49ers – Dolphins Live Blog

This is the live blog for the San Francisco 49ers (7-4) week 13 matchup against the Miami Dolphins (8-3) from Levi’s Stadium. I will provide updates and analysis from the press box throughout the game.

11:50 49ers inactives: Curtis Robinson, Ross Dwelley, Spencer Burford, T.Y. McGill

Daniel Brunskill will make his first start of the season in place of Spencer Burford.

Dolphins Inactives: Terron Armstead, Austin Jackson, Erik Ezukanma, Hunter Long, Noah Iginohene, Teddy Bridgewater, Myles Gaskins 

Miami will be without both starting tackles, Terron Armstead and Austin Jackson.

1:03 49ers have won the toss and deferred to the second half.

1:06 One play, 75-yard touchdown for Miami.

Tua Tagovailoa hits Trent Sherfield with a quick slant and the receiver splits the defense.

Tagovailoa has been terrific this year working the intermediate middle of the field. The 49ers had to be ready for that.

1:17 Jimmy Garoppolo with a pair of big completions, one to Brandon Aiyuk for 20 yards and one to Christian McCaffrey for 23, but it’s the one he missed that stopped the 49ers drive. 

On second and six at the Dolphins 19, Garoppolo had Brandon Aiyuk uncovered on an out route, never saw him and threw instead to George Kittle over the middle. The tight end was well covered and the pass fell incomplete.

Robbie Gould connects from 47 yards out to make it 7-3 Dolphins.

1:20 The 49ers defense forces a three and out. 

On third and six, Fred Warner got enough depth to get a hand on a Tagovailoa pass to Trent Sherfield who was open.

Jimmy Garoppolo has an ankle injury, and his return is questionable.

Brock Purdy time.

1:30 Purdy has been a little all over the place on this first drive, but that’s to be expected. The 49ers have used a good mix of runs and play action passes to get into the deep redzone. 

1:32 First and goal from the three, Purdy to Juszczyk off play action for the touchdown.

49ers 10 Dolphins 7

San Francisco ran the ball five times for 30 yards on the touchdown drive.

1:37 The 49ers defense gave up a touchdown on the first play of the game but turned it around with back-to-back three and outs. 

Strong first down run defense on Jeff Wilson Jr. followed by a pair of incompletions from Tagovailoa to Jaylen Waddle. Good coverage and pressure on both plays from the 49ers defense. 

On the third down play, Nick Bosa lined up inside and was in Tagovailoa’s face as he threw. 

1:45 Kyle Shanahan tries to go quick on third and two, Miami sniffs out the play and drops Christian McCaffrey for a loss of a couple. 

Kyle Shanahan is going to be very conservative with the lead and Brock Purdy in the game.

1:51 There is no way Jimmie Ward is going to keep up with Tyreek Hill. 

1:58 Nick Bosa gets through two Dolphins to end the Miami drive with a sack.

Jason Sanders hits the field goal to tie the game at 10.

Mike McDaniel did a good job of giving Tua Tagovailoa several quick throws to get the quarterback into a rhythm on that possession. 

2:05 Kyle Shanahan is going into a shell. Can’t blame him, the game is tied, and he has to work with Brock Purdy.

2:09 Three plays, three incompletions by Tua Tagovailoa. The Dolphins had receivers open on first and second down, but the quarterback was inaccurate on both.

2:17 Jordan Mason with a couple of big runs before the 49ers find themselves with fourth and four at the 39. They go for it and Brock Purdy is intercepted on a deep throw down the right sideline to Brandon Aiyuk.

Left guard Aaron Banks gave up a big sack. The second-year guard has struggled with picking up twists the last two weeks.  

2:22 This 49ers defense isn’t playing great, but Tua Tagovailoa has played poorly and the pass rush for San Francisco has been able to get home on third and long. 

Nick Bosa ends the Dolphins possession with his second sack of the game.

2:36 Brock Purdy has been all over the place with some of his throws but drives the 49ers 76 yards for a touchdown to end the first half. 

On third and goal from the three, with no timeouts, Purdy connects with Christian McCaffrey for the score.

WOW. What a performance by San Francisco.

49ers 17 Dolphins 10

2:57 San Francisco opens the second half with a six-play possession. Brock Purdy hit Jauan Jennings over the middle for 15 yards, but then ran into trouble instead of stepping up into the pocket. 

3:04 Huge play by Jimmie Ward. Following two personnel foul penalties on the 49ers, the safety steps over River Cracraft for an interception.  

Jordan Mason has 37 yards on three carries today. Kyle Shanahan should give him a few here with the ball out at the 35.

3:17 Brock Purdy with a few big throws to open the Niners second possession of the second half. 

Kyle Shanahan was aggressive, going for it on fourth and one. However, his aggressiveness got the better of him on the next play when Deebo Samuel was dropped for a loss of four on a reverse. 

San Francisco chewed up 7:09 off the clock and Robbie Gould hit from 43-yards out to make it 20-10 49ers. 

3:21 Another 49ers takeaway. Tagovailoa’s pass in the right flat goes off the hands of Tyreek Hill and 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir picks it off. 

San Francisco has taken away the middle of the field and Tagovailoa has struggled to adjust. 

3:25 Taking over at the Dolphins 25, the 49ers offense can only muster seven yards. Robbie Gould connects for his third field goal to give San Francisco a 13 point lead.

3:30 The third quarter comes to a close with the 49ers leading 23-10. 

They were able to turn two Dolphin turnovers into only six points, but the bigger benefit may be the time of possession advantage as a result. 

3:34 Miami responds quickly. Tagovailoa hits Tyreek Hill for a gain of 19, then on the next play goes over the top for a 45-yard touchdown. Hill had Charvarius Ward turned around. 

Those were the first points scored on the 49ers defense in the second half in over a month.

49ers 23 Dolphins 17

3:43 San Francisco gets the ball across midfield but that’s it. The 49ers defense needs to step up now. Miami starts from its own ten.

3:56 It looked like that fourth down pass was incomplete. Kyle Shanahan with his second challenge of this possession. 

3:58 The officials agree. 49ers take over at their own 36.

4:03 San Francisco is trying to run out the last six minutes of this game. Purdy with a three yard completion to Kittle to convert on third and short. Then Deebo Samuel takes a toss around the left side for 8.

Just now, Christian McCaffrey with a 30-yard gash all the way to the Miami 11. 

4:08 What is Kyle Shanahan doing? The 49ers had the ball on the 11 and have lost 20 yards on three plays. George Kittle called for a hold on the last play.

4:10 Robbie Gould hits from 48 yards out. That’s the ballgame. 49ers 26 Dolphins 17

4:33 49ers win 33-17

This article has 73 Comments

  1. Key game for the Niners as Maimi is a good team. A win gives the Niners greater credibility as a playoff team. Those early-season losses are really hurting us.

    1. Mark my words, Kyle Shanahan is going to run Christian McCaffrey into the ground! Guaranteed!

      10 carries already for McCaffrey, and it’s still the first QTR. Absolutely ridiculous, and by ridiculous I mean idiotic!

      1. His play calling has been great in this game. Can’t dog him with what he’s done with a backup QB today.

  2. A few too many missed blocks, the O-line needs to get its poop together. Seems like every 5 or 6 plays there is some busting through totally unblocked, and they aren’t even a blitzer.

  3. Terrific play by Purdy, but what’s up with the protection. Free rushers over and over again.

    1. They’re blitzing everyone, or feigning blitzing everyone on nearly every down.

      McGlinchey also seemed to miss an assignment or call on one. Trent Williams on another one. Hard to tell because the RB may have had the assignment instead.

      1. Yeah, well the offense needs to take advantage of the holes created. Probably a lot to expect from Purdy, but he’s getting an education.

  4. The offense is working Purdy damn well with QB #3!

    Going to need the defense to have another lockdown 2nd half, can’t depend upon Tua being so bad for another half.

  5. Need more Mason in the second half, CMC and his 2.7 ypc isn’t getting it done. Also CMC getting a touch on like 70% of the plays is a bit much, although I understand the conservative play calls kind of dictating that.

  6. Beautiful quick game by Mr Irrelevant. That said, Kyle must lean on Mason more in the 2nd half, I mean, the kid averaging almost 8.0 YPC so far this season, on 12 carries, for crying out loud! The Dolphins are sending extra rushers, so use Mason and let him continue to break into the 2nd level of the Dolphins D! Come on Kyle. Find a way to use McCaffrey and Mason in the same formation.

  7. Likely to see a heavy dose of runs in the second half. We’re 2:1 on time of possession and now Shanny’s game plan is likely to tire the Dolphins defense.

    1. McCaffrey is averaging 2.6 YPC on 13 carries, Mason is averaging 12.3 YPC on three carries. And yet Kyle’s apparently confused as to how to split carries!

      The defense to the rescue, once again!

  8. And here you see the problem with a rookie QB. Two timeouts used already and the 3rd Q isn’t even over. Let’s hope it doesn’t bite us in the behind.

      1. Agreed. He’s doing a nice job so far but there will be rookie mistakes. Important thing is that he learns from them.

  9. This game is not over, it would be so different if Tua had not missed so many throws. We need another long, grinding drive that ends in a TD.

  10. Is it me or does McCaffrey go down too easy at the point of contact? Always felt like he was one of those super strength guys that was tough to bring down, but hasn’t seemed that way with San Francisco.

    1. It did seem that way on his last run, but haven’t really seen that. Maybe he’s protecting his knee.

  11. The 49ers desperately need a new Offensive Coordinator. It seems like the 49ers can’t beat good teams without a perfect defensive performance!

  12. Bosa is the Defensive player of the year even if he does not play another game the rest.9f the year!

    1. Yeah, I have to admit that I’ve questioned the idea of paying Bosa $30 million per year on average, but he certainly made the case for it today.

  13. If our Def keeps this up they will be mentioned in the same sentence with the Chicago 85 and Baltimore 2000 Def!

  14. Good win, still don’t know if this is a great defense or merely a good defense. Once Tua stopped making unforced errors he was dicing up the secondary. Fortunately the defense came up with some great turnovers to win the game.

    Great offensive effort with the third string QB. Kind of amazed how aggressive Shanahan was throwing the ball with Purdy. But it all worked out for a win!

  15. Purdy did so well for just having to come up cold from the bench. Smart, effective, attractive!

      1. Thanks! I just have had a feeling about him from camp on. Nice man. Iowa State Star! (4-year player and a graduate!)

  16. “It’s the latest in a lengthy list of injuries Garoppolo has dealt with since his arrival in San Francisco in 2017. He tore his left ACL in 2018, had a pair of high right ankle sprains in 2020 and dealt with a fractured right thumb and sprained right shoulder in 2021.”

    1. I am sure you are very happy, you won’t have to watch him play again this year. You only have Kyle to rag on now.

      1. Actually David, it’s getting very old. I take no pleasure in admitting that a 49ers HC has once again proven to be utterly incapable of figuring out the most important position on the team. Maybe Mr. Irrelevant – Brock Purdy, can become the first rookie QB to win a Super Bowl, but those are extremely long odds despite fielding the league’s best defense. It’s one thing to throw away 3 – 1st round picks on a QB who can’t play from the pocket, but it’s something else entirely when were talking about being stupid enough to put faith in the league’s most undependable, injury-prone QB, to get your team to the promise land!

        And that’s the thing, Dave ….. this injury should come as NO SURPRISE to anyone who has been following Garoppolo’s career! The fact that he lasted this long defied his personal law of averages!

        Putting your team in a position to depend on the undependable, is a recipe for failure!

  17. Game was closer than the score indicated, but our defense is elite.
    Nice job by Purdy having to come in on the raw. He showed poise against a hard Miami pass rush which bodes well going forward if Jimmy can’t go next week.
    But the defense is a wrecking ball!

  18. CMC is soooo Pacific Heights! He was a huge difference-maker in this game against a very good AFC East team.

  19. The only question now is, which veteran QB will the 49ers sign this coming week.
    Couple of choices come to mind for me.
    Cam Newton or (gulp) Josh Rosen.
    I’m not crazy about it, but it’s probably Rosen.
    There you go, ALLFF!

    1. Maybe Cam since we can still run the Lance offense????
      Feel bad for JG. I am one of the most vocal anti JG here but he deserve better. He might have really played his last game as a Niner.

      1. agree Timmy G goes out on top. I have come to like him and to see his many skills. He is a gem of a leader.

  20. They’ll sign a vet off the street for last ditch insurance, but it’s the big swinging Brock’s team now. With the supporting cast we’ll be just fine.

    Does this convincing win against a legit elite contender, with the 3rd stringer QB coming in cold no less, shut up the “who have they beaten?” crowd?

    1. Likely no. Grant Cohn will be fussing shortly. Miami is totally legit. They are going to the playoffs with a top-rated coach and QB. They are winning in the AFC East-the best conference in the NFL.

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