Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers got a win in Seattle. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty … [+] Images)
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The San Francisco 49ers fended off disaster Thursday night in Seattle against the Seahawks. Having already blown two double-digit leads this season, San Francisco found itself up 23-3 early in the third quarter after a Brock Purdy touchdown pass to George Kittle.
That’s when the wheels almost came off. The 49ers’ not-so special teams yielded a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to Seahawks wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. It was happening. Kyle Shanahan’s squad was about to blow yet another double-digit lead.
Seattle would drive down the field 94 yards for a touchdown on its next possession after the 49ers went three-and-out to make it a one-score game. Again, it was about to happen.
Fortunately for the 49ers, they were able to scrape away and leave Seattle with a 36-24 win. Key plays in maintaining their lead included an interception of Geno Smith by rookie cornerback Renardo Green that eventually turned into the 49ers scoring a touchdown on their next possession. Fellow rookie, running back Isaac Guerendo, ran roughshod through the Seahawks’ defense to the tune of a 76-yard run late in the fourth quarter to put this one away.
Broader strokes here. San Francisco needed this win. It was reeling on a short week after blowing a 10-point fourth quarter lead at home to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
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With games looming against the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco could not afford to fall to 3-4 on the season. A loss on Thursday would have also sent the 49ers to 0-4 in the NFC and 0-3 within their division. Needless to say, it was a must win.
This does not change the fact that San Francisco has a whole heck of a lot of work to do if it is going to come out of the upcoming two-game stretch looking good.
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Nick Bosa did his part against the Seattle Seahawks. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
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For the most part, San Francisco’s defense did its thing against the Seahawks. Sure Geno Smith threw for 312 yards. But that came on 52 pass attempts and with Seattle down by multiple scores a majority of the time. In reality, Smith was pressured consistently pretty much every time he dropped back.
Nick Bosa finished the game with two quarterback hits and zero sacks. That does not come close to telling the entire story. According to NFL’s Next Gen Stats, he pressured Smith a whopping 14 times throughout the game.
Brock Purdy also played flawless football, completing 18-of-28 passes for 255 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. That included a 76-yard touchdown strike to Deebo Samuel.
These are some of the positives to take out of San Francisco’s 12-point win over Seattle Thursday night. Here, I look at some things the 49ers must improve on with a crucial two-game stretch coming up.
49ers Special Teams Need To Be Special
San Francisco had opened up a 23-3 lead early in the third quarter Thursday night after Purdy led the team down the field on a 70-yard touchdown drive. At that point, it seemed like the 49ers were going to run away with this.
Not so fast.
The league’s worst special teams broke down big time on the ensuing kickoff, yielding a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to the aforementioned Shenault Jr.
That’s just unacceptable in today’s NFL. You can’t have breakdowns like this on special teams. Unfortunately, it’s been a theme for the 49ers this season.
“I thought we didn’t have a great kickoff, and from what I saw live, we had an unblocked guy who missed a tackle, and then they hit the lane,” Shanahan told reporters after the game.
The head coach apparently decided to go to bat for his special teams, too.
“I thought the special teams made some plays today,” Shanahan told reporters. “They got a fumble for us, a huge recovery, which I forget whether that led to a field goal or touchdown. Last week they scored a touchdown with a blocked kick returned for a touchdown.”
Talk about putting a positive spin on things. Sure the 49ers have made some big plays on special teams. But that one Shenault return nearly changed the game on a dime Thursday night. It can’t continue to be a theme for San Francisco moving forward.
Better Pass Protection For Brock Purdy
Purdy was not sacked a single time against Seattle Thursday night. He was hit four times on 32 drop backs. That’s not bad, either.
Those are also basic statistics. The tape tells us a different story. Purdy was again forced to maneuver his way through the pocket to avoid pressure. He was flushed to the outside several times throughout the game.
Brock Purdy continues to evade pressure like the best of them. (Photo by Jane Gershovich/Getty … [+] Images)
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Like we’ve seen all season, Purdy came out smelling like roses. He is now among the best quarterbacks in the NFL when it comes to seeing pressure and scrambling to make plays. That was apparent Thursday night.
At some point, San Francisco needs to get better pass protection from offensive linemen not named Trent Williams. It starts inside with the guards. But right tackle Colton McKivitz needs to turn things around big time. He gave up just one pressure against Seattle. That’s a start.
San Francisco 49ers Red-Zone Struggles
The 49ers were much better in the red zone Thursday in comparison to a disastrous effort this past Sunday. They converted five red-zone trips into three touchdowns.
However, there is much more room for improvement in this regard. San Francisco drove down the field 90 yards on its first possession of the game. It then stalled at the seven-yard line, settling for a field goal in the process. Things improved from there.
“I just try and keep it simple and obviously check the ball down when I needed to and hit my No. 1 or No. 2 in my progression as efficiently as I could and I just kept it simple,” Brock Purdy said after Thursday night’s game, via NBC Sports Bay Area.
He did just that in throwing two red-zone touchdowns while also hitting Samuel on a 76-yard score Thursday. It’s baby steps for the 49ers. But after turning out one touchdown in six red-zone opportunities against the Cardinals, San Francisco improved in this regard in Seattle.
Things obviously are not going to be easy with San Francisco hosting Kansas City and Dallas over the next two weeks. If the 49ers can continue to fix the issues mentioned above, it will give them a fighting chance to come through this two-game slate smelling like roses. If not, a 3-5 record could be in the cards.
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