Week 2 - Making the long trip back home from Melbourne, Australia following their dominant Week 1 victory over the rival Los Angeles Rams, the (1-0) San Francisco 49ers returned to Levi's Stadium for their home-opener against the (0-1) Miami Dolphins. In what would be a match-up between the oldest team in the league (SF) versus the youngest (Miami), Sunday's bout between the 49ers and Dolphins would also feature the largest Pro Bowl gap entering a game in 29 years with San Francisco showcasing a combined 55 career Pro Bowls among their roster (most in the NFL) compared to Miami's 1 (fewest in the NFL). Those numbers would show throughout the game as the more experienced team prevailed when it was all said and done. But not before a number of fan favorites made their return to Levi's on Sunday when receiver Deebo Samuel and linebacker Dre Greenlaw put on the red and gold again in front of the 49er Faithful after both players played elsewhere a season ago.
Kicking off a first half that featured a combined zero punts, the Dolphins would attempt to take an early lead with a field goal try on the game's opening-possession, before kicker Riley Patterson's 51-yard field goal try sailed wide right. Taking over with good field position across the 40-yard line, the home team would ignite what would ultimately be a busy day for the 49er offense as a 13-play drive was capped off by a 1-yard rushing touchdown from running back Christian McCaffrey. Miami would make a game out of it for at least the first half by answering with a field goal on each of their next two drives including one before the half, but when the Dolphins settled for three points, the 49ers continued to answer with seven. San Francisco would only maintain two possessions in the first half, with both resulting in a touchdown as quarterback Brock Purdy who grew up a big fan of Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins, rushed it in himself to give his team a 14-6 advantage at the half.
As impressive as the Niners were on offense in the first half, their defense raised some eyebrows as they were unable to get off the field with Miami having success with long drawn out first half drives. Those drives would be mostly fueled by running back De'Von Achane who had a career-high 14 carries in the first half. However, defensive coordinator Raheem Morris would have the San Francisco defense playing much better football to open the second half as they nearly pitched a shutout the rest of the way. Meanwhile, the 49ers offense picked up right where they left off to open the second half, scoring touchdowns on each of their next three drives. Needing only four plays to find the end zone coming out at the half, tight-end George Kittle bookended the drive with a 40-yard reception followed by a 12-yard touchdown grab. Their next possession would require double the amount of plays but ended in a similar result as fullback Kyle Juszczyk hauled in a 6-yard touchdown grab to keep the scoring going.
After a turnover on downs by the Dolphins, the 49er offense again made quick work of their opponent by needing only two plays to find the end zone for a fifth consecutive time. Setup by an impressive play from Brock Purdy who faked a pass before running away from a defender to eventually find receiver Mike Evans who picked up 27-yards and nearly scored himself had he been able to stay in-bounds. One play later Christian McCaffrey would find the end zone for the second time on the afternoon. San Francisco's scoring frenzy would end there as they scored touchdowns on their first five drives to start a game for the first time since 1991. Making the record books elsewhere, McCaffrey's second touchdown of the game would also be the 100th touchdown of his career, becoming the fourth fastest player to reach the century mark in TD's behind only Ladanian Tomlinson (89), Emmitt Smith (93) and Shaun Alexander (96). McCaffrey would reach the mark in 114 games, one game fewer than Jerry Rice's 115. The two touchdowns on the day would also give him 50 in his career with the 49ers, joining only Marshall Faulk and Randy Moss as the only other players in NFL history to record 50 or more touchdowns with multiple teams.
Already leading 35-6, the 49ers' first punt of the day would come with 10:36 remaining in the fourth quarter. Looking to end things there, the San Francisco defense would come 2:30 away from holding their opponent from scoring in the second half for the second consecutive game to start the season, but a garbage-time touchdown on a 77-yard bomb from Dolphins QB Malik Willis to receiver Ryan Miller would make it a 35-13 ballgame as the 49ers milked the clock and brought it home from there. The emphatic win would make a franchise first for San Francisco as they opened the season with two wins by 20+ points each. Unlike their game a week ago against the Rams when the 49ers were able to win despite not being able to get to the opposing quarterback, the San Francisco defense was able to tally four sacks on Sunday against Malik Willis, while also keeping their own quarterback on his feet without allowing a single sack for the second consecutive week.
Brock Purdy finished with another impressive line by completing 20 of 22 pass attempts for 287 yards and 2 touchdowns to go along with another touchdown on the ground. Purdy would also lead his team in rushing by finishing with 30 yards on three attempts. Running backs Kaylon Black and Christian McCaffrey, each finished with 25 and 23 yards rushing, respectively. Tight-end George Kittle would look a lot like his normal self after returning to form following a quiet Week 1 by leading his team in receiving with 80 yards and a touchdown on four receptions. Among those receptions would be career reception No. 600 for Kittle who stands alone with the 2nd-most receptions in 49ers franchise history behind only the great Jerry Rice. Kittle is also just the 8th tight-end in the Super Bowl era to reach that number in his first 10 seasons and the third fastest (126 games) behind only Travis Kelce (110 games) and Jason Witten (125 games), some rather elite company for the longtime 49ers tight-end.
Week 3 Preview: The 49ers will play host to the (1-1) Arizona Cardinals in Week 3 as they look to improve on their early season success with what would be their third win of the season and second win in the division. After pulling off an upset win on the road over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1, the Cardinals returned home for Week 2 where they were manhandled by the Seattle Seahawks by a final score of 31-7. In that loss, Cards QB Jacoby Brissett was held to under 100 yards passing on the day (95) and Arizona's defense had no answer for Seattle's top receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba who hauled in 9 passes for 155 yards and 3 touchdowns. If Brock Purdy can continue his hot start, the 49er offense may be in store for another big day on offense come Sunday.
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