Week 16 - A week after dropping a tough one at home to the lowly Atlanta Falcons, the (11-3) San Francisco 49ers who've been banged up on defense and were without five starters in the Week 15 loss, were happy to learn that they'd get both Richard Sherman and K'Waun Williams back at the cornerback position in time for their next match-up. Hosting the (8-6) Los Angeles Rams who've been a disappointment this year after making it to the Super Bowl the previous season, the 49ers knew they'd be in for a dog fight like most division games, not to mention the Rams would be playing for their playoff lives as a loss would result in elimination for Sean McVay's squad. But with the NFC's number one seed still up for grabs if the Niners could win out, the team would receive an extra dose of motivation in the form of a family tragedy.
Playing with heavy hearts, the Niners had much more to play for than just a win as it was learned in the wee hours of the night that 49ers backup quarterback C.J. Beathard lost his younger brother Clayton Beathard who was fatally stabbed in their hometown of Nashville, Tennessee early Saturday morning. With head coach Kyle Shanahan tending to the distraught QB as late as 3 a.m. on the morning of game day, Beathard asked one thing of his coach and 49er teammates and that was a win on Saturday in memory of his late brother of just 22-years old. And like their first meeting back in Week 5 which saw the Rams jump out to an early 7-0 lead before eventually falling, 20-7, L.A. got off to a similar start in this one. Marching down the field with ease, quarterback Jared Goff led his team on a touchdown-scoring opening-drive that saw the former No. 1 overall pick throw for 66-yards on 4-for-4 pass attempts. The 49ers would also waste little time to get on the scoreboard as an 81-yard return by Richie James Jr. on the ensuing kick, helped San Francisco setup shop inside the red zone. However, a fumbled snap and a pair of incompletions would force the Niners to settle for a field goal. Exchanging three and out punts on the next three possessions, the 49ers would once again let good field position go to waste when Jimmy Garoppolo was picked off by Rams mid-season acquisition Jalen Ramsey.
Turning the turnover into points, Todd Gurley II would score his first of two first half touchdowns, setup by a big play from Goff to Robert Woods who had a huge night in the receiving department. Trailing 14-3, the Niners would finally begin to put the pieces together with a busy second quarter. In what would be a relatively quiet first half for Garoppolo, the ground attack began to pick up the slack as Deebo Samuel found the end zone with a 19-yard rushing touchdown to ignite the spark. With Gurley's second touchdown on the Rams' ensuing possession, San Francisco would once again have to answer in order to keep things close. Riding the hot hand, 49ers running back Raheem Mostert would answer the call on the very next drive as he found the end zone with a 16-yard score to become just the fourth player in franchise history to record a rushing touchdown in five consecutive games and the first since Derek Loville in 1995. It would be a remarkable streak for Mostert considering he had only scored two touchdowns in his previous 44 career games and opened the season as the team's third-string running back. The score by Mostert would also mark the 20th rushing touchdown by a 49er this season, the most by a 49ers team since their Super Bowl-winning season in 1994. With things beginning to look up for San Francisco, the Niners would get a huge momentum shift in the form of a pick-six interception by linebacker Fred Warner in the final minute of the second quarter. Stepping in front of a pass from Goff, Warner made the grab to record his first career interception and returned it 46-yards to help his team claim their first lead of the evening just before the half, capping a 21-point second quarter which tied a season-high.
Receiving the ball at the half and looking to add to their lead, that idea was shutdown rather quickly as Garoppolo was intercepted for a second time on a tip-drill pass just two plays into the third quarter. However, the Rams would fail to do anything with it as an intentional grounding penalty pushed them back an extra 10-yards which proved to be costly as kicker Greg Zuerlein missed a 52-yard field attempt wide-left. In a much quieter third quarter that saw both teams combine for five punts, the Rams would score the lone touchdown of the quarter by either team when Goff found a wide-open Cooper Kupp for a 26-yard TD. Trailing 28-24 with under 9 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Jimmy Garoppolo and tight-end George Kittle would hook up on their first play of the drive for a 36-yard gain. And five plays later, the two would connect once again on a third and goal from the 7-yard line when Jimmy G extended the play with his legs, rolling out of the pocket and throwing a strike to Kittle to recapture the lead. The Rams would tie the game with a 52-yard field goal with 2:36 remaining, setting up another dramatic ending which 49er fans have grown accustomed to over the second half of the season.
After a pair of quarterback sacks by the Los Angeles defense, Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49er offense rallied on a pair of 3rd & 16 conversions, none greater than the 46-yard bomb to Emmanuel Sanders who raced by two defenders to convert with the big gain. With the clock winding down, Tevin Coleman was able to add a 9-yard run to help setup Robbie Gould for the game-winning walk-off field goal from 33 yards out as San Francisco pulled off the 34-31 victory. Completing their first season sweep of the Rams since 2016, the 49er defense did a good job of clamping down and allowing only 10 second half points compared to the 21 points scored in the first half which set a season-high for Goff and company. Throwing for 248 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, it was a less than stellar game for Garoppolo in the box score, but he made the big plays late in the game when he needed to and helped his team capture the win which was the 20th of his career, helping him tie Hall of Famers Roger Staubach and Kurt Warner for the third most wins through a QB's first 25 careers starts in the Super Bowl era. Playing against the team he grew up rooting for, Jared Goff had an impressive night through the air, compiling 323 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. L.A.'s Robert Woods led all receivers with 8 receptions for 117 yards and George Kittle led the way for the 49ers with 5 catches for 79 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, San Francisco's Raheem Mostert (53 yards, 1 touchdown on 11 carries) and L.A.'s Todd Gurley II (48 yards, 2 touchdowns on 15 carries) led their respective teams in rushing. And for the first time in three years under coach McVay, the Rams will miss out on making the playoffs.
Week 17 Preview - Following Week 16, the table is officially set for a heavyweight title fight between the (12-3) 49ers and the (11-4) Seattle Seahawks. The game which has now been flexed into the Sunday Night Football slot, will feature two bitter rivals facing off on primetime television to determine the winner of the NFC Western Division and a potential number one seed. After already eliminating one of their division foes from playoff contention, coach Shanahan's 49ers team will try to deny another rival from clinching a first round BYE while punching their own ticket by closing out the 2019 regular season with a win in Seattle where the 49ers have not reigned victorious since 2011. And with Pete Carroll's team failing to win at home in Week 16 against the last-place Arizona Cardinals, the 49ers have to like their chances a little bit more given that the Seahawks have not quite been the same team at home this season like they have in years past. Having not received any rest since the early Week 4 BYE, the 49ers would love to not only clinch home field advantage and skip having to play an extra playoff game, but would also welcome a first round BYE to rest up and heal some of the banged up bodies on both sides of the ball. Not to mention how sweet it would be to clinch both the division and a number one overall seed up north in enemy territory. With ex-Seahawk and current 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman injured before the meeting between the two teams in Seattle last season, it remains as anyone's guess as to whether or not he receives a warm welcome from the CenturyLink Field faithful. Adding another layer to the big game, the Seahawks who are without three running backs due to injury, announced on Monday that they've agreed to a deal with former Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch who will see his first NFL action since 2018 after serving the last two seasons with the Oakland Raiders... as if there wasn't enough anticipation heading into the game.
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Week 14 - Continuing their quest thru the gauntlet of the toughest three-game stretch in NFL history, the (10-2) San Francisco 49ers headed into the Big Easy to take on the (10-2) New Orleans Saints in a back and forth melee that would be anything but easy. The first meeting between two teams with identical 10-2 records since 2007, the game was expected to be a tough, grind it out battle featuring two of the league's top defenses, but would quickly materialize into a shootout between quarterbacks as Jimmy Garoppolo and Drew Brees came out guns blazing and went blow for blow in a heavyweight match-up with the NFC's No. 1 seed on the line. It would also be a duel of the minds as offensive guru's Kyle Shanahan and Sean Payton squared off in a game that once things were underway, were destined to come down to the wire and likely be decided by whoever had the ball last.
With coach Shanahan keeping his 49er team on the east coast following Week 13 in Baltimore and spending the week in Florida in preparation of their second straight 10 a.m. eastern start on the road, San Francisco seemed ill-prepared for Brees' quick passes as he broke down the defense with precision before finding his tight-end Jared Cook for a 38-yard touchdown reception. Not to be outdone, Jimmy G connected on passes of 19, 31 and 25 yards to Emmanuel Sanders and Deebo Samuel, respectively, before hooking up in the end zone with Kendrick Bourne. While it would be the first of many touchdowns scored on the day, San Francisco's game-tying touchdown would be the first opening-drive TD allowed by the Saints defense all year. Drive No. 2 for New Orleans would look a lot similar to their first as Brees again found Cook for the score. Hurt on the play, Cook would have to leave the game after sustaining a concussion, but not before his controversial touchdown as replay showed the ball come loose as Cook went to the ground while in the end zone. With the call standing and 49ers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon penalized for unnecessary roughness, Payton would decide to go for the two-point conversion but was unsuccessful.
After a 49ers three and out and one of only four punts in the game combined, the Saints continued to take advantage of their stellar field position with a drive that ended in another Drew Brees touchdown pass, this time to Josh Hill. Trailing 20-7 at the start of the 2nd quarter in a game where most teams would roll over, Jimmy G and company refused to give in as they needed only one play to answer with a touchdown of their own when Garoppolo threw a bomb to Emmanuel Sanders who returned to his feet after falling and sprinted for a career-long 75-yard score. But while the 49er offense had little trouble scoring, the defense continued to struggle finding an answer for the Saints offense which showed no signs of slowing. Just when San Francisco appeared to finally stand their ground by keeping New Orleans out of the end zone as a 1st and goal from the 4 eventually turned into a 4th and goal from the 1, Payton kept the offense on the field and allowed for Brees to handle the scoring himself as the future Hall of Fame quarterback kept the ball and leaped over the goal-line. With the score 27-14 and the defense in need of a breather after the tiring 7-minute and 14-second drive by New Orleans, it wasn't long before the San Francisco defense was right back out there as the 49er offense again answered with a quick response. Gaining 40-yards in two plays, Shanahan went to his bag of tricks to dial up a play that started with a handoff from Garoppolo to Samuel and ended with a lateral to Sanders who fired a strike down the field to a wide-open Raheem Mostert for the touchdown. Having already caught a touchdown earlier, Sanders became the first 49er in franchise history to record a receiving touchdown and a passing touchdown in the same game.
Still seeking their first stop on defense, the 49ers would get just that as a nice play by rookie defensive-end Nick Bosa stopped the Saints in their tracks on a 3rd and 1 attempt that led to a 6-yard loss and resulted in a three and out. With a chance to steal the momentum heading into the half, San Francisco would take their first lead of the game as a nine-play drive ended with a 10-yard run up the gut by Mostert, entering halftime with a 28-27 advantage. With eight touchdowns in ten drives and both teams combining for 55 first half points, the most points scored in an opening half this season, Garoppolo entered the locker room nearly perfect with 206 yards and a pair of TD passes on 11 of 12 completions. But their first drive of the second half would result in their one and only turnover when a pass intended for Sanders was tipped and intercepted. Holding New Orleans to a field goal after the turnover, the 49ers would force a takeaway of their own when Saints running back Alvin Kamara was stripped by D.J. Jones on only the second lost fumble by the Saints this season. Looking to cash-in on the rare mishap and within striking distance, Garoppolo needed only two plays to capitalize as George Kittle caught a pass and sprawled over the pylon for the 5-yard score.
With the score 35-33 SF after a Saints field goal, Payton would try to get cute on a fake-punt on 4th and 18, but a heads-up play in coverage by the 49ers special-teams led to an incompletion and the turnover on downs. Beginning the frenzied fourth quarter with a 14-play touchdown-scoring drive, Garoppolo capped things off with his second connection in the end zone with receiver Kendrick Bourne. Taking their largest lead of the game at 42-33, the 9-minutes remaining in regulation would seem to last an eternity as the game was still far from over. A pair of big plays by Saints receiver Michael Thomas would have his team right back in the thick of things as he followed up a 49-yard reception two plays later with a 21-yard touchdown. With the first field goal on the day for 49ers kicker Robbie Gould making it a 45-40 lead with just under 2:30 remaining, Drew Brees would lead his team down the field with the game on the line once again. Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon had a chance to seal the win for the Niners when Saints receiver Michael Thomas slipped, but the ball went thru the hands of Witherspoon and wound up being an incomplete pass. Given a second chance, Brees would take advantage of the opportunity two plays later, connecting with Tre'Quan Smith for the go-ahead touchdown. With 53 career game-winning drives under his belt in the 4th quarter or overtime for Brees, it appeared that we had witnessed No. 54, but Jimmy G would have other plans as another 2-point conversion attempt by the Saints went awry.
With 53-seconds remaining and all three timeouts to work with, George Kittle would take us and a trio of Saints defenders along for a ride. Facing 4th and 2 at the San Francisco 33 yard-line, Kittle would grab a pass from Garoppolo and take it 39-yards as he stiff-armed a defender and had another draped all over him before a third Saint joined in to help take down the Pro Bowl tight-end who also benefited from a pivotal face-mask penalty that tacked on the extra yardage. In what many are calling the play of the year or at the very least the play of the 49ers' season, Kittle helped setup what would ultimately be the game-winning field goal by kicker Robbie Gould who connected on the 30-yarder as time expired. Giving Drew Brees and the Saints a taste of their own medicine, Jimmy G and the 49ers came back from the 20-7 deficit and completed the comeback with Gould's 16th career game-winning field goal marking the first 48-46 final score in NFL history.
Despite trailing 20-7 at one point, San Francisco's never say die mentality and sheer will allowed them to rally in what could very well go down as a season-defining moment for this 49er team that managed to still find a way to win. With both Brees and Garoppolo finishing with 349 yards passing, Jimmy G joins Steve Young and Jeff Garcia as the only 49er QB's with at least three games of 4 passing TD's in a single season after rallying his team to victory with his sixth career game-winning drive. Meanwhile, the Saints' 46-points are their most points scored in a loss in franchise history. 49ers running back Raheem Mostert and Saints running back Latavius Murray each finished with 69 yards rushing, and Emmanuel Sanders led all receivers with 157 receiving yards. However, it wasn't all roses and butterflies following the Niners' victory as the team learned that they'd be without center Weston Richburg for the season after he suffered a torn patellar tendon. Corner Richard Sherman and defensive-end Dee Ford would also leave Sunday's game after suffering hamstring injuries that will likely cause them to miss multiple weeks.
Week 15 Preview - The 49ers will be happy to return home to the state of California and their home field of Levi's Stadium when they host Matt Ryan and the (4-9) Atlanta Falcons. Facing his former team in head coach Dan Quinn and the Falcons, 49ers signal-caller Kyle Shanahan will try putting a stop to what was once among the most dangerous offenses in the league when he was still with them calling the plays led by Matt Ryan and Julio Jones. In what's been a down season for Atlanta, the Falcons are coming off a 40-20 drubbing of division rival Carolina where Matt Ryan became the second fastest QB in NFL history to reach the 50,000 yard mark (186 games). And though Atlanta isn't quite the same team they once were since Shanahan's departure, they'll still need to be taken serious as the 49ers can ill-afford losing to a inferior team if they want to maintain the NFC's No. 1 spot since jumping from the No. 5 seed following their win on Sunday @ New Orleans and a loss by Seattle to the Rams.
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Week 9 - With the San Francisco 49ers (7-0) riding hot and paying a visit to the desert for a meeting with the Arizona Cardinals for the first time this year in a Halloween match-up that would feature the first two picks of the 2019 NFL Draft in Kyler Murray and Nick Bosa, Kyle Shanahan's defense would find themselves in rare territory and would be pushed to the brink for the first time this season. Having allowed 100 net passing yards or less in four straight games for the first time since 1977 and a combined 23-points in those contests, the 49er defense would allow more points than that in this game alone against a Cardinals team that came into the affair on a three-game winning streak of their own. In only their second division match-up of the year and on short rest, the 49er defense would be caught off-guard and for the first time this season would rely on the arm of Jimmy Garoppolo who answered the call by logging his first 300 yard performance of the year while throwing for a season-high 28 completions and a career-high 4 touchdowns.
Hall of Famer and Fox NFL analyst Michael Strahan questioned the ability of Garoppolo during the pregame show and begged the question of whether or not he could lead his team to victory if needed. "Has the game ever been on his shoulders? Has it ever been on him to win a game?" Those questions would be put to rest in this one as Jimmy G silenced the critics with his bast game yet, albeit against the rebuilding Cardinals. With the defense bailing Garoppolo and the 49er offense out on multiple occasions this season, it was only appropriate that their QB returned the favor on Thursday when the defense had a hiccup of their own and needed his help. Among their struggles against the Arizona offense, was the outstanding debut of Cardinals running back Kenyan Drake who was acquired from the Miami Dolphins just days earlier on Monday. With both David Johnson and Chase Edmonds nursing injuries, the Cardinals were forced to acquire three new running backs during the week. However, it'd be a one man show from the onset as Drake burst through for a 36-yard gain on his very first carry of the ballgame, an impressive start considering his previous season-long was only 11-yards while with Miami. Starting the drive and game with the big play from Drake, his team would continue feeding him as he finished the drive with a 4-yard score to kickstart his most productive game of the season and give Arizona an early 7-0 lead.
After surrendering only the second Cardinals touchdown in their last 21 drives to open the game, the 49er defense would keep the opposition at bey in their next two drives by forcing back-to-back three-and-outs. The 49ers would dodge a bullet early in the first quarter after having a scare when Pro Bowl tight-end George Kittle went down after taking a helmet to the knee. Kittle, easily the team's biggest weapon on offense, would head to the sidelines, but would return on San Francisco's next possession and would end up scoring the team's first touchdown on a 30-yard reception in which he shoo'd off a defender and stiff-armed his way to a game-tying score. The big time play would ignite a streak of three consecutive touchdown-scoring drives for the 49ers and four TD's in a five drive span as Garoppolo connected in the end zone with a different receiver each time. Garoppolo's second touchdown pass of the evening, a 7-yard connection to Kendrick Bourne, would be the first TD reception of the season for Bourne. His third touchdown pass, a 1-yarder to Emmanuel Sanders, would be the second in as many games for Sanders who has quickly become one of Garoppolo's favorite targets after being acquired just a week earlier via trade with the Denver Broncos.
But the Niners would have Arizona's first-year head coach Cliff Kingsbury to thank for the Sanders touchdown as they caught a huge break just before the half. Facing 4th and goal from the 1 yard-line and with 0:04 remaining in the half, Kyle Shanahan dialed up a hand-off that Arizona appeared to make a stop on at the goal-line. Fortunately for them, Kingsbury called for a timeout just before the snap, which then gave San Francisco another chance and resulted in the touchdown pass to Sanders as the Niners jumped out to a 21-7 lead at halftime. Showing the same uptempo offense to begin the second half that they showed in the first, the Cardinals, despite only 15-yards passing through the first two quarters, once again came out swinging and scored a touchdown on their first drive of the new half. Answering with a score of their own, Garoppolo would toss his fourth and final TD pass of the game as he found a wide-open Dante Pettis alone in the end zone from 21-yards out. And while it was his only catch of the night, he made it count in what's been a disappointing season from the second-year wide-out from the University of Washington.
After a Zane Gonzalez field goal made it a 28-17 lead for San Francisco in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals would strike for a huge 88-yard touchdown that took only two plays and chewed up only 35-seconds. Leading all rookie QB's in both passing and rushing yards, Kyler Murray found fellow rookie Andy Isabella who's third career reception and one and only catch of the night, would be a long one as he darted to the end zone for a 88-yard score that helped his team leap right back into the ballgame. Following a successful 2-point conversion to add to the busy day by Kenyan Drake, the Cardinals suddenly had all the momentum on their side and had the 49ers on their heels. With San Francisco taking over with under five minutes remaining and Arizona in possession of all three of their timeouts, the Niners were in need of a productive, yet time consuming drive in order to seal the win. Orchestrating an 11-play, 40-yard drive, Garoppolo managed to do just that as the 49ers signal-caller did a superb job eating up clock and making several big plays on third down. None would be bigger than the 3rd and 9 call at the two-minute warning that iced the win as Garoppolo stepped up and out of the pocket to deliver a clutch pass to tight-end Ross Dwelley who converted the game-winning first down that allowed his team to milk precious time as the final seconds ticked away.
Hoping to receive one final shot at rallying his team to victory, Kyler Murray would not get that chance and would have to watch from the sideline as the clock hit double-zero. Having outscored opponents by 130 points this season, the most through 7 games in franchise history, San Francisco would squeak by with the 28-25 victory to log their first win at Arizona since 2013 and snap their 8-game losing skid to the Cardinals. After becoming the first 49er to ever record three rushing TD's and a receiving TD in the same game, running back Tevin Coleman was virtually shutout as he was kept out of the end zone and held to only 23-yards on 12 carries. Matt Breida rushed for 78-yards on 15 carries, but both backs paled in comparison to Kenyan Drake who tallied 110-yards on 15 carries, registering only the third 100-yard performance of his career, while also adding 52-yards receiving on 4 receptions. But the player of the game would belong to Jimmy Garoppolo who became the first 49er QB with 4+ touchdown passes and 300+ passing yards in a single game since Jeff Garcia in 2000. With three of his TD passes coming on third down and one on fourth, Jimmy G also became the first 49er QB since Colin Kaepernick in 2012 to toss for 4 TD's in a game.
Garoppolo's favorite target of the game would be Emmanuel Sanders who in just his second game with his new team, has already hauled in a pair of touchdown passes after his seven catch, 112-yard performance against Arizona. With the timing and chemistry on a number of passes from Garoppolo to Sanders, you'd think the two have worked with each other all offseason long as the savvy vet and 2-time Pro Bowl receiver has already become arguably the biggest mid-season acquisition in the NFL this season. The ever-so reliable George Kittle also caught his second touchdown pass and racked up 79-yards on six receptions. It would be a quiet game for rookie sensation Nick Bosa who a week after being named both Rookie Defensive Player of the Week and NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his three sack, 1 interception performance against the Panthers, logged only one tackle in Thursday night's win. That win would come at a price, however, as the defense lost a key contributor in linebacker Kwon Alexander who will miss the remainder of the season after an MRI revealed that he suffered a torn pectoral muscle. Signed to a lucrative deal in the offseason, Alexander was enjoying a stellar 2019 campaign in the middle of this 49er defense.
Week 10 Preview - Officially halfway through the 2019-20 NFL regular season schedule and the 49ers find themselves as the last remaining unbeaten team in the league at 8-0. Turning the page to their next opponent, San Francisco will return home to host the Seattle Seahawks (7-2) on Monday Night Football. Hoping to win their second straight game against their division rivals, the 49er defense will need to rebound quickly from their rough performance against Kyler Murray and the Cards as they'll see a similar skill set in Russell Wilson who's even more dangerous and has been arguably the league's MVP through the first half of the season. Despite Wilson's monster game on Sunday in which he threw for 378 yards and 5 touchdowns, the Seahawks needed Overtime to avoid being upset at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 49ers will certainly have their hands full with Wilson, but are also expected to get one of their starters back in Tackle Joe Staley who's been out since Week 2 when he suffered a broken left fibula against the Bengals. One thing that is certain is that there'll likely be plenty of fireworks as Richard Sherman gets to take on his former team and head coach once again when the two teams renew rivalries on Monday.
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Week 8 - All the talk about the 49ers having a cake walk through the first seven weeks of the season would be put to rest on Sunday as 6-0 San Francisco played host to the 4-2 Carolina Panthers. Winners of four straight, Ron Rivera's Panthers team entered their meeting against the Niners with plenty of confidence and plans to pull off an upset while coming off a BYE. But despite Carolina being the ones well rested with over a week to prepare, it was the 49ers who came out swinging, showing fresh legs on both fronts and displaying pure domination from start to finish while donning their throwback uniforms. If there was any doubt that the 49er offense was beginning to sputter after putting up only 9-points in the rainy, swamp-like conditions of Washington's FedEx Field a week ago, Kyle Shanahan's squad put to rest any and all worries of a repeat performance on Sunday from the outset.
With San Francisco opening the game on offense, Jimmy Garoppolo and company would take us for a ride as the 49ers jumped ahead early on and never looked back. Capping an 11-play, 75-yard opening drive would be the newest member of the 49ers who was acquired just days earlier via trade. Adding a new target for Garoppolo to throw to, Emmanuel Sanders who was sent from the Denver Broncos during the week in exchange for a pair of draft picks, wasted little time to introduce himself to the 49er faithful on Sunday, scoring the first of seven touchdowns for a busy San Francisco offense. Sanders would catch only four passes for 25-yards on Sunday, including the 4-yard touchdown grab that made it 7-0. Equally as engaged was the 49er defense who also had a busy afternoon, forcing a three-and-out on Carolina's first offensive possession. However, an interception on the Niners' very next play would be one of the very few mistakes committed in what was otherwise a relatively clean day of football for coach Shanahan's team. Holding the Panthers to only a field goal, Garoppolo would shake off the turnover on the ensuing possession by marching his team down the field and allowing Tevin Coleman to do the rest.
Kick-starting an eventful afternoon on the ground, Coleman would scamper 19-yards for his first of four touchdowns on the day. Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen who has filled in rather nicely for the injured Cam Newton, entered the contest with a 5-0 record and an unblemished touchdown to interception ratio of 9-0, becoming the first QB to win his first five career starts with 0 interceptions since 1950. But in spite of his hot start, the San Francisco defense would not be impressed as Allen was picked off three times in this one when it was all said and done. Second-year cornerback Emmanuel Moseley would ignite the turnover frenzy by handing Kyle Allen his first career interception while also logging his own as the backup to starting corner Ahkello Witherspoon has dazzled since being called upon. Needing only three plays to capitalize on the Carolina miscue, Garoppolo would find Coleman on a scree-pass which he would take 10 yards to pay dirt. Coleman would make it a trio before the half with his biggest play yet, a 48-yard dash to the end zone which put his team ahead, 27-0 at the half. By halftime, the 49ers offense had out-gained that of Carolina's, 254 yards to 76.
The Panthers would begin to show a sliver of life in the second half, when Garoppolo was sacked in the end zone for a safety, and eventually led to good field position as Carolina began their next drive at midfield. Stud running back Christian McCaffrey who was held to only 21 yards thru the first two quarters, got going in the second half and ripped off his biggest play of the afternoon on a hand-off that he took 40-yards to the end zone for a touchdown before adding a successful 2-point conversion. McCaffrey's score would be the first rushing touchdown allowed to an opposing running back by the 49er defense this season. Ending the Panthers' sudden second half scoring run at 10 unanswered-points, another 75-yard scoring-drive was executed by the 49ers when Deebo Samuel finished off the possession with a 20-yard touchdown run that left the ballhandler untouched and the Carolina defense fooled. Intercepting Allen on back to back possessions would be Richard Sherman and Nick Bosa who would both get in on the fun. While Sherman's pick would setup the fourth and final touchdown of the day for running back Tevin Coleman, Bosa's interception which only led to a field goal, would be all the talk as it served as the cherry on top of what would end up being a monstrous day for the rookie.
While the 49er defense would log a season-high six quarterback sacks in the first half alone before finishing the game with seven, three of those would come from rookie Nick Bosa whom some are saying needs to be taken serious for not just Defensive Rookie of the Year, but also Defensive Player of the Year following his overly productive day on Sunday. Bosa, the 2nd overall pick in this year's Draft who turned just 22-years old four days earlier, became the first player in 49ers franchise history to record three sacks and an interception in a single game since 1982 and the youngest to record three sacks, a feat that had only been done by four other 49er players. Sandwiched between a pair of turnover on downs forced by the Niner defense, a 41-yard rushing touchdown by Raheem Mostert would cap the onslaught as the 49ers ran up the scoreboard by putting a 50-burger on the Carolina defense. Running away with the 51-13 victory, the 51-point outburst is the highest point total scored under coach Shanahan, surpassing the previous mark of 44-points scored on December 24, 2017 against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the most by a 49ers team since 1993 when Steve Young was under center.
Improving to 7-0 for only the second time in franchise history and first since 1990, it would be another game that Niners QB Jimmy Garoppolo didn't stack the stat sheet in, nor was it one where he needed to as Tevin Coleman supplied plenty of offense on his own while logging his first 100 yard performance of the season with a total of 105 yards rushing. Not to mention another stout showing by the defense which continues to obliterate their franchise-low mark of only seven takeaways from a season ago which also set an NFL record for the fewest in a single season. Completing 18 of 22 passes, Garoppolo tallied 175 yards thru the air along with two touchdowns and an interception as George Kittle hauled in a game-high six passes for 86-yards receiving to lead both teams. Meanwhile, Christian McCaffrey finished with 155 yards from scrimmage (117 yards rushing) and was the lone bright spot for the Carolina offense as Kyle Allen was held to only 158 yards passing and threw three interceptions while completing 19 of 37 pass attempts.
Week 9 Preview - Joining the 2013 Kansas City Chiefs as the only two teams in NFL history to begin a season 7-0 after winning only four or fewer games the previous year, the 49ers will look to make it 8-0 when they pay a visit to the desert to take on the Arizona Cardinals (3-4-1) on a short week. Despite both teams struggling the past several seasons, the rivalry between the two NFC West foes has been one-sided the last few years as the Cardinals have won their last 8 meetings against the 49ers. With the Cards coming off a 31-9 loss on the road to the New Orleans Saints after winning their previous three, the 49ers will get their first look at this year's No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray in a match-up that will pin him up against Nick Bosa, the No. 2 overall pick. Back to back games without a touchdown pass, the 49er defense will look to make it three straight touchdown-less games for the former Heisman Trophy winner who despite his recent scoring drought, still owns a 7 touchdown to 4 interception ratio on the year and has not committed a turnover in four straight contests. With injuries suffered to running backs David Johnson (ankle) and Chase Edmonds (hamstring), the Cardinals will feature a new weapon in their depleted backfield when they take the field on Thursday as the team announced on Monday that they had acquired Kenyan Drake from the Miami Dolphins via trade.
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