Facing the league's number one defense, Miami's offense which had scored 30+ points in four consecutive games entering Sunday's tilt and has produced some of their best offensive statistics since the Dan Marino-led Dolphins in 1986, came out guns blazing on the first play of the game. After pitching a shutout a week ago at home against the Saints, the 49ers saw their hopes of logging back to back shutouts evaporate almost immediately after kickoff and before many fans could even find their seats. Dolphins receiver Trent Sherfield who tallied a total of 87 yards and a touchdown last season with the 49ers, nearly topped that mark on one play when he caught the first pass of the game on the first play from scrimmage and took it 75-yards to the house for the game-opening touchdown and ending the Niners' streak of six consecutive shutout quarters on defense. But as expected when you poke a sleeping giant, Miami's big play would only anger San Francisco's defense which woke up following the early score. Equally as troubling for the offense, the 49ers would see quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo hauled to the locker room with a lower leg injury following San Francisco's first possession on offense, thrusting rookie QB Brock Purdy into the spotlight.
Purdy, taken with the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, this year's Mr. Irrelevant was anything but on Sunday when called upon to take over for the injured Garoppolo who went down on the final play of the Niners' first drive before having to settle for a Robbie Gould field goal. With the defense settling down and recovering from the gut-punch on the opening-play, Purdy came into the game and marched the offense to the end zone for his first career touchdown pass as he hit fullback Kyle Juszczyk for the 3-yard score. After Miami tied the game at 10 with a field goal of their own, Purdy again led the offense down the field and into the red zone where he found Christian McCaffrey for the short touchdown strike from 3-yards out in the final seconds of the half. Going into the locker room with a 17-10 lead, the 49ers' late first half touchdown meant San Francisco had now scored in the final two minutes of the first half in each of their last five games (all wins). Meanwhile, at the time of Garoppolo's injury, the extent of the injury was still very much unknown. As it turned out, Garoppolo would be ruled out for the game at the half and it was learned following the game from coach Shanahan that his quarterback had suffered a broken foot that would require season-ending surgery.
Down to their third-string quarterback, the former standout QB who started nearly all four years at Iowa State and went on to set a number of school records with the Cyclones, over 30 to be exact, including winningest QB in program history, most passing yards, most completions, highest completion percentage and most touchdowns, Purdy looked very comfortable under center given the circumstances. Other than the fluky 75-yard touchdown scored on Miami's first play of the game, the San Francisco defense held their own in the first half, allowing just 82 yards on their next 24 plays. That defense would start the second half red hot by intercepting Tua not only on consecutive possessions, but on consecutive passes to open the half. Ending Tua's streak of 193 straight passes without an interception, the longest active streak in NFL, was 49ers safety Jimmie Ward who took advantage of a Dolphins receiver who lost his footing on the play and corner Deommodore Lenoir who secured an errant pass off the hands of Tyreke Hill. The 49ers would turn both picks into field goals, adding to their lead.
But like the saying goes, "all good things must come to an end," the same would be said for San Francisco's second-half shutout streak as a deep pass from Tua to Hill ended in a 45-yard touchdown to start the fourth quarter. The 0 points allowed in the second half of four straight games for San Francisco's defense would tie the longest streak since 1939 and spanned an impressive 22 opponent possessions. But after having to punt on their ensuing possession, the 49ers suddenly found themselves in a vulnerable position, giving the ball back to their opponent and clinging to just a six-point lead. A key overturned catch on 4th and 2 for the Dolphins that would've resulted in a first down, was instead reversed to an incomplete pass thanks to a nice play by 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw who upon further review got a hand on the ball just enough to disrupt the catch. Cashing in on another field goal, the San Francisco defense would put a dagger in the heart of the Dolphins offense when Nick Bosa forced a strip-sack that resulted in a scoop and score fumble return for the aforementioned Greenlaw. It would be the final stamp of the day for the 49er defense and Bosa who had a monstrous afternoon, tallying 3 total sacks on the day.
Adding insult to injury, Tua would be replaced one possession later by QB Skylar Thompson who's one and only pass resulted in a Fred Warner interception to ice the game and send the Niners off with the 33-17 victory. Whether or not it was the 49ers defense making Tua uncomfortable, there would be an awful lot of misfires and overthrows for the league's most accurate passer on downfield passes virtually all afternoon long as he entered Sunday's game with a QB rating of 115.7 to lead the NFL. With another dominant second half, San Francisco has now outscored opponents 70-7 in the second half of their last five games. They have also allowed 17 points or fewer in five straight games, their longest streak since 1997. As for the man of the match, quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 210 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception while becoming the first Mr. Irrelevant to throw a touchdown pass in a regular season game. Tagovailoa threw for 295 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in the loss. Christian McCaffrey (8 receptions, 80 yards and 1 touchdown) and Tyreek Hill (9 receptions, 146 yards and 1 touchdown) each led their teams in receiving. McCaffrey and rookie running back Jordan Mason also combined for 66 and 51 yards rushing, respectively, while former Niners Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. were held to a combined 33 yards rushing for Miami.
Week 14 Preview: One of only six QB's taken with the final pick in NFL Draft, Purdy who has already made NFL history by being the first Mr. Irrelevant to throw a touchdown pass in a regular season game, will now become the first with that title to start a game at quarterback when he gets the call under center next week against Tom Brady and the (6-6) Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Concluding their three-game homestand at Levi's Stadium, the vaunted 49er defense will look to continue their recent onslaught against a Buccaneers team that has not looked nearly as good as they had in the previous two seasons with Brady at the helm. But after erasing a 13-point deficit with less than 5 mins remaining on Monday Night Football to steal a game against the rival Saints, the lowly Bucs are not to be taken lightly despite their record. The 49ers will also need to continue their winning ways to keep their distance from second-place Seattle.
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