San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffery runs past a Miami Dolphins defender during the afternoon at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday DEC 4, 2022. (Getty Images)
by Marko Ukalovic
SANTA CLARA — It was a bittersweet win for a team that is rolling.
The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Miami Dolphins 33-17 to win their fifth game in a row, but it came with a hefty price to pay on Sunday afternoon at Levi’s Stadium.
Quarterback Jimmy Garopollo suffered a season ending injury with multiple fractures in his foot during a sack on the team’s opening drive early in the first quarter. This is the second starting quarterback San Francisco has lost this season with Trey Lance being out for the season after the second game of the season.
It was a somber mood afterwards in the locker room as San Francisco as their attention was focused on losing Garopollo.
“Bittersweet,” said 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. “Anytime you get a chance to win, especially against a great team, great coach and great players that we know very well it’s obviously great. But to lose our quarterback and the captain of our team it’s tough. So, bittersweet.”
Lineback Fred Warner said it felt surreal to have lost their second starting quarterback for the season.
“Man shocked. I had no idea it was that bad. My heart goes out to Jim (Garopollo). The way the he competes, the way he prepares every week. It was just a freak thing. That sucks.”
It was not the homecoming Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, who was the offensive coordinator last season in Santa Clara, had in mind coming back to his old stomping grounds.
“I thought that was an outstanding job the (San Francisco) 49ers defense, just the team collectively. They just brought it,” McDaniel said.
The game could not have gotten off to a more perfect start for Miami on its opening drive. The first play from scrimmage quarterback Tua Tagovailoa connected with former 49ers receiver Trent Sherfield who caught a ball over the middle and raced down the field for a 75-yard receiving touchdown.
San Francisco drove down the field looking to answer when on 3rd and 6 from the Miami 19-yard line when Jaelan Phillips’ knee crushed Garopollo’s foot during a 10-yard sack that Jerome Baker was also on that sent Garopollo to the sideline and then onto a cart to the locker room where he did not return.
Robbie Gould kicked a 47-yard field goal to get the Niners on the board.
Rookie quarterback Brock Purdy took the helm and led the 49ers on two impressive touchdown drives in the first half. The first one was a nine play 54-yard drive that was finished off with a three-yard touchdown reception to fullback Kyle Juszczyk.
The second was an impressive 11 play 76-yard drive right before halftime when he connected with running back Christian McCaffery on a three-yard touchdown reception with four seconds left in the second quarter to give San Francisco 17-10 lead.
“Brock I think has played a lot of football and I think you can tell, just the way he plays the position. He has a savviness to him. He has an understanding, a confidence to him. Just commanding everyone’s respect and getting the plays in and out, delivering some confident passes out there. So I think we can definitely still do some things with Brock (Purdy),” Juszczyk said.
The second half proved once again the half of San Francisco’s defense. Nick Bosa came alive with three sacks on Tagovailoa including a forced fumble that was recovered that was recovered by the Dre Greenlaw who ran it back for a 23-yard touchdown that sealed the deal for San Francisco late in the fourth quarter. With his three sacks, Bosa leads the NFL in sacks with 14.5.
Purdy was able to use his legs to scramble out of the pocket when Miami brought pressure and showed veteran poise when in the pocket with needle threading passes over the middle on third downs to keep drives alive. Though the 49ers settled for three more Gould field goals in the second half, they dominated the time of possession by a two to one margin to keep Miami’s potent offense the field.
Tagovailoa on the other hand struggled to connect with his receivers for the majority of the afternoon with high overthrows that eluded open receivers that had big play potential. He finished 18 for 33 for 295 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. The two interceptions by Jimmie Ward and Deommodore Lenior came on back-to-back drives that cemented the win for San Francisco late in the fourth quarter.
Miami cut the 49ers lead to 23-17 when Tagovailoa connected with with Tyreek Hill on a 45-yard touchdown reception to start the fourth quarter. But that was that was as close as they would get as San Francisco turned out the lights forcing three turnovers near the end of the game.
The touchdown also snapped San Francisco’s four-game streak of consecutive second halves where they shutout their opponent. In the past five games, the 49ers have outscored the opposition 70-7 in the second half.
San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan was successful on two consecutive challenges that ended up overturning receptions called on the field to incomplete passes, the last one that ended a Miami drive on a 4th and 2 inside 49ers territory.
Purdy finished 25 for 37 for 210 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Garopollo’s line was 2 for 4 for 56 yards. McCaffery had 146 all-purpose yards as he led the team in both rushing and receiving. He had eight catches for 80 yards with one touchdown and 66 yards on the ground on 17 carries. Rookie running back Jordan Mason chipped in with 51 yards on eight carries.
“To get in and play, and now starting next week and what not, it’s something that I always looked forward to and honestly told myself that’s going to happen. Here we go,” Purdy said.
Hill led all receivers with nine catches for 146 yards with one touchdown. Former 49ers running backs Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. combined for just 33 rushing yards on eight totals carries.
GAME NOTES: San Francisco finished 8-for-19 on third down conversions. Miami went 0-for-7.
Miami leads the all-time series 8-7. San Francisco snapped its two-game losing streak to Miami and are 4-4 at home against them.
UP NEXT: San Francisco concludes its three-game homestand when they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday 12/11 at 1:25pm at Levi’s Stadium.
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