San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joshua Dobbs (5) is airborne taking a dive into the end zone leaping over the Tennessee Titans Eric Garror (25) and linebacker Chance Campbell (45) to score a touchdown in Tennessee. In pre season action on Sat Aug 10, 2024. (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The 49ers final drive of the game was a good one but the team just ran out of clock. They drove into Titan territory but with so little time left in the game were forced to take deep shots into the end zone one of which was intercepted by Tennessee as the clock expired. They came just short losing the first game of the pre-season 17-13.

As summer begins to wind down, there is that magic in the air, the approach of yet another NFL season. Saturday, games across the league got underway in a pre-season that now consists of three games with one game in particular that carried special interest for fans in Northern California. All eyes were no doubt focused on the San Francisco 49ers versus the Tennessee Titans and a look at the players who are hoping to make the final roster for the upcoming 2024 season. The players who make that final roster are the future of this franchise and this is an exciting opportunity for all of these athletes. The unfortunate side of it all is always the disappointment for those players who end up being cut when the final roster is finally determined.

Quarterback Brock Purdy despite only going into his third year is now considered a veteran which is really crazy to entertain. The future this guy has is insane and he will only continue to grow and become an even better player and leader. Fans are eager to see him out on the field but none of the starters were taking the field in this game.

San Francisco quarterback Brandon Allen got this game underway finishing the quarter going 7 of 13 connecting for 98 yard with an average 7.5 yards per play. Jordan Mason scored the first touchdown of the game for San Francisco, a rush up the middle for 4 yards giving the 49ers a 7-0 lead. The Jake Moody extra point attempt was good. The Titans tied up this game at 6:05 in the opening quarter when Will Levis scampered for one yard up the middle for the touchdown. The Nick Folk extra point attempt was good.

San Francisco would take the tie into the second quarter but it was the Titans who would take the lead to start the second quarter. At 14:56 Tennessee took a 14-7 lead when Tyjae Spears rushed for four yards into the end zone and Nick Folk kicked his second extra point of the game. Tennessee would take the 14-7 lead into the locker room at the half.

The 49ers continued to trail going into the late third quarter and the game score remained 14-7 as the game entered the fourth quarter. Tennessee would extend their lead to 17-7 at 12:09 in the final quarter when Braydon Narveson kicked a 34 yard field goal.

The Titans had outplayed San Francisco offensively so far in this game. The 49ers put together a solid drive culminating in a Josua Dobbs touchdown. The quarterback rushed for 6 yards at 8:26 with the 49ers continuing to trail 17-13. San Francisco went for the two-point conversion which failed.

With 1:56 left in the game, the 49ers had a nice drive going that went sideways when the Titans defense made a huge play. Tennessee came with a heavy blitz that resulted in a huge loss on fourth down and Tennessee took over on downs at midfield.

San Francisco got their hands back on the ball with 1:32 left in the game but no time outs. The 49ers drove down to the Titan 40 yard line with 36 ticks left on the clock. With one second on the clock, San Fracciso went for the Hail Mary which was intercepted by Tennessee. The final was 17-13.

The Titans outplayed the 49ers at every turn in this game. Time of possession for the Titans was 35:19 to San Francisco’s 24:41. The 49ers had a lot more penalties then the Titans with 8 for 48 yards while Tennessee only had 3 for 15 yards. Total yards were a bit closer. Tennessee had 336 yards and San Francisco had 286 yards.

Tennessee’s 3rd down efficiency was twice as good as the 49ers. All in all San Francisco did play a pretty good game in this first pre-season contest. They came up just short running out of clock.

Next up for the 49ers will be the New Orleans Saints at Levi Stadium on Sunday August 18th. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 5:00 PM.

Rudolp came in to start the second quarter.