Author: joelami

Protecting Mullens Key to a 49ers’ Victory

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Photo credit: @NBCS49ers

By: Joe Lami

The final home game of the season is here for the 49ers and their chance of a three-game winning streak is on the line. Unfortunately, they’ll have an extremely tall task in front of them with the NFC North champs in town.

Chicago rolls into Levi’s on Sunday with a 10-4 record, already owning a playoff spot and must win to keep up with LA or New Orleans for a first-round bye.

Their breakout season is powered by their defense, which ranks top-five in nearly every statistical category. After the acquisition of Khalil Mack, they’ve turned into a powerhouse that can compete for the Lombardi Trophy come February.

Mack will return to the Bay Area and face the team that tried to trade for him at the beginning of the year, currently sixth in the NFL with 12.5 sacks. His pass rush leads to a bunch of forced turnovers, as the Bears lead the NFL with 35 takeaways on the year and a +13 differential.

The Niners are on the complete opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to turnovers. The red and gold defense has just five takeaways all season and is competing with the 1982 Houston Oilers for the least amount of takeaways ever.

Forcing second-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky to make an error or two can help the Niners offense that has been decent of late. Trubisky has thrown 12 picks on the year, seventh most in the NFL. The 49ers secondary needs to step up and finish a play.

Nick Mullens is coming off back-to-back 100+ QB rating games. Protecting him is a must, as the Bears pass defense is allowing 227 yards per game, 10th in the NFL and their greatest weakness.

His main target, George Kittle, is continuing a career year. After being the first Niners’ tight end to break the 1,000-yard receiving plateau, he currently stands 10th in the NFL in yards and has earned his Pro Bowl bid.

49ers End Losing Streak to Seahawks with 26-23 OT Win

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Photo credit: @49ers

By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA–A rain-soaked Levi’s Stadium needed overtime on Sunday, as the 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks 26-23 for their second straight win. It ends the terrible drought and marks the first victory against Seattle since 2013, that bumps their record to 4-10.

It was a tough performance from the red and gold, just two weeks after they were embarrassed by their rival in Seattle 43-16. The revenge tastes sweet, preventing Seattle from clinching a playoff spot at home.

“It means a ton. Not all of us have been here since 2013, but all of us were here two weeks ago. We’re sick about the way we lost two weeks ago. I know I haven’t been here since 2013, but am glad I won’t have to continue to answer questions next year,” said Shanahan.

The Seahawks got on the board early with Doug Baldwin capping their first drive with his first of two touchdowns. However, Sebastian Janikowski missed the PAT in his first ever attempt at Levi’s.

On the ensuing kickoff, Richie James Jr. flashed his speed, returning the kick 97 yards to swing momentum San Francisco’s way. It was San Francisco’s first kick return for a touchdown since 2011.

When the 49ers’ went on offense, Nick Mullens was outstanding again. Throwing 20-for-29 and 275 with one 41-yard TD to Garrett Celek. He finished with a 110.6 rating, his second straight game over 100+. Mullens also set a record of the most passing yards versus a Pete Carroll Seattle squad with 689 on the year.

After his tremendous performance last week, George Kittle was held to three catches for 51 yards despite being targeted eight times. Dante Pettis led the Niners in receiving with 83 yards catching five of six targets as he continues his second-half breakout.

The passing game couldn’t have been set up without the run. Matt Breida carried it 17 times for 50 yards, only to be outdone by Jeff Wilson Jr.’s seven carries for 46 yards.

Seattle continued to lean on their run game with Chris Carson picking up 119 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Russell Wilson threw 23-for-31 for 237 yards and two touchdowns.

The win couldn’t have been done without Robbie Gould who went four-of-four on field goals, including a 36-yarder to secure the win.

The Niners are now 3-3 under Nick Mullens. The controversy should be over. Mullens has earned the backup gig next year when Garoppolo returns.

With the victory, the 49ers have now slid to the third spot in the 2018 Draft, but that won’t matter to this team breaking a 10-loss stretch to Seattle.

Career Day for Kittle in 49ers’ 20-14 Win over Broncos

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Photo credit: @49ers

By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA–George Kittle stole the show for the San Francisco 49ers and made history en route to a 20-14 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The tight end finished just five yards shy of breaking the single-game reception record for TEs finishing with 210 yards on seven catches, including an 85-yard touchdown.

He finished with the eighth-most receiving yards in a game in franchise history and also became the all-time single-season leader in receiving yards for a tight end. He currently sits with 1,103 yards and is the first TE to ever reach a 1,000 for the Red and Gold.

All 210 yards on Sunday came in the first half, the second most receiving yards in the first half in NFL history. His incredible half led the 49ers to a 20-0 halftime lead. Shanahan later apologized multiple times to Kittle for not giving him a chance at the record.

When asked if he were disappointed in not getting the record, Kittle said “We won. That’s all that matters.”

However, when Kittle stopped so did the 49ers offense, putting up just 23 total yards in the third quarter and 89 total yards in the second half that left the door open for the Broncos to come back. Fortunately for the 49ers, their defense played just well enough to prevent the collapse.

The Broncos were 5-of-7 on fourth down in the fourth quarter during their comeback and were down by six with three minutes to go. The 49ers couldn’t afford to give Denver the ball back with 3:39 to go. On third-down-and-seven, Nick Mullens came up clutch finding Dante Pettis for 31 yards to clinch the game.

Pettis has remained on fire for San Francisco, as the second round rookie caught three balls for 49 yards and a score. His five TD catches this year make him the first 49er since Anquan Bolden in 2014 to hit the mark.

Mullens was great once again passing 22-of-33 for 332 yards and two touchdowns, and a pick. He finished with a 102.1 passer rating, his second 100-plus game in five attempts.

The 49ers are now .500 at Levi’s Stadium this year, something they haven’t done past week one since Jim Tomsula was the head coach of San Francisco. With two remaining games at home against the Seahawks and Bears, it seems like a long shot, but there’s a chance for them to finish with a winning home record for the first time at Levi’s.

Broncos Set to Roll 49ers on Sunday

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Photo credit: denverbroncos.com

By: Joe Lami

The Denver Broncos head into Sunday’s game with three-straight wins. Since their bye in week ten, they’re the hottest team in the NFL and have brought their record to .500. The Broncos are firing on all cylinders after rolling off wins against the Chargers, Steelers, and Bengals.

They look to continue their success when they visit Santa Clara this weekend. Pushing themselves right back into the playoff hunt, at 6-6, they currently sit in the cluster of teams vying for the AFC Wild Card spots.

Their rejuvenated defense lead the Broncos. The addition of Bradley Chubb opposite of Von Miller has given new life to Miller. The two have combined for 22.5 sacks on the year. Miller is only behind Aaron Donald for the NFL lead with 12.5 sacks.

It’ll be critical for San Francisco to protect Nick Mullens, who is coming off of a 400-plus yards passing game. He was able to find chemistry with rookie, Dante Pettis, who is turning into the one shining light of the season.

Pettis brought in two more touchdown catches last week to bring his season total up to four. If he can continue the success, he should be a dangerous speed option for Garoppollo next season.

Turnovers continue to be a key for the 49ers, the NFL’s worst team at turnover differential. The defense has put the offense in a tight position all season, allowing zero room for error with just five takeaways. San Francisco’s defense went the entire month of November without one and haven’t taken the ball away since Week 8.

Denver is average in the turnover margin but is seventh best in the league with 21 takeaways on the year.

They will have everything to play for. San Francisco has nothing to play for this season.

The 49ers are in the exact opposite situation as the Broncos. Since their week 11 bye, they’ve lost two straight to the Buccaneers and the Seahawks by a combined score of 70-25.

Things are spiraling out of control for the third time in four seasons for the red and gold, and they need a solid performance at home to give any reason why the Faithful should still support them this season.

The 49ers need to show they haven’t quit yet. Things got ugly last week heading into halftime down 20-3, but they pieced something together scoring two touchdowns in the second half to show some pulse.

Seahawks Move into Playoff Spot with 43-16 Win Over 49ers

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Photo credit: @Seahawks

By: Joe Lami

Make it seven straight years since the 49ers have won in Seattle, as they were annihilated on Sunday 43-16. Nick Mullens threw 30 completions for 414 yards, two touchdowns, and a pick in the loss. Even with many of his yards coming in garbage time, he looked decent in the second half minus a 98-yard pick-six to Bobby Wagner.

The 49ers were abysmal in the first half and avoided a shutout thanks to a Robbie Gould 45-yard field goal to make it 20-3. Things didn’t get too much better in the second for San Francisco, as they were torched in every facet of the game.

Seattle opened the second half with an 84-yard return from Tyler Lockett that ended a chance of a comeback. Rashaad Penny found paydirt on the very next play from 20 yards out for his only touchdown of the day. He finished with 65 yards on 13 carries while Chris Carson ran for 69 yards. Seattle ran for 168 yards on the contest.

Russell Wilson was his usual self, throwing 11 of 18 for 185 yards and four touchdowns.

Dante Pettis was the best player in red and gold. Contributing to the 49ers’ only two touchdowns, he also caught for 169 yards, becoming the first rookie since 1969 in franchise to catch two touchdowns and 100 receiving yards in a game.

Terrell Owens was the last rookie to catch for 100 yards for the 49ers when he did it in 1999.

Stone Cold Geroge Kittle continues to explode onto the scene, catching six balls for 70 yards.

Rookie running back, Jeff Wilson Jr. continues to excel out of the bye week. He showed even more on Sunday with 134 combined yards and proved to be a great check down for Mullens. Though, his fumble counted towards the three turnovers San Francisco committed.

Seattle used those turnovers to start in great field position, averaging at their own 33. San Francisco’s defense failed to slow down the Seahawks and once again went without a takeaway.

Richard Sherman wasn’t a factor in his return to Seattle, not showing on the stat sheet following the game.

The lone bright spot on defense was once against DeForest Buckner, picking up two of the 49ers’ three sacks. Donald Blair gained the other one on a 16-yard mistake by Wilson.

The Seahawks have now won three-straight games (7-5) and climbed into a Wild Card spot with the victory.

The offense didn’t quit in the second half, scoring two touchdowns with the Pettis’ emergence appearing, but for the second straight week were embarrassed. Kyle Shanahan was blowing leads earlier in the year, but now he can’t even get a lead with maybe one winnable game remaining on the year next week against Denver.

49ers Try to Pull the Impossible Against Seahawks on Sunday

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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens rolls out during a drill at practice on Oct. 18, 2018. (Ryan Gorcey / S.F. Examiner)

By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA — The rivalry is renewed this Sunday as the 2-9 San Francisco 49ers travel up to Seattle to take on the hated 6-5 Seahawks. The rivalry has been relatively one-sided of late with Seattle taking every game since 2013.

They’ve done an exceptional job defending Century Link with the assistance of the 12th man, as the 49ers haven’t won in Seattle in 2011. Much of this is thanks to Russell Wilson, who is 11-2 all-time against the red and gold. Wilson is once again having an incredible season, passing for 2,531 yards thus far with 25 touchdowns and five interceptions.

It’ll be an uphill climb for the 49ers’ defense that has only forced five turnovers all season, including just two interceptions all year. They’ll need a huge rebound after the worst performance of the season in an 18-point embarrassment where the defense failed to get a takeaway. It’s especially horrendous when it happens against the Bucs, who have been handing out turnovers like they’re Christmas presents with 29 on the season.

The Seahawks are right in the middle of the playoff fight, currently the first team out, but a huge win against an abysmal 49ers team will most likely bump them right back in.

This Sunday, we’ll learn whether or not last weekend’s performance was due to the Reuben Foster meltdown that occurred on Saturday night or if this team has quit on Shanahan and co. If it’s the latter, it’s time to recognize the hot seat.

One player that would love to go into Seattle and turn things around is Richard Sherman. The all-pro corner returns to his old stomping grounds for the first time in red and gold, chirping all week long in preparation.

49ers Cut Foster, Lose to Bucs 27-9

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Photo credit: @49ers

By: Joe Lami

Sunday marked the most incompetent game of the season for the San Francisco 49ers as they lost their fifth straight road game 27-9 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 49ers now stand at 2-9, clinching their fourth straight losing season, with five games remaining. The poor outing coming off of the bye week wasn’t the story though.

Before the game Sunday, general manager John Lynch announced Linebacker, Rueben Foster has been cut. The announcement occurred all while Foster was still in a Tampa jail following an arrest Saturday night for domestic battery after an incident at the team hotel.

The 49ers clearly showed their zero-tolerance policy with Foster with the separation. In the off-season, Foster saw legal trouble and was arrested for domestic battery at a home in Los Gatos. After a long legal battle, the charges were eventually dropped after the accuser admitted in court she lied to ruin Foster’s career.

At that time, the 49ers made Foster promise it was the last time and to cut ties with the accuser. But on Saturday night, it appears she may have returned. According to The Athletic and the Tampa police, the party involved had a tumultuous on and off relationship with Foster.

She wanted to press charges after she claimed to have had her phone slapped out of her hand. The Tampa police also revealed she had a one-inch scratch on her collarbone.

Foster, a 2017 first-round pick, has been released on $2,000 bail. His NFL career is now in jeopardy as he faces up to a year in prison if he’s found guilty of the charge set forth.

Regardless of his guilt, the release was going to be inevitable because of the promise he broke with Lynch and the 49ers. Lynch later admitted that this was a team decision to help shape culture.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported on Sunday a second incident occurred in October between Foster and the victim. The 49ers were unaware of the October incident at the time of release.

The result of Sunday’s contest may be caused by Foster’s situation, or maybe the team finally has quit on the year. Regardless, Sunday’s contest may be the worst following a bye week in franchise history. The 49ers were awful from the start of the game. Unable to do anything, struggling on third down, converting 1-of-8; the 49ers couldn’t move the ball.

Nick Mullens has sunk back to mediocrity and continues to have issues with throwing the ball down the field. Mullens finished 18-of-32 for 221, one touchdown, and two picks.

Tampa Bay native, Matt Breida, put on a show in front of friends and family. The only 49er able to do anything ran for 106 yards on 14 attempts.

Jameis Winston earned the starting position again this week and threw for 312 yards and two touchdowns.

Tampa Bay won the battle between the two worst teams at taking care of the football. The Bucs defense forced two interceptions while sacking Mullens four times with consistent pressure.

With five games remaining, the 49ers sit at 2-9, appear to be a sure lock at the top pick in the draft.

Four Keys to a 49ers Victory Against the Buccaneers

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Photo credit: @NBCS49ers

By: Joe Lami

The bye week has come and gone for the San Francisco 49ers, but they still have winnable games ahead, including this Sunday against the 3-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tampa Bay has been a similar train wreck. Inconsistency at the quarterback position has doomed them with Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick sharing the duties.

Winston will get the start Sunday after winning his job back (yet again) after Sunday’s comeback win against the Giants. But he hasn’t been great, completing 65% of his passes for 1,380 yards and eight touchdowns. The problem has been taking care of the ball, with 11 interceptions and five fumbles.

Here are my four keys to a 49ers victory against the Buccaneers:

Takeaways
With Tampa’s inability to take care of the ball, it’s time for the defense to shine. San Francisco has the league’s worst takeaway total thus far, with just five on the season. This week needs to be the turnaround week for a mediocre defense that can’t make the play to get them off the field. Tampa Bay has given the ball away league-worst 29 times.

Tampa’s defense also doesn’t get takeaways either, with just six on the season. Their -23 differential is the only the one worse than San Francisco’s -15.

In a game that’s sure to be sloppy, winning the turnover battle is a must.

Injuries
Coming off of the bye week gives San Francisco a fighting chance to finally get healthy. Matt Breida has been battling a nagging ankle injury all season long and could have a great second half to the season if he can remain healthy. He was not listed on the team’s injury report as of Friday.

Reuben Foster also saw limited practice earlier in the week and could make a key return to the middle linebacking spot for the 49ers, after sitting out since Week 9 with a hamstring issue.

Pierre Garcon didn’t practice on Wednesday but remains hopeful on making a key return.

Game Plan
Nick Mullens will be making his third career start on Sunday. In his debut, he torched the Raiders en route to an easy win. However, he struggled more against the Giants, throwing 250 yards, a touchdown, and a pick. The key difference was the game plan.

Against the Raiders, he was making quick and timely decisions. Most of the play calls had him managing the game and not taking huge risks. Against the Giants, they tried to take more risks down the field and it didn’t work. Receivers couldn’t get open for him and he was unable to move the ball effectively.

Return to what worked against the Raiders on offense.

The defensive play calling has also been suspect under Robert Saleh. The 49ers hardly blitzed against a Giants team two weeks ago that was averaging four sacks surrendered a game. They thought their front four could bring enough pressure, but that didn’t work, sacking Eli Manning only once.

Tampa Bay is another struggling team. Be more aggressive on defense. Make the Buccaneers make some plays. The 49ers secondary isn’t good enough to create coverage sacks. Don’t get beat because you’re scared, get beat because you went down swinging.

Also, adapt. It appears both coaches are terrible at adapting in-game and can’t recognize what’s being given to them. This season may be lost, but when the 49ers have a team talented enough to win games, adapting mid game is crucial.

Get Going Early
The early body clock games have seemed to always have been a nightmare for San Francisco. Since 2015, the Niners are 3-13 for the 10 am PST kickoff. Two of the wins have come under Shanahan, but only when he had Garoppolo. A fast start is necessary for a team that has always struggled with the early kickoff.

49ers Bye Week Notes: “Finishing” the Season Strong

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Photo credit: @NBCS49ers

By: Joe Lami

The 49ers have thankfully made it to the bye week after a disastrous start to the season fueled by injuries. With a 2-8 record, they’re once again lined up for a top pick in the draft. However, the 2019 Draft isn’t as sexy as last 2018’s, with just a handful of offensive skilled positions projected to go in the first round.

The Niners are slated to take a defensive player to bolster the edge rushing, linebacking core, or secondary. This year is the perfect draft for that with a plethora of options to choose from in the first round. In Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest mock draft, 21 of the top 25 players on the board play defense.

With just six games remaining, the 49ers need to find a way to “finish” games, something that has been a staple of Kyle Shanahan pressers all season long. One can attribute that to the lack of talent on the roster. That argument is justifiable, but it goes beyond that.

Three blown fourth-quarter leads this season, and six blown halftime leads in his tenure as San Francisco’s head coach, more blame needs to be placed on Shanahan. He needs to learn how to manage games better with the talent that he has and not expose his team to the dramatic failure it has been down the wire.

He needs to prove that once the talent gets there, he is the right man for the job. He couldn’t protect a 28-point lead in the sport’s biggest stage before he came to San Francisco, he’s not protecting leads now, what gives the Faithful confidence in the future?

With games against the Bucs, Broncos, Seahawks (x2), Bears, and Rams left, it’s safe to say that half of the games should be close. A combined 22-25 opponent record on the horizon, it’s time for this team and this regime to learn how to win.

Screw the ultra-high draft pick, learn how to finish.

49ers Collapse Again on Primetime, Lose 27-23 to Giants

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Photo credit: @49ers

By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA — In life, there are only three certainties: death, taxes, and the 49ers blowing a half-time lead. On Monday Night, closing out a game continued to be a problem for San Francisco, as they dropped their third game of the season with a halftime lead. It also marks the sixth time the 49ers have conceded a fourth-quarter lead under Kyle Shanahan.

This time, they handed the New York Giants their second win of the season and Eli Manning his 36th fourth-quarter comeback of his career in the 27-23 loss at Levi’s Stadium on Monday Night Football.

Finishing has been a staple of Shanahan press conferences all season, yet the second-year head coach can’t seem to correct the problem that has been following him since his epic Super Bowl LI collapse.

The 49ers went into the half with a 13-10 lead thanks to Robbie Gould knocking down field goals from 53 and 36 yards and Matt Breida finding paydirt on a three-yard rush.

Breida later caught an 11-yard touchdown pass, becoming the first 49er to score on a rush and a catch since December 2012.

However, the defense started to collapse in the third allowing ten points in just 3:38 to bring the Giants back into the game. Big plays set up the Giants with excellent field position that they capitalized on to bring things even to start the fourth.

The 49ers had trouble getting to the quarterback all game long with an uninspiring pass rush on an offensive line that was allowing four sacks per game coming in. Defensive coordinator, Robert Saleh, continued his overly conservative play-calling leading to the only sack of the game coming in the fourth quarter on a third-down play with the game tied. It was one of just three QB hits the 49ers collected since the blitz was hardly dialed up.

On the subsequent drive, the 49ers drove downfield but had to settle with a field goal instead of putting the game away.

“I thought we had a chance to step on their throat there and we didn’t. We let them back in it fast. [We] kept them around too long and then we didn’t make the plays at the end and had every opportunity to and just as a team, players, coaching staff, we didn’t get it done” said Shanahan.

The Giants took over the game-winning drive with 2:46 remaining.

The 49ers took two defensive penalties to extend the Giants drive that ended with Manning throwing his third touchdown of the game and the first for Sterling Shepard.

Manning finished throwing 19-of-31 for 188 yards and the three scores for a 110.7 passer rating. He found his favorite receiver, Odell Beckham Jr., four times for 73 yards with two of them going for touchdowns, both on blown coverages.

Saquon Barkley was handed off to 20 times for 67 yards, averaging just 3.4 per carry.

In his second career game, Nick Mullens came down to earth throwing 27-of-39 for 250 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. A bobbled catch from Marquise Goodwin caused the second one. Overall, Mullens did everything you could’ve asked from a third-string quarterback making his second career start.

George Kittle was once again the most reliable receiver for the 49ers, catching nine of 10 targets for 83 yards.

The 49ers now head into the bye week with a 2-8 record, giving Shanahan an extra week to figure out how to finish a game.