The San Francisco 49ers escaped with a victory on Sunday, despite playing what felt like their worst game to date. The offense had one turnover, but went 2-for-10 on third down, failed to score on a goal-line sequence, and once again struggled to run the ball. The offensive line looked overmatched throughout the game.
The defense fared better, but they were also the beneficiaries of a dropped touchdown near the goal-line and another drop by Marvin Harrison that could have been a touchdown.
Ultimately, both sides of the ball made plays when it mattered the most, and a short-handed squad won a divisional game with a backup quarterback. If the 49ers end up winning double-digit games this season and earn a home playoff game, it’ll be because they won games like the one they did on Sunday.
Let’s get into the winners and losers from Week 3.
We are watching a 21-year-old grow up in real time. He’s progressing as a player and improving each week. Williams continued to make plays in the backfield and at the line of scrimmage in Week 3. However, it’s his arrival as a pass rusher that has been noticeable. Look at the jumps Mykel has made in three games:
Mykel Williams’ pressure percentage in each game:
Week 1 – 0.0%
Week 2 – 3.4%
Week 3 – 13.8%
Mykel Williams’ win percentage as a pass rusher in each game:
Week 1 – 0.0%
Week 2 – 10%
Week 3 – 20.7%
I value win percentage over pressure numbers, as those are less fluky and more sustainable. This rep below is why the production is on the way for Williams:
Nick Bosa missing the rest of the season means the 49ers will rely on their first-round pick even more than they have through three games. He’s ascending faster than the team could have hoped. Now, we’ll see how the entire defensive line picks up the slack without their best player.
Week 2 felt like a “system” game for Mac Jones. He had a couple of impressive throws, but Kyle Shanahan’s scheme won the Niners that game. That wasn’t the case in Week 3.
Jones’ pressure rate from Week 2 to Week 3 jumped nearly 17 percent. He was under duress enough that throws were being made before Jones took a three-step drop. His understanding of where the receivers would be after deciphering what the defense was throwing at him pre-snap was impressive.
Jones did a lot of his damage underneath. He went 20 of 21 on passes from 0-9 air yards for 154 yards and a touchdown. But he dissected the Cardinals in both two-minute drills. On 4th & 2, taking a deep shot instead of throwing a 5-yard out route had to bring tears to Brock Purdy’s eyes, as it was the type of decision Brock makes every day of the week. Jones was rewarded for his decision, and ultimately, it led to a win.
Huff Mykel Williams’ 20 percent win percentage is a sign of growth. For Bryce Huff, that’s just another day at the office. In Week 3, Huff had a win percentage of 29.6, which was the seventh-highest of any edge rusher, and one spot ahead of Myles Garrett.
Huff has brought a level of consistency on passing downs that the Niners simply haven’t had outside of Bosa in years. Huff had five stops, four quarterback pressures, and a sack against Arizona. He also batted a screen pass to help the defense get off the field after it looked like that play would result in a first down. As is the case with Mykel, the team will inevitably put more on Huff’s plate, but both players have proven they’re ready for a bigger workload.
If a Kyle Shanahan offense only puts up 16 points, one or two things have happened. The quarterback left too many plays on the field, or the five players up front did not do their job. In this instance, it’s the latter.
Last week, the 49ers looked competent along the offensive line. This week’s performance made that look like smoke and mirrors. Then again, the New Orleans Saints lost by 31 in Week 3.
Let’s act as if Dominick Puni wasn’t responsible for a safety. That doesn’t absolve him for four other blown blocks in the game, including one on the play before the safety. It’s been three games in a row where Puni hasn’t looked right. We know that he’s been dealing with a knee injury. We also know he hasn’t been listed on the injury report.
Three blown blocks for Colton McKivitz for good measure, despite the scheme doing everything in its power to protect him. McKivitiz also allowed a quarterback hit on a play where Ricky Pearsall was open for an explosive play down the field, and was the reason Christian McCaffrey did not pick up a first down on one carry.
Jake Brendel missed one block in 1-on-1 situations, but held a defender and missed another block on a similar stunt.
As well as Connor Colby played in his debut last week, he was on the opposite side of the spectrum in Week 3.
Seven, that’s right, seven blown blocks for Colby. He’s a seventh-rounder, and this was quite the step up in class. But Colby went from looking like a potential steal to a player who was lucky not to get benched. He had a sack, a holding call, and was losing in two-minute situations where Jones was playing hot potato.
As Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel recently said, “The good news is, I don’t see how it could be worse.”
For the second week in a row, the defense’s tackling was sloppy. Not all missed tackles are created equally. For example, Dee Winters’ missed tackles this season have resulted in tackles for loss because he’s forcing the running back to bounce or take worse angles as they run to the sideline.
Good things don’t happen when your defensive backs miss tackles. A Deommodore Lenoir miss led to a first down. The same is true for Marques Sigle. Technically, Jason Pinnock didn’t miss a tackle, but that’s because he didn’t get a hand on Kyler Murray toward the end of the game when he ran on a designed run right past Pinnock for nine yards.
Murray is slippery and showed how fast he was, but Trey Benson forced four missed tackles in ten attempts. As a receiver, James Conner forced three. It’s an area the 49ers must clean up.
For the second week in a row, the Niners’ defense got away with a couple of coverage busts that the opposition didn’t take advantage of. Near the goal line, rookie Upton Stout mistakenly ran with the slot wide receiver when everybody else was playing zone coverage. The running back dropped the ball.
Later on in the fourth, Stout had a similar bust. Although this time, it was a better call by the Cardinals to manipulate the 49ers’ coverage rules. Still, it was a bust.
Marvin Harrison’s wide-open drop was because Pinnock was running with a receiver he had no business running with. Pinnock did the same last week on Stout’s sack.
Once Malik Mustapha returns, I’d pull the plug on Pinnock. He hasn’t been consistent in any aspect, nor has he done anything to prove he’s worthy of staying on the field over Sigle.
Dee Winters and Fred Warner
We gave the linebackers the week off from winners last week in an attempt not to list them every game. They are not making this easy.
Warner was surprisingly targeted six times, which led to a couple of first downs. But Warner batted a third-down pass to get the offense the ball back on the Cardinals’ final third down of the game on his lone pass rush. Against the run, Warner lived in Arizona’s backfield. Eight of his 11 tackles were stops. Coming into this game, Warner had stuffed five rushers for no gain or a loss this season, which was the most in the NFL.
Winters was targeted seven times, but only allowed 20 yards. He did surrender a touchdown, but it was on the goal line in a tough position against one of the better tight ends in the league. Winters leads the league in “hustle stops” after four more in Week 3. He also had a quarterback pressure. The ground he covers from the time the ball is in the air to the time the receiver catches it is astonishing. San Francisco has been dominant in underneath coverage all year, and that didn’t change against Arizona. You can thank Winters for that.
Pearsall topped 100 receiving yards for the second time this season. He caught eight of his 11 targets for 117 yards. On the season, Pearsall leads the NFL with 264 receiving yards on downfield targets, aka 10+ air yards. Pearsall had +93 receiving yards over expectation on those targets, which is +24 more than any other player. His efficiency down the field has put him in rare company this season.
Pearsall has caught two-thirds of his targets this season, but is fourth in the NFL in air yards per target. Only Jameson Williams and Alec Pierce are catching north of 65 percent of their passes despite being targeted down the field as much as Pearsall.
The speed Pearsall brings to the table allows the 49ers to isolate him on routes down the field; they’ve only done so with the likes of Brandon Aiyuk under Kyle Shanahan. Those two should feed off each other once Aiyuk returns. For now, Pearsall continues to excel at every level in ways few players in the NFL do. He looks like a player that should’ve been drafted closer to the top 10 than the tail end of the first round.
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