot thru like a missile, knocking the ball loose with his helmet. Squirting the ball up into the air, the 49er defense was able to recover and prevent the Saints' hope for a score. 

One possession later and the Saints were right back at it, knocking on the door of a potential touchdown. Making it to the 4 yard-line with a first down, the San Francisco defense held their ground on four consecutive downs by forcing three straight incomplete passes before a Nick Bosa sack, the Niners' lone sack on the afternoon, sealed the win and forced the turnover on downs inside the red zone. The 49ers were able to ice the game with a series of first downs which allowed them to cruise to a 13-0 victory and complete the shutout. With four straight second half shutouts (all wins), the 49ers have now shutout their opponents in six straight quarters and have not allowed a team to score in the second half since Kansas City's 30-point outburst in the second half of San Francisco's last defeat over a month ago back on October 23. Perhaps even more impressive is the scoreless streak that San Francisco put an end to as the Saints were held scoreless for the first time in 333 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NFL. Sunday's defeat for the Saints would be their first without scoring since Week 17 of the 2001 season which also happened to come against the 49ers. In fact, the last four times the Saints have been shutout has come at the hands of the 49ers: Week 9 1997, Week 6 1998, Week 17 2001 and Sunday. 

Nobody on either team finished with impressive numbers on offense as both quarterbacks had pedestrian games with Garoppolo throwing for 222 yards and a touchdown and Dalton passing for 204 yards. Neither team had a running back rush for more than 35 yards and San Francisco's Brandon Aiyuk finished with a game-high 65 yards receiving on 5 receptions. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan would receive some unfortunate news following the win regarding running back Elijah Mitchell who left Sunday's game with a knee injury in the second half and is expected to be out 6-8 weeks. Mitchell who led all 49er running backs with 35 yards on 7 carries, missed seven of the team's first eight games this year after suffering a sprained MCL in the season-opener at Chicago. After Christian McCaffrey, the void at running back will likely be filled by a combination of rookies Jordan Mason and Tyrion Davis-Price or a promotion from the practice squad for veteran Tevin Coleman. With the win on Sunday, the 49ers improved to 7-4 on the year and moved into sole possession of first place in the NFC West as the Seahawks, Rams and Cardinals all suffered losses in Week 12.

Week 13 Preview: Continuing their three-game homestand, the 49ers will turn to a more formidable opponent in the (8-3) Miami Dolphins. Tied atop the AFC East with the Buffalo Bills for first place, the Dolphins will pay a visit to Levi's Stadium with a familiar play-caller leading the way in rookie head coach Mike McDaniel who spent the last five seasons in San Francisco under coach Shanahan, including last year as the team's offensive coordinator. McDaniel has struck lightning in a bottle in his first season at the helm in Miami, coaching quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins' high-octane offense to five straight wins after coming off a 30-15 victory at home over the Houston Texans. Having scored 30-points in four consecutive games and having held opponents to 17-points or fewer in three of their last five, Miami will certainly put San Francisco's defense to the test. 

In what is becoming a highly anticipated match-up, both teams have added some fuel to the fire after current Dolphin and former 49ers running back Raheem Mostert had some choice words in a recent interview, criticizing his former team for not having his best interest in mind and attempted to rush him back from injury after sustaining a knee injury in the season-opener. The injury would put an end to Mostert's season and ultimately his career with the Niners. Fellow running back Jeff Wilson who is now Mostert's teammate in South Beach, will also get a crack at his former team after being traded from San Francisco on November 1 following the 49ers' acquisition of Christian McCaffrey. Deebo Samuel has since replied to Mostert's comments via Twitter, tweeting, "Raheem be real with yourself." Safe to say, it should be a fun one on Sunday. 

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49ers Pummel Cardinals in Mexico for 1st Place

Week 11 - Hitting the road and traveling south of the border to face the division rival (4-6) Arizona Cardinals in Mexico City, the (5-4) San Francisco 49ers made themselves at home in an away game that felt a lot like their own stadium in front of the nearly 80,000 fans in attendance who cheered and roared for a 49ers team that dominated for a majority of the contest. In what was the first NFL game played in Mexico since 2019 and the first for the 49ers since 2005 when they played these Cardinals in the first ever regular season game hosted by the country, San Francisco got solid performances from nearly all of their star players on both sides of the ball. While coach Kyle Shanahan's team would eventually run away with the blowout victory, things got off to a quiet start for the 49er offense before they flipped the switch and could not be stopped. 

With an altitude of 7,280 feet at Mexico's famed Estadio Azteca venue which dwarves that of the Broncos' 5,280ft. Mile High Stadium in Denver, coach Shanahan had his Niners team practice in the week leading up to the game in the high altitude in Colorado Springs. Meanwhile, the Cardinals took a different approach by holding practices while wearing altitude training masks, designed to replicate the extreme conditions caused by the thin air in Mexico City. Whether effected or not by those conditions right out the gates, both teams were also met with rainfall which led to punts by both teams to start the game on four of the first five possessions. Before having their doors blown off, the Cardinals struck first to open the scoring with a field goal on their second possession. In at quarterback for a second consecutive week in place of the injured Kyler Murray who is nursing a hamstring, was Colt McCoy who entered Monday's game with a record of 3-1 with Arizona, including a win against San Francisco a season ago. 

With the first quarter coming to a close, the 49ers opened quarter No. 2 with back to back touchdown-scoring drives. Three consecutive plays of 20, 19 and 20 yards by running back Christian McCaffrey (twice) and receiver Deebo Samuel got the 49ers into the red zone where quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo would finish things off by finding wide-out Brandon Aiyuk in the end zone for the first touchdown of the game. After an interception that tipped off the hands of Cardinals running back James Conner and into the arms of a sliding Jimmie Ward on Arizona's ensuing possession, the 49ers again found themselves in business, taking over near midfield. Three plays later, Garoppolo lobbed a pass to his tight-end George Kittle who broke free from a pair of Cardinal defenders and was able to trot into the end zone for the easy score. Redeeming himself for the dropped pass that led to the interception, Conner helped the Cardinals answer right back one possession later with their lone touchdown of the evening with a 2-yard carry that ended in pay dirt. Adding a Robbie Gould field goal just before the half, San Francisco carried a 17-10 lead into halftime. 

Receiving the ball to open the second half, the San Francisco offense continued to score for a fourth consecutive drive thanks to a rushing touchdown from Deebo Samuel who found the end zone after a 39-yard run, the longest rushing touchdown of his career. Following a turnover on downs by the Arizona offense and punts by both teams, Garoppolo again took to the air and found Brandon Aiyuk for a second touchdown reception. Capitalizing on yet another turnover on downs by the Cardinals, Garoppolo and company made quick work of their great field position from the 50, as George Kittle caught a pass and added to his impressive YAC ability by marching 32-yards for the dagger touchdown. For good measure facing Cardinals third-string QB Trace McSorley, the 49er defense ended a late threat by the Arizona offense when rookie cornerback Sammy Womack logged his first career interception with a pick inside the end zone, sealing the dominant 38-10 win. Outscoring their opponent 21-0 in the second half, the San Francisco defense recorded their third consecutive second half shutout and have now combined to outscore opponents 54-0 in the second half of their last three games. 

With the win, the 49ers improved to 6-4 on the season and sit atop the NFC West in first place. Continuing their NFC West dominance, San Francisco improved to a perfect 4-0 record versus division foes this season and have won all four games by double-digits, owning a point differential of +80 after combining to outscore the Rams, Cardinals and Seahawks: 120-40 this season. QB Jimmy Garoppolo tied a career-high with 4 touchdown passes with his first 4 TD performance since Week 14 of the 2019 season. Along with his 4 TD's, Garoppolo completed 20 of 29 pass attempts for 228 yards and was kept on his feet all night long as his offensive-line did not allow a single sack. Running backs Elijah Mitchell (9 carries, 59 yards) and Christian McCaffrey (7 carries, 39 yards) shared ball carrying duties, but it was thru the air where the San Francisco offense did most of their damage. George Kittle finished with four receptions for 84 yards and 2 touchdowns, and McCaffrey added another 67 yards on 7 receptions to go over the century mark for total yards in the game. Receiver Brandon Aiyuk caught only two passes on the night but made them count as they both ended in touchdowns. 

Week 12 Preview: Returning home for the start of a three-game homestand, the 49ers will look to get some home cooking as they welcome in the (4-7) New Orleans Saints on a short week. Coming off a 27-20 win at home over the L.A. Rams, the Saints have proven to be a scrappy bunch in a lot of their games this season, but will head into Levi's Stadium to face a 49ers squad that appears to have found their rhythm, as they are finally turning the corner in the injury department and have now stringed together three wins in a row. Led by quarterback Andy Dalton, the Saints will not only look to spoil San Francisco's win-streak, but also their second half shutout streak on defense which has now hit three consecutive games. 

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49ers come Alive in Second half to pull off Comeback

Week 10 - In the days leading up to their Sunday Night match-up with the (5-3) Los Angeles Chargers, coach Kyle Shanahan's (4-4) San Francisco 49ers were hit with some unfortunate news when they learned about the season-ending injury suffered to one of their players. Few players in the NFL have had luck as bad as Jason Verrett who's career has been plagued by injury since being drafted in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the then San Diego Chargers who selected him 25th overall. After suffering a season-ending knee injury in the season-opener last year and nearing a comeback after being activated by the 49ers just two weeks ago, the former Pro Bowl corner was dealt yet another blow after tearing his Achilles during practice on Wednesday. Before the heartbreaking injury which has become commonplace for the Niners franchise since the start of coach Shanahan's tenure, teammates and coaches alike were awaiting Verrett's return as he was expected to be somewhat of a reinforcement after the season-ending injury fellow cornerback Emmanuel Moseley suffered in Week 5. 

A tough pill to swallow, the Niners will now have to find that production elsewhere in hopes of someone else stepping up and filling that void. However, San Francisco would get reinforcements at several other positions on defense in time for Sunday's game as defensive-coordinator DeMeco Ryans saw the return of defensive-lineman Jordan Willis as well as linebackers Dre Greenlaw and Azeez Al-Shaair, although Greenlaw's night would be cut short due to an illegal hit which led to an early disqualification. While the San Francisco defense would ultimately come up big when they were most needed, things got off to a sluggish start out the gates. With the Chargers getting the ball first, quarterback Justin Herbert led the team to a touchdown-scoring drive on their opening possession. Playing with a short-handed receiving corps with both Mike Williams and Keenan Allen sidelined with ankle and hamstring injuries, respectively, Herbert hit a wide-open DeAndre Carter for the 32-yard score. Coming off the BYE, the 49ers also opened the game with an effective opening-drive, but were held to a field goal in what wound up being an offensive struggle inside the red zone for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and company. 

San Francisco's second offensive possession lasted only one play after Garoppolo hit his intended target Brandon Aiyuk in stride for a 19 yard gain, before an inadvertent helmet knocked the ball loose as the Niners receiver was tackled. Turning the turnover into a field goal, the Chargers took a 10-3 lead to open the second quarter. Trailing 13-3, the 49ers were able to find the end zone before halftime thanks to a pair of big plays from George Kittle and Ray-Ray McCloud who hauled in receptions of 21 and 33 yards, respectively, on consecutive plays. A few plays later, Garoppolo would take it in himself, plowing forward from the 1-yardline and into the end zone for the touchdown. Looking to capitalize by getting the ball back to start the second half, the 49ers were unable to keep the Chargers off the board in the final two minutes of the first half as a pair of costly penalties, including the one that led to the Greenlaw disqualification, allowed the Chargers to sneak in a field goal just before halftime. 

Happy to have Elijah Mitchell back in the backfield for the 49er offense for the first time since suffering an MCL sprain in Week 1, the tandem of Mitchell and Christian McCaffrey helped march the 49ers to a field goal to open the second half and make it a 16-13 ballgame in favor of the Chargers. Playing catch up virtually all night long, San Francisco would take their first lead of the night with 8 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Orchestrating a 16-play, 87-yard drive that culminated with McCaffrey lunging forward for a 2-yard touchdown, the 49ers were able to capture the lead and allow the defense to do the rest. After exchanging punts, San Francisco was able to pin the Chargers deep near their own goal-line, which ultimately resulted in a turnover on downs inside the 10. Unable to punch the ball in for the final dagger, Mitchell would be stood up near the goal line on three straight rushing attempts. Adding another Robbie Gould field goal to improve the 49ers' lead to 22-16, the Chargers would have one last chance to pull off the comeback with less than a minute remaining. Putting an end to that comeback attempt would be Talanoa Hufanga who made a shoestring catch on an errant pass from Herbert to seal the win. 

Stepping up huge in the second half was the San Francisco defense which applied the pressure to Justin Herbert on each of the Chargers' final two possessions which led to a pair of turnovers as the Niners completed the shutout in the second half. Throwing for 240 yards and rushing for a touchdown in the win was Jimmy Garoppolo who's favorite target on the evening was Brandon Aiyuk who hauled in six catches for a game-high 84 yards receiving. The trio of Elijah Mitchell, Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel combined for over 150 yards rushing for the 49ers, comparehd to just 51 yards rushing for the Chargers. The San Francisco defense held L.A.'s quarterback Justin Herbert to 196 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. 

Week 11 Preview: Hitting the road and traveling south of the border to face the division rival Arizona Cardinals in Mexico City, the 49ers will look to improve on their perfect record of 3-0 within the division this year as they take on the big stage of Monday Night Football. At 4-6 on the year, the Cardinals have had an up and down season thus far and are coming off a road win against the defending Champion Rams, with both teams having to call on backup quarterbacks. While there's no word just yet on who will be under center for the Cards come game day, the 49ers defense which has logged back to back solid performances, will look to make it three straight regardless of who Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury has at quarterback out of Kyler Murray or Colt McCoy. In their first of two head to head match-ups this year, the 49ers will look to bounce back after losing both meetings to Arizona a season ago. 

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Crazy Eight -- 49ers rout Rams for Eighth straight behind Record day from McCaffrey

Week 8 - Coming off a 21-point pummeling at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs, the (3-4) San Francisco 49ers returned to their home away from home at Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium, known by many as Levi's Stadium South, looking to regroup against a team they've had major ownage against for the better part of 4 seasons. With seven consecutive wins over the rival Rams during the regular season, coach Kyle Shanahan and company were vying for an 8th straight victory against L.A. and their fourth win of the season. Playing without one of their star players in Deebo Samuel who was ruled out on Friday with a hamstring injury, the 49ers were forced to make do without one of their biggest weapons and biggest Ram-killers, but were also able to show off their newest toy in running back Christian McCaffrey. 

Unlike their Week 4 matchup which started with both teams marching on offense and scoring on their opening-possession, each team would punt the ball away to start this one. After netting -2 yards on their initial possession, the Rams who were coming off a BYE, put together a 20-play, 85-yard drive that lasted 9 minutes and 21 seconds before L.A. quarterback Matt Stafford put an end to a near goal-line stand by the Niners defense by pinballing his way into the end zone on 3rd and 1. Stafford's first rushing touchdown since 2016 would give the Rams a 7-0 lead just before the end of the first quarter. Needing only nine plays to put up similar results, Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49er offense would march right back with a touchdown of their own. With a full weeks practice under his belt for the first time with his new team since being traded from the Carolina Panthers, Christian McCaffrey made his presence felt in more ways than one on Sunday. In what would be a busy day for the newest member of the Niners, McCaffrey logged his first touchdown in the red and gold with a passing touchdown, the second of his career, launching the ball downfield 34-yards and finding a streaking Brandon Aiyuk for the score. In a stadium overran by 49ers red, the crowd would erupt with the game tied at 7. 

The back and forth melee would continue with Stafford finding Cooper Kupp in the end zone for the Rams' second consecutive touchdown. San Francisco would answer back just before halftime, but only with a field goal as L.A. took a 14-10 lead into the half. With both teams again opening the half with punts, it was San Francisco who struck first. Facing a 3rd and 3 from the L.A. 9 yard-line, Garoppolo scanned all options before lofting a pass into the corner of the end zone to a leaping McCaffrey who came down with the spectacular touchdown grab to give the Niners their first lead of the game. Needing just the rushing touchdown to complete the trifecta, McCaffrey would do just that one possession later. After nearly finding the end zone on a 24-yard rush to the 1, coach Shanahan dialed up a run up the middle to allow his new weapon to accomplish the rare feat, as McCaffrey joined some elite company by becoming just the third running back since 1970 to record a passing touchdown, rushing touchdown and receiving touchdown in a single game, and the first since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2005. And some guy named Walter Payton as the only other to do it. 

San Francisco would score touchdowns on three consecutive possessions in the second half when a pair of 49er tight-ends came up with big plays to add to the Rams' misery. Filling in for the injured Kyle Juszczyk who missed Sunday's game with a finger injury, Ross Dwelley picked up blocking and receiving assignments usually given to the Niners' Pro Bowl fullback and delivered on a deep ball from Garoppolo by hauling in a 56-yard reception, the longest of his career. Facing another third down inside the Rams' 10 yard-line, Garoppolo hit his number one tight-end George Kittle inside the end zone for the touchdown. Taking a 31-14 lead that they would hang onto the rest of the way, the 49ers would outscore the Rams 21-0 in the second half and would outgain them 230 to 61 in second half yards on their way to an eighth straight victory over Los Angeles. Passing for 235 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win, Jimmy G completed 21 of 25 passes on the afternoon to give him a 84.0 completion percentage, the highest by a 49ers QB since Hall of Famer Steve Young September 14, 1997. Sunday's game would also mark the first time in Garoppolo's career that he's thrown for 2 TD passes in four straight games. 

Stealing the show on offense, Christian McCaffrey tallied 183 of total offense (94 yards rushing, 55 yards receiving and 34 yards passing) and scored three total touchdowns on his way to becoming the first running back in 49ers team history with a passing and receiving touchdown in the same game. 

Week 10 Preview: Quite possibly the best part about the 49ers' 31-14 victory over the Rams was that coach Shanahan announced after the win that there were no injuries to report, also adding, "That's awkward, but I don't have any to report." While it's a rarity, it's music to the ears of 49er fans as the team enters the Week 9 BYE with a return to .500 and a hope to see several key players return when they take the field next, notably Arik Armstead & Deebo Samuel. With a record of 3-0 now in the division, San Francisco will return home in Week 10 to face another southern California team in the (4-3) Los Angeles Chargers. In what's been an up and down season for the Bolts led by quarterback Justin Herbert, the young gunslinger has not quite been his usual self this season since sustaining an rib injury against the Chiefs back in Week 2. Since then, the Chargers have been off to a rollercoaster of a start and entered their Week 8 BYE last week after dropping a game at home to the Seattle Seahawks, 37-23. One Chargers player who is playing well that the Niners will hope to contain is their do-it-all running back Austin Ekeler. 

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