Week 16 - Coming off their first winning streak of the season following wins against the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks, the (4-10) San Francisco 49ers would play host to the (10-4) Chicago Bears in what would be the final home game of 2018 for Kyle Shanahan's team. It would be a homecoming of sorts for 49ers kicker and longtime Chicago Bear Robbie Gould as well as Vic Fangio who served four years in San Francisco under Jim Harbaugh as defensive coordinator before becoming the current defensive play-caller in Chicago. Taking home Special-teams Player of the Week honors for his stellar performance against Seattle a week ago which included kicking a game-winning field goal in overtime, Gould has excelled at his position with the Niners much like Fangio has in Chicago as he's helped transform the Bears defense into one of the best in the league. But the 49ers defense would also play inspiring football on Sunday as they helped keep it a close game by holding second-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky and the Chicago offense to under 20-points for only the third time this season.
Under first-year head coach Matt Nagy who's made a strong name for himself this season in the race for NFL Coach of the Year, the Bears who entered Sunday's game having already claimed the NFC North, became the first team to ever follow-up four straight last-place finishes with a division title. Already with more wins this season than they've had in the last two seasons combined, Nagy's Bears would need to keep their winning streak alive if they planned to keep pace with the top dogs in the conference and sneak their way to a top-2 seed in the NFC playoff picture. It would take awhile for Chicago to get things going in this one as the Bears were shutout on offense for nearly the entire first half. A missed field goal by Chicago's Cody Parkey highlighted a scoreless first quarter which featured a combined four punts and a trio of three and outs. After taking a 3-0 lead thanks to a made field goal by Robbie Gould, San Francisco would force a rare turnover when a backwards pass by Trubisky was recovered by Niners defensive-end DeForest Buckner. It would be one of two fumbles recovered by the 49ers defense on Sunday and the team's first takeaway of any kind since the first week of October. Sadly, the offense was only able to muster a field goal out of the miscue to make it a 6-0 ballgame.
The turnover would serve as a wake-up call for Trubisky and company as the Bears finally began to show life on offense on their next possession, capping things off with a touchdown pass to rookie receiver Anthony Miller. Trailing 7-6, 49ers QB Nick Mullens would then orchestrate a nice drive of his own just before the half to put his team in position to retake the lead. But after losing both Matt Breida (ankle) and Dante Pettis (knee) to injuries on the same possession and a costly penalty on receiver Trent Taylor for an illegal block, San Francisco was forced to settle for their third field goal of the half, taking a 9-7 lead into halftime. Unfortunately for the 49ers, Gould's third field goal would be the last time they'd strike the scoreboard as they were shutout in the second half. Meanwhile, the Bears picked up right where they had left off, marching 75-yards and capping a 12-play drive with a 2-yard touchdown run by Jordan Howard. The rushing TD with 4:17 remaining in the third quarter would mark the last time either team would score in the ballgame, but not for a lack of trying. San Francisco's first possession of the fourth quarter appeared to be headed in the right direction as they managed to march 70-yards before a tipped pass off the hands of receiver Marquise Goodwin landed in the arms of Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan.
The turnover appeared to be the straw that broke the camels back for the 49ers, especially after Chicago crossed midfield on their ensuing possession. With Chicago looking to put the game out of reach for good, a fight would break out several plays into the drive when rookie safety Marcell Harris was called for unnecessary roughness after his hit on a sliding Trubisky. Spilling out onto the Bears sideline, San Francisco's Richard Sherman and Chicago's Joshua Bellamy and Anthony Miller were in the middle of it all and were seen exchanging punches before being disqualified. However, the excitement wouldn't end there as a forced fumble by rookie cornerback Tarvarius Moore gave the 49ers a sliver of hope as they took over with just under two minutes remaining and no timeouts left. But San Francisco's attempt at pulling off the late game heroics would come up just short as they reached midfield before Nick Mullens threw three straight incompletions, including one on 4th and 4 to seal their fate. Mullens appeared to have a clear path and could've ran for the first down, but instead elected to heave a deep pass intended for Marquise Goodwin that sailed off the mark and out of bounds as the Bears took over and milked the clock.
Through his first seven career starts, Nick Mullens is off to the third best start by an NFL QB in terms of passing yards as he has now amassed 1,995 yards, a figure only surpassed by Patrick Mahomes and Cam Newton. But Sunday's performance would be one he'd prefer to forget as he totaled only 241 yards thru the air on 22 of 38 pass attempts and threw an interception while being held without a touchdown for the first time in his career. As for Trubisky, the Bears QB completed an impressive 25 of 29 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown.
Week 17 Preview - Hitting the road to wrap up their 2018 season, the 49ers will take on the division rival (12-3) L.A. Rams in the regular season-finale. Having won both games at the L.A. Coliseum since the Rams relocated from St. Louis in 2016, the 49ers will look to look to make it a three-peat on Sunday and can play the role of spoiler as Los Angeles tries to seal the No. 2 overall seed in the NFC playoff picture. Chicago who has already beaten the Rams this season, could sneak into the 2 seed if they were to win in their season finale at Minnesota and if San Francisco deals the Rams a loss. However, a win for San Francisco would also hurt their draft position as they currently own the No. 2 overall pick in next year's Draft behind only the (3-12) Arizona Cardinals who the 49ers can leap for sole possession of the No. 1 overall pick if the Cards win and the 49ers lose on Sunday. Both teams will be without key players on offense as both Dante Pettis (knee) and Matt Breida (ankle) will see their 2018 campaigns come to an end while nursing injuries for the 49ers, and Rams Pro Bowl running back Todd Gurley will also sit out Sunday's game with left knee inflammation in hopes of recovering in time for the playoffs.
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Week 13 - In a match-up between two under-performing teams, Jimmy Garoppolo and the (1-10) San Francisco 49ers would pay a visit to the windy city to take on Mitch Trubisky and the (3-8) Chicago Bears. With San Francisco leading the all-time series versus Chicago by a slim margin entering Sunday at 33-31-1, Sunday's game would be another close affair in the latest chapter of the 49ers-Bears rivalry. Making only the third start of his career and first in a 49ers uniform, newcomer Jimmy Garoppolo would impress in his return home with a little help from a former Chicago Bear. Having grown up just 26 miles north of Soldier Field in Arlington Heights, Jimmy G. would make quite the impression on Niner fans as he helped lead San Francisco to their second victory of the season and first on the road. It would also be a memorable day for former Bears kicker Robbie Gould who was kept busy all afternoon long while providing all the scoring the Niners would need on Sunday to beat the team he spent 11 seasons with. A year after being cut by the team Gould set multiple franchise records with for most career points and field goals made, the 35-year old kicker would connect on five field goals to exact his revenge in his first return to Soldier Field as a member of the visiting team, including the game-winning field goal with seconds to spare.
Having trailed in 62% of minutes played this season (3rd most in the NFL), Garoppolo would lead the San Francisco offense down the field on their opening possession before fizzling out in the red zone and having to settle for a Robbie Gould field goal, something they would make a trend out of virtually all afternoon long as all five of Gould's field goals came inside the 20. The Niners' inability to strike pay dirt would be the result of multiple red zone penalties. Chicago on the other hand would make only one trip inside the red zone on Sunday, but would make the most of it as Trubisky capitalized with an 8-yard touchdown pass to receiver Deontrelle Inman who hauled in his first score as a member of the Bears. Helping set up Chicago's touchdown would be a 49er turnover as Garoppolo was charged with an interception, the first of his career, on a ball that was stripped from the receiver as Bears corner Kyle Fuller wrestled the ball out of Louis Murphy's hands before both players fell to the ground. The so called "interception" which was more of a fumble than anything, would set the table for Trubisky while also ending a streak of 104 career passes without an interception for Garoppolo.
Aside from Trubisky's lone touchdown pass, rookie running back Tarik Cohen would provide the rest of Chicago's offensive fireworks with an explosive 61-yard punt return to give his team a 14-6 lead in the first half. After being surrounded by multiple Niner defenders and appearing to be dead in his tracks on the punt return, Cohen reversed from sideline to sideline before bursting up the middle for a special teams touchdown that would've made Devin Hester blush. It would mark the first punt returned for a touchdown by a Chicago Bear against the Niners since Hall of Famer Gale Sayers took one to the house in 1967. A man of many traits, Cohen has dazzled in his rookie campaign and now has a passing touchdown, receiving touchdown, rushing touchdown and special teams touchdown under his belt this season. The special teams score would be a wake up call for a San Francisco squad that has been the best coverage unit in the NFL thus far, having held opponents to an average of 2.5 yards per return before Cohen's big play. A pair of Niner weapons would make some big plays of their own on Sunday as rookie receiver Trent Taylor and speedster Marquise Goodwin each eclipsed the 90-yards receiving mark while combining for 14 receptions and helping Garoppolo set a new career-high in passing yards.
Completing 26 of 37 pass attempts (70%), Garoppolo finished with 293 yards through the air as San Francisco held onto the ball for a season-high 38:47 in time of possession. Though it's still very early in the career of Garoppolo who has only three career starts to his name, the newest member of the Niners received some high praise from running back and fellow San Francisco teammate Carlos Hyde who said Jimmy G. reminded him of, "a young Tom Brady." And while he's still light years away from being held in the same regard as one of the game's all-time greats, it's safe to say the two share a handful of similar traits as Garoppolo displayed a comfort level that I wouldn't have imagined possible behind an offensive-line as spotty as San Francisco's. Garoppolo also excelled on third down (10 of 18), an area the Niners offense has been exceptionally awful in this season as the ten third down conversions were the most by a 49er team since 2007. Taking over with just under five and a half minutes remaining in regulation and trailing 14-12, Garoppolo made excellent work of the field and game-clock on San Francisco's final possession as he helped march his team 86-yards into field goal position while eating up 5:23 of time to set up kicker Robbie Gould who put the dagger into the heart of his former team with his fifth field of the day to give the 49ers the 15-14 win.
Week 14 Preview - Continuing their road trip, the 49ers will travel to Houston to take on the (4-8) Texans. Coming off a 24-13 loss to the division rival Titans on the road, the Texans will look to bounce back as they return to Reliant Stadium and play host to Garoppolo and the Niners. One of Kyle Shanahan's earliest employers in the NFL where he spent a total of four seasons as the team's wide receivers and quarterbacks coach before being promoted to offensive coordinator, Shanahan hopes to break even against his former employers after a Week ? loss to the Washington Redskins whom Shanahan also worked for in the past. Backed by a solid defense that features one of the most dominant defensive-lines in all of football, even without perennial Pro Bowler J.J. Watt who is out for the year with a ? injury, Garoppolo will be on high alert all afternoon long. The same can be said about the San Francisco secondary which will have to keep close tabs on one of the NFL's best receivers in DeAndre Hopkins who has tallied nine receiving touchdowns on the season and has already eclipsed the 1,000 yards receiving mark for the third time in five years. Throwing to Hopkins will be Texans quarterback Tom Savage who is looking to improve off a career-high 365 yards passing on 31 of 49 pass attempts in Sunday's loss. One way to limit Savage in the passing game will be getting to the QB who has had a hard time hanging onto the ball when he's being pressured as he's fumbled the ball eight times this year, losing seven.
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Round 1 - Under a new regime, the San Francisco 49ers made quite the impression in Round 1 of the 2017 NFL Draft. And in their first draft together at the helm of the 49ers, head coach Kyle Shanahan and GM John Lynch had an unforgettable first day of the draft which included the Niners selecting two solid players on defense as well as stockpiling a few more picks along the way. With Myles Garrett going 1st overall to the Cleveland Browns as we all expected, there San Francisco was at pick No. 2 where they were ready to select Stanford defensive end Solomon Thomas if unable to trade back. And then came calling the Chicago Bears who would treat us to our first "wow moment" of the Draft by working out a trade that allowed them to select UNC quarterback Mitch Trubisky. One pick later, the 49ers would find their man in Thomas.
The move would prove to be a sign of despair for Chicago as Trubisky might have been on San Francisco's radar, but not at pick No. 2 which means the Bears were either smoke-screened into thinking Trubisky would be taken by San Francisco or that someone else might swoop in via trade to select him. Either way, the move would help Lynch and company make out like bandits as they received the No. 3 pick as well as Chicago's 3rd (67th overall) and 4th round picks (111th overall) this year and a 3rd rounder next year in exchange, all while selecting Thomas who they intended to take all along. But Lynch's brilliance and busy night wouldn't end there as he was able to flip one of the picks received from the Bears to move back into the first round. With rival Seattle on the clock at pick No. 31, San Francisco sent their 2nd round pick (34th overall) and the 4th rounder received from Chicago to the Seahawks, which the Niners would then use to select Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster.
Prior to the draft, the Niners had Garrett ranked as the no. 1 player in the draft, Thomas ranked no. 2 and Foster no. 3, meaning they managed to land two of their top three ranked players in the entire draft. This order was confirmed by Lynch during the 49ers' press conference following Round 1 of the draft, so to land Foster at pick 31 is a complete steal in the eyes of Lynch & Shanahan. After drafting a defensive lineman with their top pick in each of the past two seasons despite being under two different head coaches and a different GM, Lynch who also went to school at Stanford, made it a third straight year with the selection of Thomas. Oddly enough, their alma isn't the only thing the two have shared as they even had two classes together a few years ago when Lynch returned to Palo Alto to finish his degree. The two would grow quite the relationship over the years with Thomas even asking Lynch for advice before the biggest game of his career in December's Sun Bowl, not knowing he would later be drafted by his fellow classmate to work alongside him within the same organization. Another positive for Thomas would be the 22 mile trip from Stanford's campus to his new digs in Santa Clara as he's just a stones throw away from Levi's Stadium which will make the adjustment to the NFL life that much easier.
After soaring up the rankings on draft boards thanks to his dominant Sun Bowl performance which led to game MVP honors against Trubisky's North Carolina Tarheels no less and a glaring need on the defensive front for the Niners, it was an obvious decision for San Francisco to take Thomas despite the many different directions they could've gone. Thomas who has been looked upon as virtually being another Myles Garrett, can help stop the run as well as pressure the quarterback. Both are areas the 49ers struggled at a season ago when they allowed the most yards in franchise history and ranked last in the league in yards allowed and rushing yards allowed just a season ago, while also ranking near the bottom of the list in generating pressure on the quarterback.
As for Reuben Foster who I'm personally delighted to see in a Niners uniform, it was rather shocking to see him fall so deep into the first round the way he did. While there's been character concerns regarding Foster heading into the draft spanning from a diluted urine sample and an argument with a hospital worker which led to him being sent home at the scouting combine, there's no denying his passion for the game and the talent he possesses. It wasn't long ago that most draft experts had Foster projected to go in the top-five, but a shoulder injury that Foster claims to be "90% healed" could've also been just as much to blame for his draft stock taking a plunge. Niners fans can't help but be excited to now have Foster on the team especially after what San Francisco went through last season following the injury to NaVorro Bowman which made it very clear just how valuable the linebacker position is and how thin they were at said position. The same could be said about the defense in general as it's no secret how many lingering holes this team had on the defensive side which already looks much improved after only one day of the draft. With Rounds 2 through 7 still yet to come and the Niners owning picks in every round but the 2nd and a total of 11 picks, more selections on defense will be added with the addition of Thomas and Foster who already figure to help bolster a defense that couldn't stop a nosebleed a season ago.
Stay tuned for more coverage as the Draft continues.
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