49ers v. Lions live blog

Posted By on September 16, 2018

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo warms up before an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

SANTA CLARA — This is the live blog for the 49ers’ Week 2 game against the Detroit Lions. I will update this frequently with information and analysis from the press box.

12:34 Here are the 49ers inactives:

  1. WR Marquise Goodwin
  2. LB Malcolm Smith
  3. OL Erik Magnuson
  4. OL Matt Tobin
  5. OL Joshua Garnett
  6. DT Jullian Taylor
  7. OT Shon Coleman

12:36 Here are the Lions inactives:

  1. WR Brandon Powell
  2. RB Ameer Abdullah
  3. OL Jamil Demby
  4. OG T.J. Lang
  5. OL Andrew Donnal
  6. TE Hakeem Valles
  7. DE Ezekiel Ansah

12:38 Here is my Periscope pregame report.

1:01 Surprise: Mike Person is the starting right guard.

1:04 The 49ers win the toss and defer.

1:13 On third-and-3 from the 49ers 49-yard line, Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter calls a run up the middle, and it gains only one yard. He let the 49ers off the hook. They get the ball at their 10 after the punt.

1:20 The 49ers take just five plays to drive 80 yards to the Lions 10. Then, Kyle Shanahan calls back-to-back passes in the red zone, and Garoppolo gets sacked on both plays. Mike McGlinchey gave up the second sack. Robbie Gould kicks a 45-yard field goal, and the 49ers lead 3-0.

1:22 Shanahan is too pass-happy in the red zone. He must call more running plays in that area of the field.

1:29 On first-and-10 from the 49ers 30, Cooter calls a play-action pass, cornerback Ahkello bites hard on the run fake and gives up a 30-yard touchdown catch to Kenny Golladay. The play in under review.

1:32 The officials confirm their ruling. The Lions lead 7-3 with 2:45 remaining in the first quarter.

1:33 Solomon Thomas missed a sack on third-and-7 earlier in the drive and allowed Matthew Stafford to complete a 10-yard pass to running back Theo Riddick. DeForest Buckner lined up at right defensive end on that play.

1:47 On second-and-goal from the 4, wide receiver Kendrick Bourne lines up in the backfield as a running back, then runs a route in the flat, no one covers him and he makes an easy touchdown grab. Creative play from Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers lead 10-7.

1:53 On third-and-3, the 49ers get no pressure, yet Stafford still throws into double coverage and his pass is incomplete. The Lions go three-and-out. Good coverage by the 49ers.

1:59 On third-and-4 from the 49ers 40, Mike McGlinchey blocks no one and allows Da’Shawn Hand to burst into the backfield and tackle Alfred Morris for a two-yard loss. The 49ers punt for the first time.

2:04 On third-and-3, Stafford rolls out, runs into a sack, Elijah Lee forced the fumble and Cassius Marsh recovered at the Lions 16. Horrendous play by Stafford.

2:07 The 49ers get the ball in the red zone and fail to score a touchdown. On third-and-8 from the 49ers, former 49ers outside linebacker beats Joe Staley for a sack. Gould makes a 42-yard field goal, and the 49ers lead 13-7 with 4:55 remaining in the half.

2:09 Shanahan has called three runs and eight passes in the red zone.

2:17 On third-and-4 from the Lions 43, K’Waun Williams tackles Golden Tate two yards short of the first down. The Lions punt.

2:22 On second-and-10, Mike Person gives up a sack to Christian Jones. Next play, Laken Tomlinson commits an unnecessary-roughness penalty, which the Lions decline. The 49ers punt, and the Lions get the ball at their 34 with 49 seconds left.

2:30 The 49ers give up a 27-yard field goal three seconds before halftime, and lead 13-10. Terrible sequence by both the offense and defense at the end of the second quarter. The 49ers let the Lions back in the game.

2:49 D.J. Reed returns the kickoff for a touchdown, but gets flagged for facemask penalty, which the officials enforce at the Lions 26.

2:50 On second-and-5, Kyle Shanahan calls a run-pass option, and Garoppolo throws a quick touchdown pass to Garrett Celek. The 49ers lead 20-10.

2:53 Jamal Agnew returns the kickoff 45 yards to the Lions 48.

2:59 The Lions quickly drive into the red zone, but commit back-to-back penalties once they get there. They kick a 43-yard field goal, and trail 20-13.

3:15 On third-and-6 from the Lions 44, Garoppolo throws an incomplete pass intended for Trent Taylor, and the 49ers punt.

3:18 Lions cornerback Darius Slay is out for the rest of the game with a concussion.

3:19 On third-and-6 from the 49ers 47, Stafford throws behind Golden Tate, who was open. Should have been an easy first-down completion.

3:20 The 49ers will start from their 3-yard line after the punt.

3:23 On first-and-10 from the 14, Breida gains 20 yards on an outside-zone run to the left.

3:24 Next play, Shanahan calls an outside zone run to the right for Breida, and he scores a 66-yard touchdown. Beautiful play. Breida has been terrific today. He’s so much better than Alfred Morris.

3:30 On third-and-8 from the Lions 23, Stafford throws deep for Marvin Jones, who burned Ahkello Witherspoon, but the pass is overthrown and incomplete. The Lions go three-and-out. The 49ers will start from their 48.

3:35 On third-and-10 from the Lions 18, Dante Pettis drops a pass over the middle. To be fair, the ball was behind him. Not a good throw from Garoppolo. Still, Pettis got both hands on the ball.

3:36 Gould makes a 36-yard field goal, and the 49ers lead 30-13.

3:37 See, I told you guys the game would be over before the fourth quarter.

3:47 On third-and-17, the 49ers get no pass rush, and Stafford completes a 67-yard pass to Golden Tate. K’Waun Williams got beat.

3:47 On first-and-goal from the five, Witherspoon gives up a touchdown catch to Marvin Jones. The Lions trail 30-20 with 8:36 remaining. I guess this game isn’t over yet.

3:52 On second-and-10, Garoppolo holds the ball too long and gets sacked by middle linebacker Jarrad Davis. The 49ers go three-and-out. This game REALLY isn’t over.

4:04 On third-and-goal from the 15, Adrian Colbert gives up a touchdown catch to third-string tight end Michael Roberts. And the Lions trail 30-27 with 3:27 remaining. They have scored 14 unanswered points.

4:16 On third-and-8 from midfield, Kittle gives up his second sack of the game — this one to Devon Kennard, who drops Garoppolo for a loss of eight. After the punt, the Lions get the ball at their 16 with 1:08 remaining and no timeouts left.

4:24 On fourth-and-2 from the Lions 39, Stafford throws low and incomplete. And the 49ers win. Stay tuned for my postgame Periscope report and grades.

This article has 227 Comments

  1. Records after 17 games:

    Jim Tomsula: 6-11
    Kyle Shanahan: 6-11

    One way or another, the tie gets broken today!

  4. A star will be born today.

    RJJ aka “The Ticket” is about to shock the world……..

    Niners win ……SF 31 _ DET 25

    1. and the idiots here thought we had improve the oline lol .. and the dline same as always the only good player is buckner … wasted pick on thomas last year smh.

    1. Yes! What happened to his quick release? He held the ball far too long too many times in this game.

  35. People need to calm the phuck down.

    This team is still many players away from being a contender.

    Let the powers at be build this team out with more starters.

    1. The line hasn’t been great but a lot of coverage sacks today. Jimmy needs to learn how to step up and run at times instead of holding the ball.

      1. Exactly! It looked like he just covered up long before necessary when it appeared he might be sacked.

    1. Are you a Negative Nancy like 24×7?

      Someone needs to spank you around little girl. If I didn’t enjoy men in my hay I’d do it myself.

              2. Seb–Your the one who sounded racist, since you were the one that brought race into the conversation. The entire post was inappropriate race or not. Don’t attempt to use race to cover your disgusting post. No wonder people on this site don’t like you. You sound like some drunk frat boy.

    1. yup…I fear Jimmy G was way overpaid and is now too complacent. Yes, a bad OL holds him back plus the lack of offensive talent.

      1. You can tell that Jimmy is really missing last year’s go-to playmaker, Marquise Goodwin. Marquise’s ability to stretch the field is being sorely missed by Jimmy G. and this 49ers offense.

  42. Before Sunday’s game against the Lions, 49ers General Manager John Lynch told reporters that they have made a call about Gordon and are doing their due diligence on a possible deal.

    2. “should have tried to run instead of passing for that TD in the RZ….”

      Really? Complaining about how we score a TD?
      Geez…

  49. DJ REED, yet another late round STEEL! Aside from last year’s 1st round wiff, ShanaLynch have been able to find impact players up and down both of their drafts.

  53. Boring game…Niners are a long way from the playoffs.
    I just read that Lynch has contacted Clevland about Josh Gordon. Goodwin is too fragile and is not a number one receiver. he is a weak player. Fast but fragile and a good second or third receiver.

    1. Umm this d had given up 176 yards passing on 32 pass attempts. 1 TD.. please tell me the overmatch?

      1. 336 total yards and they can’t tackle, play disciplined or lay a hand on Stafford the statue. I rest my case.

    1. Yes indeed allie.

      Breida the Cheetah!

      I do have to say that, 14 point lead aside, our ILB play today has been rough, to say the least. We really need to get Foster and Smith back on the field, ASAP!

  64. Of all the Niner blogs out there this has to be the most negative. From Grant all the way down to his followers. Don’t you get tired of being so negative? It’s depressing. I’m not saying we all have to agree, but damn. Realistically, we are a ways from where we want to be, but we’ll get there.

    1. Game time is amateur hour on this blog… The professional and nuanced negativity will come tomorrow.

    2. Personally, I enjoy the curmudgeony aspect of this blog. If I wanted to rainbows, unicorns and heavy moderation, I’d go to Niners Nation.

        1. Sigh, well, I’d rather have your exuberant and cathartic criticisms than the specious and pseudo-analytical negativity that will follow the game. You are from Maiocco’s bog, right?

    3. But for some reason, these bloggers say this is the go to site Because Grant is “real” and tells it like it is.. LO Fu##### L.

  65. Spoon really getting a lot of attention — Sherman has pretty much been shutdown corner this game

  67. And there you go. For all of you armchair QB’s out there, you’ve just witnessed the difference between a rookie running the Jet Sweep, and a veteran, like perhaps McKinnon or Goodwin.

    That’s a play which requires precise timing, meaning a lot of practice reps. That is a classic example of just how tough it is to rely on rookies, no matter how talented they may be, and it’s a great example of how injuries can affect the little things, that can turn into big things.

    1. true — but the kids will grow up quickly now that they have been tossed into the deep end of the pool…

      1. True Mood. Giving Pettis opportunities should payoff for this team in the long run. But boy does it hurt in the short run.

        Just as disappointing for me is, for the 2nd game in a row, we’ve seen our pass rush unable to contain the QB on 3rd down, allowing him to simply step up into the pocket and buy lots of extra time.

        Seems to me that these guys are lined up a little too far wide?

  70. As bad as Lee has played at times today, he doesn’t seem any worse than Coyle. If it were possible I’d keep the cheaper of the two

    2. Witherspoon is horrible. He doesn’t ever make a play. Nothing special there. We will need to draft a CB next season.

  77. The problem on D is the lack of a credible edge rush on obvious passing situations. It makes the rest of pass D look bad. Will have to wait till next season for relief….

      1. Marsh has actually defended the run pretty well. Just face it– Niners are a good run-defending line looking for edge rusher… :)

  78. All that “talent” on the DL and they can’t touch Stafford the statue. If they did their job the glaring weaknesses in the secondary wouldn’t matter. What a downer.

    1. Thanks… I don’t disagree, but at the time u posted that, they were actually playing “decent”.

    1. Dang… my nails are gone. Hard to feel good about this near choke job. Hope you can ask Saleh those hard q’s, Grant. Piss poor performance from that all gas, no break violent as all hell D.

      1. definitely not in sync. Those passes look like they are just thrown behind the receivers. They are plain crossing routes.

        Every QB has off games, but hope that is just the case with Jimmy now. Well if he is off now it should soon even out and he should have some good games coming up.

    1. Nothing wrong with him. Receivers are covered and Jimmy’s taking coverage sacks rather than throw a pick under duress…

  104. If it’s me, I’m calling josh Gordon and dez, and a couple of good lineman. I understand they don’t want to overpay for “outsiders” but….. Dang.

  115. Winning ugly is better than losing pretty. Still, the niners shouldn’t walk off the field too pleased with their selves

    1. With Shanahan’s dismal performance–according to many experts on this blog–we could can Kyle and get Patricia… Done! New coach!

    2. If he is then Kyle can bring Patricia in as his DC. Big upgrade over Saleh but that’s not saying much.

  124. Grant may have been wrong about calling the game over by the 4th… but he may not have been wrong about trading Jimmy G. and going after Cousins, which is worse for us fans.
    Yes, I know it’s way to early to make such a statement… but it is a scary question to be asking so early in the season.

    1. No ways. Cousins threw a pick to end the game and got saved by a bad call also. Garropolo hasnt looked good so far this year. Today he looked a little gun shy and took sacks instead of throwing the ball away. Those 3 picks in Minnesota has him doubting himself I think.

    2. Tactically it might have been a good move, but ethically it wouldn’t have been. You do not just sign a player and then trade them right afterwards. They have a good rep with players and doing that would have destroyed that.

    3. I respectfully disagree. JG is relatively inexperienced, he is still learning the intricacies of the system, and he is becoming more familiarized with his players. Can’t give up on him after only 2 games.
      .
      Cousins landed well. Minnesota promised him a playoff team with championship talent. He may have come to the Niners, but Cousins chose the best option. Niners are still rebuilding, and have given up 9 sacks in 2 games. JG is taking way too many hits to be able to survive all season.
      .
      JG is so good, he makes me not want Kaep. He is accurate, is a good leader and makes the players around him better. I wish Kaep well, and smh at some of the other QBs who are playing right now. Kaep would be far superior to many journeymen and rookies.
      .
      Yes, it is way too early to speculate, and we need to wait until at least mid season to make informed assessments. The Niners won, so those questions should only be asked if they had gone 0-2.
      .
      If JG can manage to win one of these next 2 games, the Niners will be at 2-2. KC looks formidable, but Pittsburgh managed to score on them a lot.
      .
      Sure am glad that KS made an adjustment and benched Witherspoon. Maybe we will see more of Williams or DJ Reed. Exum may play with Tartt going down.
      .
      Niners are getting better. They cut down on the unforced errors, and wisely used their time outs.They actually scored TDs, instead of only field goals, and the ground game was impressive. Both Breida and DJ Reed shined. JG managed to help score 6 times, and fortunately, did not throw a pick. Foster will be returning, and Sherman looks healthy.
      .
      So take heart, ye of little faith. Niners won, and I am ecstatic. We should savor this victory, and stop being too critical. However, there were many areas where they could improve, and not made this such a close game. KS needs to learn how to finish off games, better, although he did a good job today.

  125. Lucky win Jimmy G at times plays like Jimmy Carter, never seen so many miss tackles, they are not a playoff team.

  126. I don’t understand why Kyle became so conservative with his playcalling. The superbowl loss to the Patriots must have been haunting him.

    A very bad win….but win none the less. Some positives were Buckner, Reed and Breida.

  127. Squeaked by this team which was playing on the road. Lots of areas of improvement.

    Still, the team won their home opener and held on. That counts for something.

    But, the Lions made lots of mistakes and could have won this game, when they should not have been even near the win.

  128. All I can say is, seeing all these winnable games across the league blown by crap kickers, thank god for Robbie Gould.

  129. We’ll take it. A win is a win! Sometimes all it takes is to get that first win out of the way.

    Definitely some positives to build on and hopefully some lessons learned. I hope we’ll have our ILB corp back to full strength next week, along with Goodwin.

    And, wow, at least we’re not the Raiders! They really SUCK!

  130. Saleh defense looks very soft to me..He always preached extreme violence but this defense looks to get violently dominated at times..Jimmy Gorropolo magic looks to have disappeared,he looks timid to me..Oh well it’s still early and good for Breida..He seems to be the better back to me but Shannahn seems to like Morris more for some reason

    1. I don’t think Shanahan likes Morris more. I think he see’s him as more of a work horse, but Shanny likes what Breida can do better than Morris. I was never on the Morris replacing Breida band wagon that so many of the posters on this site were. You do not use one game to make that sort of evaluation- especially a preseason one. Morris is on the team purely because of the injury to McKinnon. He knows the offense and was the logical replacement.

  131. I’ll take lucky wins this season over all those unlucky losses of last season.

    All you seven sisters can go ahead and whine.

  133. So the question is, did the Lions really cover our receivers better than the Vikings did that led to all those sacks today, or is JG being more conservative after throwing 3 INTs last week?

  134. So is the Lion’s coverage that much better than the Vikings and led to all those sacks today, or was JG a lot more conservative this week after tossing those 3 INTs last week?

  135. A positive takeaway for me is the RBs. Not just Breida’s vision and runs, but Shanahan went to Morris in the air a couple of times and he looked comfortable catching the ball. If we can go forward with 2 rbs who can be receiving threats, the offensive game plan will come together.

  136. I think we’re gonna get our doors blown off next week…..hope not but it’s looking very realistic..Mahomes looks excellent

  137. I am content with the win, not happy. I did think we would start the season 0-3.
    This team will get better and will finish strong.

  138. The Lions beat themselves.
    JG was holding on to ball too long. He got bailed out by a flag on the would be INT.
    Witherspoon got abused throughout the game.
    Tackling was poor, this D needs Foster.
    Pettis looks like a rookie.
    Thomas was invisible except for failing to finish a sack.
    Kittle hasn’t proven himself to be reliable, yet.
    McGlinchey looks like a rookie.

    A star is born in Breida.
    Sherman looks great.
    Buck is still a beast.
    DJ Reed’s return was huge.
    Gould is money.

    2. QB strip and fumble recovery was nice to see.

      One of our blog pundits who claimed several weeks ago that Pettis was no better than AJ Jenkins seems to have missed the mark.

  139. Grant Cohn @ 3:37 of the 3rd QTR: See, I told you guys the game would be over before the fourth quarter.

    Seriously?

    1. it should have been if the niners could finish in the red zone…..can’t continue to trade 3 pointers for 6 pointers….throw for show and run to win…….have to have a run game in the red zone and KS, as most young play callers, is trying to prove he is a passing guru as opposed to a coach who wants to score TDs regardless of how he comes by them. KS the head coach should be upset with KS the OC because the OC is not getting it done in the RZ for the second consecutive year!!!!!!

  140. It’s obvious that we need to make many adjustments and corrections on this team.
    1. Tackling
    2. Passing
    3. Special Teams
    4. Blocking
    5. Complaining on the sidelines
    We’ll, I’m sure that there are more areas of concern.

    But we still managed to win even with so many flaws and some luck.
    This team is very far from a playoff contender but I’d rather win and make corrections than lose and make corrections.
    I’ll take a win any day of the week.

  141. Hey what happened to Bay Area Fanatic? I wonder if he burned his Nikes. I have total respect for Kaep as a person, not as a QB.

    I like Jimmy G. This team will make the playoffs. You guys are too tough man. Give the team some time to gel and grow and become something.

    Would you rather watch — Blaine Garrett?

  142. When is this team gonna learn that Jimmie Ward is too small?
    Our secondary is gonna get lit up next week vs.Mahomes.
    Saleh called a terrible game

  143. All this doom n gloom .. about having to face Mr. Mahomes
    next week just ..might.. be a bit premature … why ..??

    Well .. for one .. Mahomes… is (basically) .. a rookie QB who caught
    the rainbow in his first year at the helm … (kinda like Prescott)..
    Secondly .. (and imo.. most importantly) … he’s past due for his ..
    “… Welcome to the NFL…” …game …

    and just because todays game didn’t go the way most .. here..
    wanted ..there’s no reason to think the Niners couldn’t
    be the team to be the one to ..”roll out the red carpet”
    for Mahomes … right ….?

    A wise man once said …. “…On ANY Sunday…”
    Just gotta hope …all the cookies bounce our way !

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