A defeat and big injuries.
This is becoming a near-weekly occurrence for the San Francisco 49ers, who will be without kicker Jake Moody (high ankle sprain), defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos (knee) and possibly safety Talanoa Hufanga ( wrist) for the foreseeable future.
Kyle Shanahan had not heard from Hufanga when he spoke to reporters at 8:45 a.m. PT Monday, nearly seven hours earlier than he usually speaks the day after a game and highlights the team’s truncated schedule this week ahead of their “Thursday.” Night football game against the Seattle Seahawks.
GO DEEPER
49ers eager for quick turnaround as red zone woes continue: ‘A blessing in disguise’
The 49ers defense played 58 snaps – compared to 64 for the offense – against the Arizona Cardinals, the fourth time this season that this unit has fallen below 60 snaps. Of course, those shots took place in temperatures hovering around 100 degrees, and Shanahan said the emphasis was on hydration Sunday night and Monday, especially with the Seahawks approaching on Thursday.
The 49ers will have a glorious practice on Tuesday before heading to Seattle the next day.
Here’s how the individual snaps were distributed against the Cardinals:
Strategist: Brock Purdy 64
Purdy completed just 54.3 percent of his passes, a season low. He found targets particularly hard to find in the deep red zone and was 8 of 17 (47%) inside the Cardinals 25-yard line. The 49ers rank 30th in red zone touchdown percentage after finishing first last season.
Tight end George Kittle briefly had the ball in his hands on a first-quarter throw to the end zone, but it would have been a tough catch. On another quick option throw to Kittle, who was heading toward the pylon in the second quarter, Purdy’s throw was too high and outside, leaving Kittle short of the goal line. Pressure from the Cardinals forced the quarterback to let go of his back foot.
George Kittle was a frequent red zone target for Brock Purdy on Sunday and almost had this touchdown in the first quarter. pic.twitter.com/b6BHvt5ahs
– Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) October 7, 2024
Who was Purdy looking for in the red zone? Kittle was targeted on seven of 18 attempts in the red zone with one touchdown; Jauan Jennings was targeted four times, all of which were incomplete.
Over the past three weeks, it has taken a long time for Purdy to get rid of the ball, with several epic scrambles accounting for that time. His throwing time on Sunday was 3.18 seconds. His throw time for the season is 3.15 seconds, the highest in the NFL.
Returning: Jordan Mason 41, Kyle Juszczyk (back) 40, Isaac Guerendo 9, Deebo Samuel Sr. 5
Who said Mason was just a power return? According to Next Gen Stats, he hit 21.21 mph on his 34-yard run in the second quarter, the eighth-fastest speed in Week 5.
To put that into perspective, Kyler Murray hit 21.27 mph on his 50-yard touchdown run. Even faster: Deommodore Lenoir, who finished at 21.33 on his 61-yard return of a blocked punt.
Mason’s fourth-quarter fumble was only the second of his career (Week 2 at Minnesota) and the first he lost.
Shanahan said Christian McCaffrey will continue his ramp-up work this week. There are no plans to remove him from injured reserve during this short week, although he is now eligible to come off at any time.
Get the Athletic 2024 Fantasy Football guide to read expert reviews and everything you need to know to win your fantasy football league.
Get The Athletic 2024 Fantasy Football Guide to read expert evaluations.
Buy
Wide Receiver: Brandon Aiyuk 59 years old, Samuel 47 years old, Jennings 36 years old, Ronnie Bell 10 years old, Trent Taylor 2 years old
The rule of thumb for Aiyuk: The 49ers tend to target him against teams that play man coverage, something the Cardinals were in a lot of on Sunday. According to Fantasy Points Data, Aiyuk’s 12 targets were his biggest targets in a game in which Samuel also played the entire game.
Purdy was off target on his first attempt against Aiyuk, but they connected on their next six. The seventh probably should have been over, but a high throw from Purdy slipped out of the catcher’s hands. Aiyuk’s 147 passing yards were the most for him since he had 156 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 11 last season.
Shanahan said Chris Conley (oblique) and Jacob Cowing (shoulder) will be day-to-day this week. Neither played against the Cardinals.
Tight end: Kittle 58, Eric Saubert 13
Despite a rib issue, Kittle has been a focal point in the passing game, including Sunday when, like Aiyuk, he was targeted 12 times. His completion rate of 0.25 targets per route leads the team, according to Fantasy Points Data.
Offensive line: Trent Williams 64, Aaron Banks 64, Jake Brendel 64, Dominick Puni 64, Colton McKivitz 64
The 49ers’ last-minute drive was foiled when Purdy was hit while throwing and Arizona intercepted the resulting errant throw. But it wasn’t a bad day of protection for the offensive line. The Cardinals brought in an extra rusher on this play and he hit before Purdy got rid of the ball.
“They had a blitz,” Shanahan said. “When two guys are bombarding you in the back, that means you’re hot. And we just have to get rid of the ball quicker.
CARDINALS!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/d7nfKh9Gpn
– NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
Williams and Puni each gave up three quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, but neither offensive lineman gave up a sack.
QB pressures allowed
- Round 3
- Williams 3
- Banks 2
- Brendel 2
- McKivitz 2
- Kittle 1
Defensive line: Nick Bosa 45, Maliek Collins 38, Leonard Floyd 36, Jordan Elliott 28, Kevin Givens 25, Sam Okuayinonu 24, Kalia Davis 19, Robert Beal Jr. 13, TY McGill 11.
James Conner finished with 86 rushing yards. According to PFF, 74 of those yards came after contact.
The 49ers missed 12 tackles. Three were committed by Bosa, who was active against the run — four tackles, two behind the line of scrimmage — but who also glanced at Conner’s legs like everyone else.
Missed tackles
Davis played 19 snaps after being activated from injured reserve on Saturday, but did not record any official stats in the game. Shanahan said Gross-Matos, who went on IR Saturday, underwent surgery on the knee that was injured in the preseason finale in Las Vegas. The 49ers had hoped the problem would ease with rest, but that is not the case. He is expected to be away between one and two months.
Linebacker: Fred Warner 58, Campbell 58, Dee Winters 26
Shanahan said Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (calf) will not play this week, which should ensure Winters continues to play the strongside linebacker role. The question is whether he will start getting snaps in Campbell’s weakside role, something he started doing in Week 3. The Cardinals were 4 of 4 when targeting Campell in the passing game and opponents were 21 of 25 for 205 yards when targeting. him this season.
The 49ers brought Campbell and others on numerous blitzes on Sunday. According to Fantasy Points Data, they blitzed on 36.4% of drops, the 10th highest rate in Week 5, after blitzing 16% of the time in the first four weeks, the third highest rate. down.
But those blitzes didn’t always thwart Murray (see below) on Sunday and haven’t been effective this year. Opponents completed 67.7 percent of their passes for 396 yards when the 49ers blitzed. They allowed a passer rating of 150.2 on blitzes, the worst in the league.
Security: Brun 56, Mustapha 47, Hufanga 11, George Odum 4
It was not a good day for the safeties. Hufanga missed an initial ankle tackle on Conner at the line of scrimmage in the second quarter, while Brown had a similar whiff in the third quarter. In all, the safeties missed four tackles and Hufanga wasn’t in place to be the “rubber” on Murray’s first touchdown.
What happened on Kyler Murray’s TD? Too many 49ers bought the initial fake, including Talanoa Hufanga and Fred Warner. This is the corner of Warner’s helmet that appears behind Maliek Collins, who was ejected from the game. De’Vondre Campbell, meanwhile, was not quick enough pic.twitter.com/G1MWFUR2G9
– Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) October 7, 2024
Hufanga may have injured his wrist on Conner’s missed tackle, as Mustapha was present on the next snap and played the remainder of the game. Shanahan had no update on Hufanga as of Monday morning. If the 49ers are left with just Brown, Mustpaha and Odum at the position, they could either cut rookie Jaylen Mahoney from the practice squad or re-sign veteran Tracy Walker III, who was on the team in september.
Cornerback: Lenoir 56, Ward 55, Isaac Yiadom 27, Renardo Green 1
Shanahan praised Murray for his fourth-and-5 shot against Marvin Harrison Jr. in the Cardinals’ victory. The 49ers blitzed and crashed to Murray, who threw it to a spot where he knew Harrison would be.
“We had a total blitz,” he said. “(I) thought it was really good defense, but unbelievable play from their quarterback. He didn’t have anyone blocked there and he just went back, pulled back, threw everything and found the right guy who kept him on the field.
Harrison’s completion came against Yiadom, who was back as the team’s No. 3 cornerback after giving up snaps to Green last week. Yiadom had a good match. It was the only completion he allowed and he also had a pass breakup in the second quarter. Lenoir, meanwhile, also only allowed one completion, for 0 yards. Ward, however, allowed three catches for 75 yards and a 116.7 passer rating when targeted.
Special teams: Saubert 19, Odum 19, Jalen Graham 14, Tatum Bethune 14, Guerendo 14, Yiadom 13, Patrick Taylor Jr. 12, Jake Tonges 12, Mustapha 9, Rock Ya-Sin 9, Moody 8, Green 8, Mitch Wishnowsky 7, Okuayinonu 7, Winters 7, McKivitz 5, Puni 5, Jaylon Moore 5, Nick Zakelj 5, Spencer Burford 5, Banks 5, Collins 5, Campbell 5, Elliott 5, Givens 5, Lenoir 5, Brown 5, Warner 5, Trent Taylor 2 , Juszczyk 1, Bell 1
Only Brandon Aubrey of the Dallas Cowboys had more field goals (14) than Moody (13) this season and Moody is by far the team’s leading scorer. He has 51 points so far. There’s a three-way tie for second place between Jennings, Kittle and Mason, who have 18. Last year’s top scorer: McCaffrey with 126.
Shanahan said the 49ers will have four kickers for a tryout Monday. Expect one of them to be on the roster in time for Thursday’s game in Seattle.
(Photo: Hein W. Henderson / Getty Images)