Who's Hot and Who's Not after the 49ers Dominant Week 11 Win
The 49ers came out of the desert ON FIRE
The trip to the desert started with a bang and the San Francisco 49ers never took their foot off of the gas. Stars returned to action and players made history on Sunday afternoon, so let’s take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of Sunday’s 41-22 win against Arizona.
Hot
Special Teams
The kick return unit of special teams has been percolating for several weeks, and on Sunday’s opening kickoff, it finally exploded. Skye Moore fielded the kick at the two-yard line and weaved his way through the middle of the field until all that remained in front of him was green grass. Alas, he was caught from behind and brought down at the one-yard line setting up the first of several Christian McCaffrey touchdowns.
Brock Purdy
Purdy returned to action from his lingering toe injury and wasted no time putting any “quarterback controversy” straight to bed. Brock was surgical to start the game, going 7/8 for 98 yards and two touchdowns. More importantly, he looked comfortable stepping into throws and moving around the pocket while pushing the ball down the field and opening up the offense to its fullest potential.
George Kittle
No player seemed to be unlocked by Purdy’s return more than George Kittle on Sunday. His six receptions for 67 yards were jump started by his first touchdown, an explosive 30 yard touchdown pass down the right side of the field. It was his second touchdown however that put Kittle in rarified air in San Francisco. It would be his 50th touchdown catch as a Niner, joining only Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens as the only players in team history to achieve that feat.
Christian McCaffrey
While the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award should already be in the mail to the McCaffrey residence, maybe it is time to seriously input CMC into the MVP discussion. Along with his three touchdowns on the day, McCaffrey ran for 81 yards on 13 carries along with another 40 yards on five receptions in one of his lowest usage games of the season, yet still one of his most productive. A fresh CMC down the stretch will be critical to the 49ers playoff push.
The Faithful
The traveling roadshow that is the 49er Faithful once again made its presence felt in Sunday’s invasion of the desert. In overtaking State Farm Stadium, the Faithful forced the Cardinals offense into silent snap counts and would cause a ruckus on key downs to assist the boys on the field to victory. There is simply no fanbase that can match the Faithful’s intensity!
Lukewarm
Turnovers
The 49ers defense was finally able to generate some turnovers on Sunday, with Deommodore Lenoir and Malik Mustapha both registering interceptions on the day. With the Cardinals driving deep in 49ers territory, Upton Stout gave his best Alfred Collins impression by stripping the ball from WR Elijah Higgins just before he reached the goal line and preventing a Cardinals score.
Ricky Pearsall
49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall did return to action on Sunday from his PCL injury, but did have the most unimpressive stat line grabbing one catch for zero yards. Purdy was looking his way late in the game before taking a sack as Pearsall was running a crosser through the endzone. I suspect we will see more production from Pearsall next Monday night.
Cold
Defensive Front
Again on Sunday, the 49ers defensive front was unable to generate much pressure on Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett, and was not able to register any sacks on the day. The lack of the pass rush allowed Brissett to stand in the pocket and attempt to pass the Cardinals back into the game with 57 passing attempts, completing 47. This would set an NFL single game record for completions.
Injuries, Again.
It would not be a 49ers game this season without at least one player leaving with an injury, and Sunday was no exception. Linebackers Tatum Bethune, Curtis Robinson, and Luke Gifford would all exit the game at some point with an injury. Bethune’s seemed to be the most serious as he was in a walking boot postgame. Kicker Eddy Piniero would also suffer a hamstring injury forcing punter Thomas Morstead into kickoff duty. Time will tell, but hopefully these will not be long term injuries.
Penalty Flags
The officials post game routine may have had to have been similar to that of a Major League Baseball pitcher after Sunday’s game. The Cardinals actually had more accepted penalties against them than they did rushing attempts, with 17 penalties for a whopping 130 yards. Comparatively, they only ran the ball 14 times for 36 yards.