The 49ers 21-13 win over the Seahawks on Thursday night at Lumen Field in Seattle clinched their first NFC West division title since 2019. Here is what stood out from the game and season so far.
Offense
December was supposed to be the time we would find out what this 49ers team was made up. The schedule looked daunting games against Miami, Tampa Bay, Seattle, and Washington.
Through the first three weeks, the 49ers offense has shown a consistent rhythm while averaging 27.3 points per game.
After losing Jimmy Garoppolo following the first series against Miami there was a moment of trepidation. However, Brock Purdy came in and the rookie picked up right where Garoppolo left off.
Over the last three weeks Purdy has completed 58 of 84 attempts for 612 yards, six touchdowns and only one interception.
All things considered, Purdy’s performance in Seattle may have been his best yet.
Playing with oblique and rib injuries on a short week in a stadium that has been tough on the 49ers, Purdy made several big plays to help win the game.
Purdy opened the scoring with a 28-yard touchdown throw to George Kittle in the first quarter. Purdy opened the second half by again connecting with the tight end, this time from 54 yards out.
What stands out most about Purdy’s performance these last three weeks has been his poise and ability to make plays.
One of his best plays against Seattle didn’t count, it was wiped away by an illegal formation penalty. It came when Purdy slipped while starting to bootleg to his right. The rookie had the presence of mind to avoid the onrushing Seahawks defender, then threw a strike to Ray-Ray McCloud for what would have been a first down.
Kyle Shanahan clearly has confidence in Purdy.
Taking over possession backed up to their one yard line early in the fourth quarter, Shanahan didn’t hesitate to call a pass on first down. Although it was incomplete, Shanahan went back to Purdy two plays later. The rookie made this one pay off with an 11-yard completion to Jauan Jennings to get some breathing room.
Purdy has no doubt benefited from the addition of running back Christian McCaffrey.
McCaffrey’s versatility has unlocked the 49ers offense. Since stepping into the starting lineup in week eight, McCaffrey has averaged 116.9 yards and one touchdown per game. San Francisco’s offense has followed suite, averaging 27.6 points over the last seven games compared to only 20.7 in the first seven.
San Francisco’s success on offense extends to Brandon Aiyuk who leads the team with a career high seven touchdown receptions. The third-year wide receiver also adds toughness with his tenacious blocking on running plays.
Jauan Jennings has been key as well. Jennings has earned the nickname “Chains” due to his ability to move the sticks on third down.
George Kittle is having a solid season as well. The tight end missed a pair of games due to injury but has six touchdown receptions this season, second on the 49ers. In addition to what he does as a receiver, Kittle’s ability as a run blocker makes him the best all around tight end in the game.
That bring us to the offensive line.
There were a lot of questions during the offseason about whether this group would be up to the task. Some even said the 49ers would be lucky to win eight or nine games with what San Francisco had up front.
Instead of taking a step back, the Niners offensive line has improved. Over the first 14 games Trent Williams, Aaron Banks, Jake Brendel, Spencer Burford, Daniel Brunskill and Mike McGlinchey has allowed a sack on only 5.2 percent of drop backs. That is the best of Kyle Shanahan’s tenure in San Francisco.
Defense
Overwhelming. This is the best word to describe the 2022 49ers defense, especially when Nick Bosa is on the field.
With the exception of the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, the 49ers defense with Nick Bosa in the lineup has held opponents to only 11.5 points per game.
Bosa recorded one sack of Geno Smith on Thursday night. Despite missing a game and a half due to a hamstring injury, the defensive end has 15.5 sacks which is tied for his career high. He also has 38 quarterback hits, another career high.
Samson Ebukam is also having a career season. Ebukam recorded one sack against Seattle bringing his season total to 4.5, second best on the 49ers and tied for his career high. The 2021 free agent acquisition came into this season having recorded 4.5 sacks each of the last three seasons.
In addition to the edge rushers, San Francisco’s defensive line received a boost with the return of Arik Armstead to the starting lineup against Miami. Armstead has yet to record a sack, but he’s been solid up the middle against the run and has several timely pressures over the last three weeks.
At the second level of the 49ers defense, Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw have been the best duo in the league this season.
On Thursday night in Seattle, Greenlaw finished with eight tackles and forced his second fumble of the year. Despite missing a game, Greenlaw leads the 49ers with 111 tackles.
Warner also had eight tackles against Seattle on Thursday night. For the season he is right behind Greenlaw for second on the team with 98 tackles.
The performance of Jimmie Ward over the last five weeks has been tremendous. Ward missed several weeks early in the season due to a hamstring injury sustained during training camp. Upon his return he found himself having to play nickleback, a position which he had struggled with earlier in his career.
Ward struggled early with the change and return to action. However, over these last five games the veteran has come away with a pair of interceptions and forced a fumble. Ward’s ability to stop the run has played a large role in the 49ers ability to shut teams down.
Charvarius Ward came up big once again in Seattle. Prior to leaving the game with a concussion, Ward had knocked away a pair of passes and returned a fumble 40 yards to set up the second 49ers touchdown late in the second quarter.
Ward has given San Francisco the shutdown corner they were missing last season. He has also been very good against the run, making several stops there as well.
Deommodore Lenoir has done a good job opposite Ward. Stepping in when Emmanuel Moseley was lost for the season, Lenoir recorded his first career interception against Miami. He nearly had his second interception and first touchdown against Seattle, but a roughing the passer penalty erased the big play.
On the back end, Talanoa Hufanga and Tashaun Gipson have proven to be playmakers. The duo has recorded six interceptions this season, the most for a 49ers safety combination since Antoine Bethea and Eric Reid recorded seven in 2014.
Against Seattle, Hufanga finished with a forced fumble to go along with an 11-yard sack of Geno Smith. Both were Hufanga’s second of the season and his career.
This is a team that can go all the way. These guys have dealt with so much adversity and they understand how to handle it, they just seem to get stronger.
I like Hufanga. He’s obviously a playmaker. But my problem with him is that it seems like at least once a game he’s good for a blown coverage for a big reception. For players, there’s always a fine line between playing within the structure of the scheme/your assignment and playing with instinct. Unfortunately with Hufanga it seems to be a large dynamic balance of big play and bad play. Hopefully he matures a little more and learns to trust his instincts within the rules of the scheme/his assignment.
Always fun to look back at draft day analysis by football pundits. Grant Cohn for one. The former host of this blog had this to say about Brock Purdy’s selection in the 7th round.
” Brock Purdy is a training camp body who might make the 49ers’ practice squad. It would have been nice if the 49ers had drafted someone else who had a shot to make the team and be a player. Oh well. At least it was the last pick in the draft.”
Cohn is now comparing Purdy to a young Joe Montana. So it goes in the Cohn Zone.
Merry Christmas, everyone. And thanks, Jack, for the great job you have done here since Cohn abandoned the blog.
And Happy Hanukah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Boxing Day too!
And this from Jack Hammer on the 49ers drafting of Brock Purdy.
“Purdy demonstrates a competitive streak that is needed for a player who doesn’t have all the measurables to succeed.”
Yep!
Jack got this one right along with lots of others throughout the year. Thanks Jack!
Good point. Cohn is a drama queen and mainly an entertainer. He has lost followers because of errors in his assessments and his harping on certain players he dislikes. He missed Brock’s talent completely.
So did everyone in the NFL that failed to draft Purdy 261 times. Just because a few people had something complimentary to say about him when he was drafted doesn’t mean that had any faith that he would be anything other than a nice quarterback after a few years of being a #3 QB.
kyle liked Brock right away and asked the management to keep Brock and lose the 2 million dollars promised and obligated to that player who is now with Detroit. Kyle knows QBs and saw Brock’s intelligence and knowledge of football. high IQ, etc.
He is a shock jock..negativity = clicks. Anyone remember Anthony Davis, he was a OL that GC i guess, did not like. There was a big drama episode with that.
Pundits tend to evaluate players based on mostly generalized, measurable traits, when in reality … the traits which are the hardest to measure, are usually the traits that truly separate the best QB’s from the rest.
A lot of these same “experts” made similar analysis of the GOAT – Tom Brady: “At the pro level, his lack of mobility could surface as a problem, and it will be interesting to see how he fares when forced to take more chances down the field. Sure, he doesn’t have the total package of skills, but you have to be impressed with his level of performance this past season against Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Alabama.” – Mel Kiper
And here are some of the things that Tom Brady remembers analysts saying about him in the leadup to the 2000 NFL draft: “Poor build, skinny, lacks great physical stature and strength, lacks mobility and ability to avoid the rush, lacks a really strong arm, can’t drive the ball downfield, does not throw a really tight spiral, system-type player who can get exposed if forced to ad lib, gets knocked down easily”
Did Brock play through rib pain? Wow. He played thee entire game in Seattle and pain and injury were never his excuse.
The emergence of Brock Purdy is a very exciting development for not only Niner’ fans, but football fans in general, which makes this a truly remarkable story.
But for me, the best part of this story is what this says about Kyle Shanahan’s ability to assemble, and develop a true Super Bowl contender. I’ve always recognized Kyle’s elite ability to both call and design offensive plays. His understanding of the X’s & O’s when it comes to modern, WCO concepts, is about as good as it gets, and yet I’ve never been convinced that Kyle had what it takes to build a world champion, because I’ve never been impressed with his ability to figure out his QB position, which is by far the most important position on the team. Sticking with Jimmy Garoppolo despite Kyle’s obvious lack of trust in Jimmy as a facilitator, not only felt like poor judgement, but also felt kind of weak, like a real lack of conviction, and confidence in his ability to improve his football team at the most important position. Twenty years ago, this current (2022) 49ers defense, and perhaps even the 49ers 2019 defense just might have been enough on it’s own, to win a Super Bowl. But nowadays, you have to have a QB who can elevate an offense in the biggest games, and if there was one thing that Jimmy Garoppolo proved in 2019 it was his utter inability to do just that. And I know that Jimmy was banged up during last season’s postseason, but Jimmy is ALWAYS banged up for the most part, but even using that excuse doesn’t explain away the fact that Jimmy G has been the worst postseason QB, thru 6 games, in the history of the modern Super Bowl era (60.6 COMP%, 137.4 YPG, 4 TD’s, 6 INT’s, 4.5 INT%, 74.1 RATE)! It’s almost impossible to believe that the 49ers still found a way to win playoff games at a .667% clip, with the kind of QB play that they’ve gotten with Jimmy Garoppolo behind center during two separate postseason runs.
I am not going to lie about what I’ve seen from Trey Lance either. I know it’s a small sample size, so it’s not really fair to draw any conclusions, but what we were told about Trey Lance’s ability by Kyle Shanahan prior to the draft, and the amount of draft capital that Kyle was willing to give up for him, doesn’t come anywhere close to the reality of what we’ve seen from Trey up until now. Sure, it may be a small sample size, but the simple fact that Kyle no longer believes Trey Lance can operate from the pocket like an NFL QB, and/or efficiently play within the basic structure of his WCO, is all I need to know about Trey’s prospects moving forward.
But now, with the emergence of BROCK PURDY, the 49ers ROOKIE QB / 7TH RND PICK, everything changes for the 49ers franchise, and Kyle’s prospects of building a true Super Bowl contender. This is not a fluke! People don’t play like Brock Purdy has played 11 games into his rookie season, unless they have a viable NFL skill set. And simple logic tells us that Brock Purdy is only going to get better from here. He obviously doesn’t have the strongest arm, or the biggest physical stature, but he’s an incredible football player, and he plays QB for the San Francisco 49ERS!
Good for Kyle, and good for John, and good for Jed, because Brock Purdy is a GAME CHANGER for the 49ERS! And for that I say …. Halle-fricken-lujah!
You nailed it, Jaxson16. Your second to last paragraph mirrors what Adam Peters & the 49ers scouting team have said about Brock Purdy since the draft. Let’s just hope the magic persists & prevails.
Jax,
One reason that I think Lance should be our QB is he forces defenses to play 11 on 11 football versus the run. They can play 11 on 10 when Purdy is in the game. With this terribly inconsistent offensive line we need every advantage we can get. All Lance has to do is run the ball (outside) 4 or 5 times a game to keep defenses honest. KS wants to be a run first O and they haven’t been consistent enough to do that against top playoff level D’s with Purdy under center. Now we still have to see better passing out of Lance for that to happen. Next summer is going to be very interesting with the QB competition that is going to take place. If I was a betting man and I am I would put my money on Lance. I feel pretty good about our #1 and #2 QB’s no matter what happens but with this team and HC’s history I think it would be a good idea to look for a third quality QB in the off season. imho
Agree but my Brock has won my heart. We overpaid for Lance who has not shown accuracy or confidence. He is not a reliable runner. Bock likely wins Kyle’s heart as well as Brock knows how to run KS’ offense. I do agree that we need a third string QB like Dalton.
I wouldn’t go that far. In fact, the minute sample size of Lance’s play doesn’t qualify for an honest or educated opinion.
No one knows what Trey would have brought to the table had he not been injured.
No doubt Shanahan feels the the same way.
I love that Purdy is playing dynamic football, but I’m not making any starting QB predictions for next season at the moment. Let next season take care of itself.
I was never convinced Kyle was sold on Trey. I do not think most of the team was either. The team liked Jimmy G and still do, but many are coming over to brock now. Trey may need to be traded and we may need to admit the drafting mistake.
Allie,
No head coach or FO keeps a QB off the practice field in TC if they know he’s going to be playing in the regular season.
I believe it was Hacksaw who said that this is a magical season.
And it has been for Jimmy G. Jimmy by all intents and purposes was not in the 49ers plans in 2022.
Purdy and Trey have made JG expendable.
But fortunately for Jimmy, he will attract lucrative attention because of his very good play before he was injured.
I think someone mentioned that KS is doing some things with BP that he has not done with JG. Trey Lance just have no idea about. Niner’s draft better in the latter rounds, we all know that by now.
Old Coach,
The rating service PFF has the San Francisco offense line rated number 8 in the NFL. It has been in the top 10 since the middle of the season.
Go 9ers.
Hack,
Notice I did not call them a poor O line but terribly inconsistent. Statistically they can play at a top 3 level and the next game be at a bottom 10 level. My fear is that they won’t rise up against a top playoff level D. I also am not a strong believer in PFF’s ratings. I believe they are subjective and I have no idea how they weight their observations. Also I have no idea who is making their ratings.
Old Coach
For all the Purdy superlatives, the question that KS and JL will be forces to address next season is Purdy VS Lance as the starting QB.
IMO, it’s possible Purdy wins the starting QB job next year. But in the long run, as Lance gains experience, he gives the 9er offense something Purdy doesn’t. And it’s not just his ability to run, but forcing the defense to defend all of the field.
If you’re going to have a problem, as 9er fan, it’s a good problem to have. The loser will eventually bring the 9ers a nice first round draft pick……..Maybe two?
I find Jax’s account compelling.
Indy beating Minn 33-0 at half time. The 9ers at the end of this game will be tied for the 2 seed. What are the tie breakers for playoff seeding?
I will answer my own question. Head to head is #1 (49ers/Minn did not play this year) #2 is conference record the 9ers are 8-2 Minn will be 6-4 if they lose today so that makes the 49ers the 2nd seed with a 2 game lead.
Premature ejac… ? 😀
OC
Latest update: Colts 36 Vikings 14 has the ball
4th Qtr: 12:53
Vikings just scored: Vikings 21 Colts 36
Geep,
Could we be seeing the greatest comeback in NFL history?
OC
I hope not…..2nd seed would be better
DA*N!
Vikings scored again….Vikings 28 Colts 36
4th Qtr: 5:30
Great game Vikings vs Indy. Awesome comeback by Cousins. 4 TD and close to 400 yrds passing. But if the Vikings lose this game it will be because of Cousins pick6 in the 1st half.
Go figure.
I can get used to this Saturday football. But, it wouldn’t be financially feasible because of the conflict with college football.
Man, Josh Allen is delivering like a Postman. Rain, sleet and snow can’t slow down the Firebaugh Freak.
2 great games today. I hope tomorrows games can match. I hate when the 9ers play Thurs or Mon night
Looks like Jerry Jones capitulated to OBJ. Beckham (USA Today) has signed with the Cowboys.
This is the same guy who recently said “I don’t see the point in playing the regular season.”
Jerry is desperate for a SB win even if OBJ has no heart for the game.
But he does produce in the playoffs
Correct Coach, OBJ is 4-1 in playoff games. But I’m concerned that signing players who don’t show interest in playing during the regular season can set a bad precedent.
Signing a free agent is one thing, signing a player who says “I see no point in playing in the regular season” is worrisome imho.
AES,
I wouldn’t have signed him for an all together different reason. I believe J. Jennings has the potential to be an outstanding receiver not just a 3rd down option. He reminds me off Anquan Boldin. Signing OBJ might stunt his growth.
I agree. Jennings is especially good at moving the sticks. I believe that JJ is giving Shanahan what he was hoping to get from Jalen Hurd.
THE GAME TO WATCH THIS SUNDAY NIGHT:
The winner of the Giants VS Commanders will likely be the team the 9ers play in the wild card at Levi’s
THE GAME TO WATCH THIS SUNDAY EVENING: The winner of the week 15 game between the Giants and Commanders will become the 6th seed and likely play the 9ers at Levi in the wildcard round.
FINAL SCORE:
GIANTS 20 COMMANDERS 12
9ers play the Giants in wildcard game at Levi
Agree with almost everything here. Defense is on a monster roll. Firing on all cylinders. That alone gives the 49ers a good shot to beat any team. Defense is Superbowl worthy. Would love to see a statistical breakdown of the 2019 defense vs the 2022 defense after the regular season. I think the LBer group is playing better than the 2019 group. They are more experienced. D-line was probably better in 2019 and perhaps the secondary. Not sure.
On offense, McCaffery has definitely opened things up for this offense. I’d love to see Mason get more touches though. Seems like every time he’s in a game he makes a Wow play. Just think Elijah Mitchell should also be back for playoffs. I like the stats you mentioned about the O-line. I will give credit where credit is due and say they’ve played alot better than I anticipated. But let’s not jump the gun and say they are a good O-line. They simply are not. Shanahan has always been good at scheming to hide deficiencies on the O-line. That is what he’s doing right now. I’m not a huge PFF guy but they do have their place in measuring performance – kind of like a standardized test. Compare the 49ers interior O-line grades so far this year to the Eagles interior O-line.
Aaron Banks – Overall PFF 61.4
Jake Brendel – Overall PFF 65
Spencer Burford – Overall 45.9 (ooooof)
Landon Dickerson – Overall PFF 66
Jason Kelce – Overall PFF 89.9
Isaac Seumalo – Overall PFF 75.2
Brendel has been average, but I had thought he would be well below average. Yes, our OL needs work in the off-season.
Pat,
The biggest weakness the 19 D had by the SB was a lack of depth and health on the D line. Ford was hurt and playing poorly and Ronald Blair who was having a breakout season at DE was injured and unable to play. This allowed the Chiefs to double Buckner and Armstead didn’t show for the SB. As long as Kinlaw and Givens are healthy for the playoffs and there are no other injuries along the D line I think this years D will be superior to 19 in the playoffs. As long as Hufanga doesn’t screw up multiple times. imho
1.6
IMO, the 9er O-line is the teams weak link! How they perform in the playoffs will likely determine their future, as
well as determine how / who the 9ers draft in 2023.
* In addition to Banks, Brendel and Burford, I don’t expect McGlinchey to be back next year. Some believe Buford
will replace him and Brunskill will become the RG?
* IMO, Brendel has been the biggest surprise. But I still see Nick Zakelj competing to replace him next season?
* TW, while still good, is getting long in the tooth and I don’t see either Moore or McKivitz being an adequate replacement. While not a critical draft need, it is a position that needs to be addressed.
Geep,
I would like to see Zakelj get a shot at C and Poe get a shot at OG. I believe they need to dip into the FA pool for a RT and swing OT. That may be the only A level FA they sign any other cap space should go towards resigning their own FA’s
Old Coach
* KC and LT Orlando Brown appear to still be in a P-ing contest and he’ll be a FA again in 2023. I’m not sure
if KC can afford to tag him a 2nd time? With his 2022 salary ($16,662,000) the 9ers would likely have to cut or trade TW (even if they back load Browns contract), to afford him. But at 26 Y/O with a 5 yr contract, the 9ers would continue to have one of the best LT in the NFL. Trading 34 y/o TW would save $20 Mil + in 2023, increasing to $32+ Mil in 2026.
* 9er free agents in 2023: https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/san-francisco-49ers/
* RE POE: Love the kid, love his effort. love to see him make it! No doubt he’s a great feel good story….But
his short arms are a problem! IMO, 9ers keep him as backup at C and both OG’s?
Before this weekend, these teams Olines had a higher rating than the 49ers.
PFF Rankings.
Green Bay #2
Baltimore #4
New England #5
Atlanta #6
Cleveland #7.
San Francisco #8.
The difference? The 49ers have more than enough overall talent to compensate for their #8 Oline ranking.
The only team that matches the 49ers overall talent is Philadelphia. I hope that we play them in the NFC Championship game to settle which of two are the best.
In my opinion Trent Williams inflates the overall O-Line ranking. While the combined score of the entire O-Line is #8, I wouldn’t say the 49ers overall have a top 10 O-line in the NFL. I would put them somewhere in the 15-20 range. Having a HOF level Left Tackle is absolutely awesome but it doesn’t help that 2 of the other 4 o-lineman are below average and poor. I also think Brendel’s 65 doesn’t adequately tell the story of his performance. When the 49ers play a team with a good 0 or 1 technique D-Lineman, Brendel gets absolutely destroyed and it disrupts the entire flow of the offense. Al Woods not playing and Bryan Mone’s injury really helped Brendel hold up against the Seahawks. In the last game against the Seahawks, Brendel was getting pushed back 3 yards into the backfield on every play. That didn’t happen in this past game.
By my count, Purdy was sacked once against Seattle. The 49ers Oline has done a good job in keeping their QBs clean.
According to PFF, the 49ers have given up around 96 QB pressures which is a good rating.
As I said earlier, the overall team talent will more than compensate for any weak areas.
Winning 7 games in a row should be proof of that.
Our O-Line may not be very good but we can hide that fact because we’re so good at RB, WR, and TE is one hell of an endorsement.
AES,
They are a better pass blocking group than run blocking. Which is kind of surprising with McGlinchey who used to be a far superior run blocker than a pass blocker. His pass blocking has gotten better this year while his run blocking has deteriorated. Last I checked their yards per carry avg. is about 14th in the league. I would love to see that stat with all teams top 20 longest carries eliminated. That would show what kind of consistency they had.
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