Week 17 - Hoping to close out the 2016 regular season on a positive note, something they've had very few of this year, the (2-13) San Francisco 49ers would play host to the rival (9-5-1) Seattle Seahawks. Of the 22 starters for San Francisco that played in Week 3 when these two teams last met, only 11 would be healthy enough to play in this one and it showed early on. With 49ers running back Carlos Hyde out with a knee injury, backup Shaun Draughn would get the call to start Sunday and would give Seattle a gift right out the gate. On the second play of the game, Draughn would fumble the hand-off exchange from QB Colin Kaepernick, recovered by the defense. With Seattle already in scoring range, the 49ers would comp the NFC West champion Seahawks with an early 3-point lead on Steven Hauschka's field goal.
However, Kaepernick and company would answer back quite nicely on their next possession by marching 75 yards as a trio of short passes would result in big gains which ultimately set up Draughn who redeemed himself by running it in for a 1-yard touchdown to put the Niners ahead, 7-3. After forcing a three and out on defense, San Francisco's next possession would also end in success, turning a 14-play drive into another touchdown as Draughn punched in yet another 1-yard score, this time converting on fourth down. But after taking a 14-3 lead following a hot start from Kaepernick who logged over 100 yards passing in the first quarter but threw for only another 115 the rest of the way, Seattle would storm back with 19 unanswered-points, seven of which coming off another 49er turnover as DuJuan Harris was stripped of the ball. With Seattle pinned back in their own end zone, San Francisco would manage to get two of those points back as a high snap on a punt attempt was airmailed out of bounds over the head of Seahawks punter Jon Ryan for a safety. The 49ers would inch even closer on a fourth quarter touchdown from Kaepernick to tight-end Garrett Celek to make it a 2-point game with under six minutes remaining.
But even with Seahawks backup quarterback Trevone Boykin taking over for Russell Wilson (258 yards passing, 1 touchdown) under center midway through the fourth, the 49ers were unable to get a stop on defense when they needed it most as Boykin and the Seattle offense successfully milked the clock, sealing the 25-23 victory. With Seattle's ticket to the playoffs already punched, the Seahawks improved to 10-5-1 on the year and will host the winner of the second NFC Wild Card -- Detroit Lions. As for San Francisco, the loss would drop the 49ers to 2-14 on the year, tying a franchise worse record of 14 losses in a season. It would also be their seventh consecutive loss at home, setting a new franchise record. With much speculation regarding the firing of 49ers GM Trent Baalke heading into the week, the team made the announcement official following the game and he wouldn't be shown the door alone. After inking head coach Chip Kelly to a contract last offseason, the 49ers decided to relieve Kelly of his duties just one year into his four year pact he signed last January. All this coming after someone paid to have a plane fly over Levi's Stadium before kickoff with a banner that read: Levis Stadium, The House That Harbaugh Built.
The move comes after another disappointing season by the Niners who will now be in search of a new GM as well as their fourth head coach in as many years as the state of the franchise continues to spiral out of control since 49ers CEO Jed York cut ties with Jim Harbaugh in favor of Baalke who is now without a job. Niner fans have been calling for Baalke's head since the decision and though it came much later than we would've hoped, better late than never as the team seeks a new direction. While the hiring of Kelly was looked at as being an experiment to try and help revive the luster of Colin Kaepernick's career who took the league by storm upon winning the starting role at QB, the firing comes off as unfair given what 49ers brass was asking of Kelly in such little time. Known as an offensive mastermind, the talent on offense simply wasn't there for Kelly to attempt to work his magic and the defense was equally as bad following the injury to All-Pro linebacker NaVorro Bowman, giving up the most rushing yards in a season in NFL history. And with Kaepernick most likely the next to go as he has a 2017 player option and can opt out of his contract, next year's 49ers team figures to be an entirely different crop of players as they possess the No. 2 overall pick in April's Draft.
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Week 14 - With the (1-11) San Francisco 49ers hosting the (3-9) New York Jets in a battle of two struggling teams, we'd bare witness to a tale of two halves as one team went from scalding hot in the first half to ice-cold in the second half , meanwhile, the other team managed to do the complete opposite. Hoping to get a glimpse of the future and solve their prolonged quarterback situation, Jets head coach Todd Bowles decided to give the ball to QB Bryce Petty who in his second year would make only his second career start while facing the 49ers. And in a first half dominated by the home team, Petty's inexperience would show early on.
After receiving the ball to start the game, Petty would make his first mistake on only the second play of the game as a pass intended for receiver Quincy Enunwa was picked off by cornerback Jimmie Ward who read Petty like a book and jumped the route to set his team up inside the red zone. 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick would waste no time to capitalize on the turnover as he found Carlos Hyde for the early touchdown on a 7-yard dump off on their very first play. For Hyde, it would be the start of what would end up being a career day for the Niners running back who entered the game seeking his first 100-yard performance since Week 3. And versus the fourth best rushing defense in the NFL entering Sunday, he would eclipse the century mark in less than two full quarters in this one as he broke off big gain after big gain, including a 47-yarder on San Francisco's next possession which set up backup running back Shaun Draughn who scored on the very next play with a 4-yard rushing touchdown of his own.
Looking to tack on more and take a commanding lead, the 49ers relied on their dependable kicker Phil Dawson who came into Sunday's affair having made 17 of his 18 field goal attempts this season. But not even San Francisco's Pro Bowl kicker would be perfect in this one as he missed back to back field goals on 44 and 48 yard tries on consecutive possessions. After watching Jets kicker Nick Folk make one from 36-yards out to put New York on the board in the second quarter, the third time would be a charm for Dawson who split the uprights with a 47-yarder to give the 49ers a 17-3 lead that they would take with them into the half. But like they've done so often this season, San Francisco would forget to bring their offense with them in the second half as yet another 14-point lead would soon be evaporated. Leading 17-6 with 5 minutes remaining in regulation, a combination of poor tackling and predictable play-calling would be the Niners' demise and allowed the Jets to get right back in it as Petty followed up a Bilal Powell rushing touchdown with a successful two-point try to pull his team within a field goal.
Even with the worst two minute offense in the league entering Sunday for the Jets, San Francisco's lackluster defense would once again let us down as Petty managed to march his team down the field and in position to set up his kicker for a game-tying field goal. And from 51 yards out, Folk would do just that, sending the game into overtime. Though 49ers running back Carlos Hyde would feast with a career-high 193 yards rushing and 7 yards receiving to give him 200 total yards on the day, the most by a 49ers RB since Frank Gore's 207 yard performance on September 20, 2009, his team would fail to ride his big game into victory as the Jets completed the comeback and won in overtime, 23-17, on a 19-yard touchdown by Powell. Powell would also finish with an impressive afternoon, compiling 179 total yards (145 rushing) and a pair of touchdowns. Petty's first career win would hand San Francisco their franchise-worst 12th straight loss. The quarterback the Jets are hoping will solve their woes at the QB position threw for 257 yards compared to the 133 yards by Colin Kaepernick who struggled to get anything going offensively in the second half, as has been the case virtually all season long for both Kaepernick and Chip Kelly's 49ers who've been unable to closeout games week after week.
Week 15 - After failing to come out with a win on Sunday at home to the lowly Jets, the 49ers will have their hands full with a trip to Atlanta next to take on the NFC South-leading Falcons. Sitting at 8-5 on the year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also at 8-5 and breathing down Atlanta's neck for first place, the Falcons are coming off a 42-14 road shellacking of the Los Angeles Rams and are looking to extend their lead in the division which is bad news for a 49ers team still seeking its first road victory of 2016. Led by quarterback Matt Ryan who began the season as an MVP candidate, Ryan helped hang a 42-spot on the road against the Rams by throwing for 3 touchdowns, all without his best receiver in Julio Jones who was unable to play due to an injured toe. The Niners figure to dodge a bullet as Jones is expected to also be out in Week 15, but the 49ers will still have plenty on their plate as they look to stop all the other play-makers Atlanta has on offense, including the 1-2 punch of running backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. Another big day by Carlos Hyde would be a nice counter for the 49ers, but unless Kaepernick and company can contribute through a full four quarters and the defense can show up, this one could get ugly in a hurry.
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Week 13 - In a match-up between the NFC's two worst teams -- the (2-9) Chicago Bears and the (1-11) San Francisco 49ers, the struggle would continue at damp and snowy Soldier Field. The poor conditions with slush-like snow falling from the sky helped make for an even uglier brand of football than we've grown accustomed to seeing from both teams this year. With the 49ers still seeking their first road win since a meeting with the Bears last December, neither team would complete a pass in the opening quarter as it was the ground game that both teams relied heavily on in the early going. That would be especially true for San Francisco as nearly every passing play was either incomplete or ended in a quarterback sack as QB Colin Kaepernick spent much of his time either on the turf or struggling to find the open man on Sunday. As if the elements weren't enough for the 49ers signal-caller to deal with, he had his former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio on the opposing side, dialing up plays that proved to be a headache for Kaepernick and coach Chip Kelly's 49er offense.
With 23 run plays to 10 passing plays for San Francisco in the first half, we would get a steady diet of Carlos Hyde who tallied 92 rushing yards on the afternoon and helped the 49ers dominate in the time of possession department in the first half as they held the ball for 20 of the games first 30 minutes. Somewhat of a surprise considering San Francisco entered the game ranked last in the league in time of possession. Sadly, they would manage to score only six points in all that time as a pair of Phil Dawson field goals was all San Francisco had to show for despite the time advantage. With Chicago pinned back in their own end zone on fourth down, 49ers backup running back Shaun Draughn would get a hand on a Pat O'Donnell punt attempt which helped put the Niners in position to kick their first field goal. Draughn would come up big yet again on special-teams as he stripped Bears return man Deonte Thompson of the ball on the ensuing kick, thus setting up another 49er field goal to make it a 6-0 San Francisco lead.
With just under two minutes to go before halftime and Bears quarterback Matt Barkley still without a completion, the former USC Trojan would begin completing pass after pass as he stringed together four completions on the ensuing drive. Following a controversial pass interference call in the end zone which put the Bears in business at the 1-yard line, Barkley handed the ball off to his rookie running back Jordan Howard who did the rest by punching it in for the go-ahead touchdown. The go-ahead score would be the start of 26 unanswered-points scored by Chicago and the first of three rushing touchdowns on the afternoon by Howard. Adding to his busy afternoon, Howard finished with 117 yards rushing, becoming the ninth back to eclipse the 100-yard mark against the 49ers defense this year. Putting that dismal number into perspective, no other team has allowed more than four 100-yard rushers this season. Sadly, that wouldn't be the most woeful stat of the day for San Francisco as that dubious honor would belong to Colin Kaepernick who was replaced by Blaine Gabbert with 12:55 remaining in the fourth quarter after throwing for only 4 yards on 1-of-5 pass attempts.
Making matters worse for Kaepernick who has had somewhat of a roller coaster campaign in 2016, he would watch Gabbert log more passing yards on his first play of action (an 18-yard completion to Jeremy Kerley) than Kaepernick had in the entire three quarters he spent on the field. Gabbert would finish with 35 yards passing on 4 of 10 attempts before being taken down in his own end zone for a safety in the final minutes of San Francisco's 26-6 loss. After factoring in the six total sacks that the 49ers quarterbacks would suffer, San Francisco combined for a total of 6 net passing yards, the second lowest mark in franchise history. It would also be the fewest yards allowed by a Bears team since the 1985 Monsters of Midway Chicago Bears team that won the franchise's one and only Super Bowl. As for their offense, the 26-points scored by Chicago would be a season-high in what would end up being the first career win for Matt Barkley who finished the game with 192 yards passing on 11-of-18 attempts. The 49ers will now at least have a top-4 pick in next year's NFL Draft as their franchise-worst losing-skid has now reached 11 games. Meanwhile, Chicago improves to 3-9 on the year.
Week 14 Preview - With the 49ers returning home to face the 3-9 New York Jets who are coming off a 41-10 blowout loss at home to the Colts on Monday Night Football, San Francisco will find themselves in rare territory as odds makers have them favored by 3 points, something we've seen very little of this season. Currently suffering a four-game losing streak of their own, the Jets have been one of the most disappointing teams of the season and are likely to press the reset button at seasons end with speculation regarding the potential firing of head coach Todd Bowles. Like Chip Kelly, Bowles has had a quarterback carousel of his own to deal with with Ryan Fitzpatrick, Geno Smith and now Bryce Petty who will make his second career start on Sunday. Petty, drafted last year out of Baylor, started in a Week 10 loss to the Rams in which he threw for 163 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. With Jets fans hoping they've got their quarterback for the future, a game against the lowly 49ers defense might not be a very good gauge to figure out if Petty is in fact the solution to their problem. As for their defense, New York's strong D-line might cause problems for San Francisco's run game, forcing them to rely through the air which isn't very promising considering their most recent performance. Thankfully, there won't be any snow or subzero temperatures to worry about in this one.
Noteworthy: 49ers Pro Bowl offensive tackle Joe Staley will miss his first game of the season on Sunday with a hamstring injury, snapping a streak of 92 consecutive games started.
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Week 11 - With Tom Brady and the 7-2 New England Patriots in town to face the 1-8 San Francisco 49ers, many Pats fans would be on hand despite the poor weather to witness Brady's homecoming to the Bay Area. And in their first ever game at Santa Clara's Levi's Stadium, New England would rebound from a disappointing loss to Seattle the week before. San Francisco wouldn't go without a fight, however, as they stuck around virtually all game long until the Patriots pulled away in the fourth quarter. Growing up just a stones throw from Santa Clara in nearby San Mateo and a big 49ers fan as a kid, Brady, the one who's often been compared to Joe Montana, his boyhood idol, felt right at home on Sunday afternoon.
Even without his Pro-Bowl tight-end Rob Gronkowski who sat out of Sunday's game with a lung injury, Brady managed to throw for 280 yards and four touchdowns on the afternoon in New England's 30-17 win, including the first touchdown reception of rookie receiver Malcolm Mitchell's career, a 56-yarder in the fourth quarter. As for 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick who logged another turnover-free performance by throwing for 206 yards and 2 touchdowns, it would be his offensive-line that let him down early on in this one. After being sacked twice on San Francisco's first drive on offense and five times in the first half alone, the 49ers missed out on an opportunity to take the lead early on. With New England on top following a touchdown from Brady to Julian Edelman on the Pats' first possession, Kaepernick led the Niners down the field where they would set up shop at the 3-yard line, but they would fail to sniff the end zone and were forced to settle for a Phil Dawson field goal. Because of a missed extra-point attempt by Pats kicker Stephen Gostkowski, New England's lead would be 6-3. The usually automatic Gostkowski wasn't the only one who struggled with the PAT on Sunday as it would be a forgetful day for kickers all around the league.
At the time of Gostkowski's missed PAT attempt, there had already been nine missed extra-points on the day and that number would continue to rise. By day's end, there would be a record 12 missed PAT attempts on Sunday, further proof that the rule change the NFL implemented a season ago which moved the extra-point from the 2-yard line to the 15-yard line has made a huge difference. One kicker that wouldn't contribute to the dubious record and had himself a day worth remembering, however, was 49ers kicker Phil Dawson who put San Francisco on the board in the first quarter by drilling a 33-yard field goal. What may have seemed like any other field goal would be a special one for Dawson as it was the 400th made field goal his career, making him just the 10th kicker in NFL history to reach that mark. Also worth noting is that Dawson's career field goal percentage of 84.7 is the best among all kickers in the 400 FG club as the 41-year old has been successful on 14-of-15 field goal attempts this season.
Sadly, it would be one of the few highlights San Francisco would see on Sunday as New England continued to score touchdowns instead of field goals. The Patriots' second possession would end much like their first as Brady found another target who found the end zone, this time to running back James White who scored from 9-yards out. The 49ers would manage to make a game out of it before the half as Kaepernick connected with tight-end Vance McDonald for an 18-yard touchdown that made it a 13-10 game and pulled San Francisco within three. Both teams would exchange punts in a scoreless third quarter before New England found the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter, a 5-yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola. After the big play by Mitchell a couple possessions later and a Gostkowski field goal, the 49ers would soon find themselves down 30-10 after trailing by a field goal for nearly 20 minutes. San Francisco would find the end zone once more before it was all said and done as a garbage time touchdown pass from Kaepernick to Shaun Draughn on a wheel route inched the 49ers closer, but a failed onside-kick attempt would seal it as New England pulled off the 30-17 victory.
It would be sweet redemption for the Patriots who both bounced back from their Sunday Night loss a week ago and redeemed themselves from a loss at the hands of Kaepernick and the 49ers in their most recent match-up in 2012, a 41-34 San Francisco victory in Foxborough on Sunday Night Football. The win for New England also catapulted Tom Brady in a tie with Brett Favre for the second most wins all-time with 199, trailing only Peyton Manning who has 200. As for the home team, it would be the ninth straight loss for the 49ers who are still in search of their first victory since their 28-0 shutout of the Los Angeles Rams in the season-opener. The 49ers lackluster run defense also made its return, allowing Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount to rush for 124 yards on 19 carries, this after holding Cardinals running back David Johnson to only 55-yards a week ago.
Week 12 - Hoping to shake off their 9-game skid, the 49ers will take to the road where they'll face the red-hot Miami Dolphins (6-4), winners of five straight. While the 49ers have been on a free-fall since their blowout Week 1 victory, the Dolphins have done the exact opposite, and now sit two games above .500 and in the playoff hunt after a disappointing 1-4 start to the season. Coming off a hard-fought win on the road in Los Angeles which saw Miami QB Ryan Tannenhill and the Dolphins erase a 10-0 deficit into a 14-10 victory with a last-minute touchdown to get the win. With run defense being the glaring weakness of this year's 49ers team, they'll have to keep close tabs on Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi who logged consecutive games of 200-yards rushing this season and has been a huge reason his team is riding a 5-game win-streak. If they can do that and contain Miami's run game, I like San Francisco's chances of putting an end to both Miami's win-streak and the 49ers' skid. The 49ers will also be hitting the field vs Miami without Pro Bowl safety Eric Reid who's been ruled out with a season-ending injury as he suffered a torn biceps in the loss to New England.
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The Silence of the Lambs - With the 49ers and Rams the last two teams to take the field to start the 2016-17 NFL season, all eyes were on Los Angeles and San Francisco for many reasons as football fans in L.A. finally had a team to call their own again and fans of the red and gold anxiously awaited the start of the Chip Kelly era. And with the 49ers 2 1/2 point underdogs at home despite an eight game winning-streak on Monday Night Football (all by double-digits), San Francisco took it to the odds makers once again after pulling a 20-3 upset against the Vikings to open last season on Monday night. And boy would the books be wrong once again in this one as the 49ers recorded their first ever shutout victory to open a season in franchise history.
After a punt on their initial drive, the 49ers got things going on their second possession with running back Carlos Hyde capitalizing on an 11-yard touchdown run up the middle to put San Francisco up early. As for Hyde's counterpart -- Todd Gurley, who ran amok in his rookie season last year, including a dominant Week 8 performance against the Niners in which he tallied 133 yards on the ground, the San Francisco defense was well prepared for the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year this time around as they held him to a measly 47 yards on 17 carries. With the game expected to be an offensive struggle with both team's leading running backs expected to carry the load, only half of that expectation would live up to the billing as Gurley and company were simply stopped in their tracks and failed to get anything going on offense throughout. The one first half drive which appeared to be promising for the Rams, soon went up in flames as Keenum had a pass deflect off a teammates helmet and into the arms of 49ers Pro Bowl linebacker NaVorro Bowman for an interception. It would be the first of two interceptions by the 49ers defense as pre-season standout Ray-Ray Armstrong continued to shine on Monday night with an interception of his own late in the third quarter.
Hoping to turn that turnover into points, the 49ers would do just that as San Francisco marched their way down the field with backup running back Shaun Draughn punching it in from 3-yards out to pull ahead, 14-0. Looking to make it three consecutive scoring drives for the Niners, they would appear to be heading in the right direction after crossing midfield and into enemy territory on an 11-yard catch and go to Draughn who dodged a pair of tackles, but the second-year 49er would be stripped from behind after one too many nifty moves. Luckily, it wouldn't come back to haunt the Niners as they went into the half in command of a 14-0 lead. While the Rams were still unable to generate any offense to start the second half, their defense managed to step it up, forcing four straight three and outs by the 49er offense as they failed to convert a single first down in the third quarter. To put the struggle into perspective, at one point in the game there would be more punts (15) than points scored (14). But as soon as the fourth quarter began, it's like the 49ers remembered how to play offense again, driving down the field to score their third touchdown, this time through the air as QB Blaine Gabbert found tight-end Vance McDonald for the easy score to make it 21-0.
With the game out of reach and down to its last few minutes, things would get chippy when Rams Pro-Bowl defensive tackle Aaron Donald got into a scuffle with Niners receiver Quinton Patton, knocking the helmet off his head before making contact with an official. After tacking on a pair of penalties, Donald would be disqualified as he slammed his helmet on the turf before walking off the field. It would only get worse as Carlos Hyde ran it in for his second touchdown of the night just plays later as the 49ers put the Rams out of their misery by making it a 28-0 route. Converting 28 first downs compared to L.A.'s 10, it would be the first shutout victory for the Niners since a 2012 victory against the Jets and their sixth consecutive season-opening win, the most they've stringed together in franchise history as they begin the year 1-0 in the Chip Kelly era.
As for the Rams and their fans living in L.A., the 21 year wait was spoiled as they were held scoreless for the first time since Week 11 of 2011. After trading up in the off-season to acquire the first overall pick in the NFL Draft to select QB Jared Goff out of Cal, the Rams elected not to start the season with Goff as the quarterback following a disappointing pre-season in which he struggled mightily. But after seeing QB Case Keenum's poor attempt at the position, it's hard to believe the Rams aren't better off handing the reigns to Goff going forward just to get him as many reps as possible. Not to mention he can't do much worse under center than Keenum did as he was held to just 130 yards while completing 17 of 35 pass attempts. Gabbert didn't necessarily have himself a game for the ages either, completing 22 of 35 passes for 170 yards and adding another 43 yards on the ground, but he did what he needed to and allowed Carlos Hyde to do the rest, rushing for 88 yards and a pair of TD's.
Week 2 Preview: With the exception of a Shaun Draughn fumble in the second quarter, the 49ers played an extremely clean game, committing only two penalties and not allowing a single sack. Though it's just one game, it's a huge step forward after being one of the most penalized teams in the league a season ago and owning one of the NFL's worst offensive-lines. With a match-up on the road against the defending NFC Champion Carolina Panthers in Week 2, the Niners will once again need a stellar performance on defense and a clean game in the penalty department if they want to improve to 2-0 with another upset victory over reigning MVP Cam Newton and company. It won't be easy, however, as Carolina's linebackers Luke Keuchle & Thomas Davis will most likely be a handful for Gabbert and the 49er offense. Not to mention the Panthers will be playing with a chip on their shoulder while looking to avenge a tough loss at Denver to open the season on Thursday night which means they'll be very rested come kickoff.
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Week 13 - With the 49ers in Chicago to face off with the (5-6) Bears, San Francisco head coach Jim Tomsula found himself going up against a former colleague -- Vic Fangio who served four seasons as the Niners defensive coordinator before landing the same job title in the windy city during the offseason, as well as Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase whom Tomsula beat out for the head coaching job. In what would be a struggle offensively for most of the game by both teams, the game would have to be decided in overtime.
After three and outs in each of San Francisco's first two possessions, the Bears took an early 6-0 lead on a pair of Robbie Gould field goals. Celebrating his 34th birthday, the rest of the day would be one to forget for the longtime Chicago kicker. Seeking their first 1st quarter touchdown of the season, the Niners would strike pay dirt in the form of a Jimmie Ward interception he took to the house. Playing in Chicago for the first time not far from Northern Illinois University where he played collegiately before being selected in the first round of last year's Draft, the interception marked the first of Ward's career, helping put his team on the board and end a first quarter touchdown-less drought that had reached 11 games. Kicker Phil Dawson would fail to tack on the ensuing PAT, however, as the 49ers suffered their first missed extra-point since 2003. With the game tied at 6, both teams would exchange rushing touchdowns as Matt Forte scored for Chicago, only to be matched by San Francisco's Shaun Draughn who scored his first touchdown in a Niner uniform.
The game would remain tied at 13 heading into the 4th quarter. It would be there where the Bears and 49ers would once again exchange rushing touchdowns, this time by a pair of unlikely recipients as both Ka'Deem Carey and Blaine Gabbert logged the first rushing touchdowns of their career, both capping six-play drives in the 4th quarter. Carey's would come first as he found the end zone from 4-yards out, followed by the longest rush of the season by a 49er -- a 44-yard scramble up the middle by Gabbert who showed athleticism on the play that nobody knew he had as San Francisco once again tied the game at 20 apiece. But Gabbert's late-game heroics were nearly erased on the ensuing kick as the 49ers special teams surrendered a 74-yard return to Deonte Thompson with under two minutes remaining. The return would put Chicago in position to win as Bears head coach John Fox called on Gould to kick his team to victory. But after missing his previous attempt in the third quarter, nothing was promised. And from 36-yards out, the Bears' Pro Bowl kicker shanked the kick wide left, spoiling his birthday and sending the game into overtime. It would mark the first game of Gould's career in which he missed a pair of field goals 41-yards or fewer.
With both teams going three and out on their first possession in overtime, Gabbert wasted little time on San Francisco's second drive as he aired it out along the left sideline where he found Torrey Smith all alone for the 71-yard walk-off touchdown. Prior to his game-winning reception which led to his 49er teammates mobbing him in the end zone, Smith had one catch for five yards. Gabbert threw for 196 yards on the day and led the team in rushing with another 75 yards as the 49ers pulled off the 26-20 overtime victory. Chicago's Jay Cutler threw for 202 yards in a losing effort as San Francisco claimed their first road win of the season and first of Tomsula's career. Niners receiver Anquan Boldin caught five passes for 37 yards, helping him reach 13,000 career receiving yards in what's been a stalwart career in the NFL and one that could very well result in a Hall of Fame induction one day.
Week 14 Preview - At 4-8 on the year, the 49ers will look to build their first winning-streak of the season when they pay a visit to Cleveland to take on the 2-10 Browns. Coming off a 37-3 shellacking by their inner-state rivals the Cincinnati Bengals, the Browns are looking to bounce back at Home. Having endured quarterback trouble of their own this season, Cleveland has decided to name Johnny Manziel their starting QB heading into Sunday's game. While Manziel gives the Browns their best chance of winning games over fellow QB's Josh McCown who's now injured and Austin Davis, the former Heisman Trophy winner is coming off a 2-game absence as Cleveland coach Mike Pettine decided to discipline his young QB after videos of Manziel partying in his native Texas surfaced over the internet. The Niner defense will look to keep the duel threat quarterback at bey with another stellar showing on defense and build on their first road victory of the season.
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Week 9 - In what's been a disastrous year for the San Francisco 49ers and their fans, Sunday brought at least some excitement as the (2-6) Niners hosted the (6-2) Atlanta Falcons. Entering the match-up, the 49ers had undergone a number of changes, including one at the quarterback position. With Colin Kaepernick at the helm, the 49ers had gone 27 consecutive drives without a touchdown while losing back-to-back games which led to the benching of the player once dubbed their "franchise quarterback." Filling in for Kaepernick would be former first round pick Blaine Gabbert who was declared a "bust" after a forgetful career in Jacksonville which saw the once promising QB compile a record of 5-22 with the Jaguars.
And if a change of scenery was all Gabbert needed to help turn things around at least for the time being, he sure got it in his new job in San Francisco. Making his first start since October of 2013, things would be slow to develop early on for the newly named starter as each of San Francisco's first two drives on offense resulted in a three and out. It wasn't until a 41-yard gain 11 minutes into the game that Gabbert began to finally resemble an NFL quarterback when he scrambled out of the pocket and threw a strike to a crossing Quinton Patton. After nearly running it in himself from 10 yards out before being stopped at the 1, Gabbert connected with tight-end Garrett Celek in the end zone early in the second quarter for the 49ers' first touchdown in over two games and Gabbert's first TD pass since Week 7 of last year. Though the second quarter score marked the ninth consecutive game without a first quarter touchdown for San Francisco, it was nice to finally watch them strike pay dirt for the first time in weeks.
With his first touchdown pass in over a year under his belt, Gabbert wasted little time before throwing another as he found Celek in the end zone a second time just three drives later to give his team a 17-6 lead which Atlanta would bite into with a touchdown of their own before the half. Though all 17 of San Francisco's points would come in the second quarter, it would be enough to hold off Atlanta who struggled on the ground after a stellar performance by the 49er run defense which held the Falcons to just 17 yards rushing, their fewest since 2000. With more interceptions than touchdown passes in his career, Gabbert couldn't avoid the turnover bug on Sunday as his two first half touchdown passes were matched by a pair of second half interceptions, including one that put the Falcons in an opportune position to steal the win with 7 minutes remaining in regulation. Needing a win anyway they could get it, the struggling 49ers benefited from a questionable decision by Atlanta's first-year head coach Dan Quinn not to go for it on 4th and goal from the 1-yard line. Playing it safe, Quinn elected to go for the field goal to pull his team within a point and rely on his defense.
The decision would come back to haunt him as the Niners converted a pair of first downs while milking the clock and sealing the 17-16 win. Gabbert who had lost his last 10 starts entering Sunday's game, ended that dry spell by making his debut as the 49ers starter a successful one as he recorded his first win as a starter since a win at Indianapolis on September 23, 2012. Behind an offensive-line that has been heavily scrutinized this season but didn't allow a single sack on Sunday, Gabbert threw for 185 yards while rushing for 32, trailing only RB Shaun Draughn who made his 49er debut with 58 yards on 16 carries. The 49er newcomer also caught four passes for 38 yards out of the backfield. With the win, the 49ers improve to 3-6 on the year, meanwhile Atlanta falls to 6-3, enduring their first 2-game skid of the season after getting off to a blazing 5-0 start. Receiver Julio Jones continued his stellar season by catching 10 passes for 137 yards from Falcons QB Matt Ryan who managed a turnover-free game, throwing for 303 yards and a TD in the loss.
Week 11 Preview - With a BYE in Week 10 for the 49ers, San Francisco will have plenty of time to rest up and prepare for the nightmare that is Seattle's CenturyLink Field. Having served as a dead zone for the 49ers over the last several years, the home of the (4-4) Seahawks has been none too kind to their NFC Western division rival. But with Niners head coach Jim Tomsula announcing during the week that it'll be Gabbert who will once again get the nod at QB, perhaps San Francisco will finally have some luck come their way in the Pacific Northwest as the Seahawks' home venue was a thorn in the side of Colin Kaepernick who couldn't muster up a win on the road in Seattle and struggled mightily. Though it's unlikely, a performance in Seattle for the 49ers run defense like the one we saw against Atlanta would do wonders considering it's been Marshawn Lynch who the Niners struggled against in their earlier meeting this season. San Francisco is also still seeking their first win of the season within in the division.
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