Mahomes does it to Niners. Again.

The Super Bowl. Again. The Kansas City Chiefs. Again. Patrick Mahomes. Again. Heartbreak for Northern California. Again.

This is the fact of sports: Sometimes the other guy is better. Sometimes the other team is better.

You train and work out. You try your hardest. And you lose.

So much excitement. So many dreams of glory. And then defeat. That’s the way it went for guys facing Roger Federer. Or women facing Serena Williams. Or NFL teams facing Mahomes in the biggest games.

No ifs. No might-haves. No, “They got all the good breaks.”

No blaming the offensive line or the fact that an injury caused Dre Greenlaw to miss the entire second half. Just Chiefs, 25, San Francisco, 22, Sunday in Super Bowl LVIII, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

“Two good teams facing each other,” Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said honestly and sadly.

And the 49ers weren’t quite as good as Kansas City because of Patrick Mahomes at quarterback.

“He can pass, and he can run,” affirmed Niners linebacker Fred Warner.

Most of all he can beat you.

The Niners went far this season, and won the NFC Championship. But for Niner fans who carry in their head reminders of the glory days of the 1980s, that’s not far enough.

Strange, so strange, and so perplexing. This time the San Francisco defense was king. For a while. Until Mahomes, virtually unstoppable, knocked away the crown.

The anticipation kept growing as the Niners kept advancing. The Bay Area’s television stations were relentless in the promotion. Overkill is a way of life in the media.

America’s so-called favorite city and the city’s favorite sports franchise. Add in the bright lights and myths of Vegas, and well isn’t that a bit of perfection?

Yes, until game time. Until the Niners had trouble scoring and until Mahomes — the necessary evil in this plot — got up and lifted Kansas City.

“Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes are great players,” said Shanahan, who, when he was an assistant at Atlanta lost a lead in the Super Bowl to Brady, and as head coach of the Niners, has lost two leads and two Super Bowls to Mahomes.

He didn’t blame his guys, whether second-year quarterback Brock Purdy or veteran running back Christian McCaffrey, the offensive player of the year, or the special teams for a missed extra point. Which in the end didn’t really matter.

He simply gave credit to that quarterback, Mahomes, who produced a great ending for the Chiefs and a miserable one for the Niners and their followers.

“We are all hurting,” said Shanahan. Again.

The 49ers, Lions and an unchanging halftime score

I know the halftime score of the 49ers-Detroit Lions playoff game in 1957. I kept giving it to phone-callers years after it had been played.  

No internet in those days, very little TV coverage of the NFL, but far too many people involved in sports arguments, mostly at bars, a few at homes. 

And on the night desk at the San Francisco Chronicle, having arrived in 1965 with dreams of creating stories, was a relatively young guy consigned to the night desk, writing headlines and answering questions from callers.  

The most frequent of which had to do with the halftime score of that Niners-Lions contest. Which was 24-7, Niners.

Before, moments into the second half it was 27-7, and should have been even more. Sorry. I don’t believe in should-haves or could-haves.

Callers wouldn’t believe the score 50 years ago, maybe they still don’t. In sports, it either happens or it doesn’t happen. For the Niners in 1957, it didn’t happen.

I’ll cut to the chase. The underdog  Lions won 31-27. Heartbreak by the Bay. Explanations (excuses?) by the barrel. A region in dismay.`  

The Warriors ascended for a decade. The Giants won three World Series. Still deep down, historically (and hysterically), no franchise has been as popular as the Niners, who were born here in 1946, and never left, if you don’t include a slide down the Peninsula to Santa Clara.=

They owned the place. And also the legacy of disappointment.

Now there are Super Bowl trophies in the Niners offices and frequent references to Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, Steve Young, Jerry Rice and others who helped win those trophies. 

Back then in the 1950s however, they were in a constant struggle to break the bonds, get over the barriers, and finally prove they belonged. For 30 minutes of what was called the Western Conference Championship, they definitely belonged.

This one, as all Niners home games, at the time, was at old Kezar Stadium located on the southeast corner of Golden Gate Park where there were so many local politicians invited, the late sports columnist Jim Murray said it was the only press box in the country to which you had to be elected.

The Niners had their “Million-Dollar Backfield” of Y.A. Tittle at quarterback, Joe Perry, John Henry Johnson and Hugh McElhenny (money was different then, but those guys were outstanding) and quickly dominated.

The placekicker was Gordy Soltau, whose son, Mark, was a sports writing (and phone-answering) colleague of mine, and was able to watch the Niners do what they couldn’t when his father played.

What happened the second half that day, Dec. 27, 1957, depends on whose words you find credible after a game Niners fans—they weren’t yet nicknamed “The Faithful”— found disagreeable.  

Only a thin board separated the two locker rooms at Kezar. The Lions players contended they heard the Niners whooping it up at half as if the game were over. That’s all Detroit needed to get inspired and get in front

Niners players, including Gordy Soltau, denied the charge. Whatever, the Lions rallied and the Niners came unglued.

And the halftime score was 24-7. No phone calls, please.

Niners, miraculously, pass their “gut check”

This one was part miracle, part courage. A football game that very well could have been lost, and maybe should have been lost but somehow, on a wet field, against an opponent who was a surprise, was a game that the 49ers won.  

Not as well played—full of mistakes and tension, rain falling to add to the scenario—but that was part of the reason the game was so enthralling and nerve-wracking. 

As the best sporting contests inevitably are.

And no less since the Niners, trailing most of the way, pulled out a  24-21 victory over the Green Bay Packers at Levi’s Stadium, rewarding…

Big plays, everywhere and anywhere, not the least which was the 6-yard touchdown burst by Christian McCaffrey with a mere 1:07 remaining that was the difference.

But that wouldn’t have meant much without Dre Greeenlaw’s interceptions or Jake Moody’s field goal in the falling rain or Brock Purdy’s leadership and completion on the final drive.

There was no Deebo Samuel, who was out most of the game with a shoulder bruise. There seemed no way to stop Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who kept finding ways to scramble for yards when he couldn’t find a receiver.

But among the Niners, players and coaches, there was a belief that somehow they, as good teams somehow do, would find a method to end up ahead, reach the NFC Championship and, yes, move one game from the Super Bowl.

“Everybody had a part,” said Kyle Shanahan, who was as relieved as he was delighted.

Purdy missed a few throws, but the cliché is when the weather is difficult and the opponent is stubborn, does a quarterback find a way to bring his team back on top? Purdy did. But obviously, he wasn’t alone.

Asked how he did what was required, completing six of seven passes down the stretch, Purdy, the last pick in the 2022 draft, was quick to credit others. “The defense and everyone.”

The 49ers were the No. 1 seed in the NFC, the Packers No. 17. But Green Bay beat the Dallas Cowboys a week ago in the wild-card round, and the success made them more confident. 

“I knew they were good,” said Shanahan of the Pack, “but not until we started getting ready for them did I realize how deep they were.”

Deep and determined. Packers quarterback Jordan Love kept finding ways to scramble for yards when he couldn’t find a receiver.

The idea of Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur was to keep the football away from the explosive 49er offense and for a while—well, well virtually the entire game—that worked. The Packers opted to receive the opening kickoff—many times teams defer—and thus deny the Niners their chances. 

In the first half Green Bay had the ball 16 minutes 55 seconds of the possible 30.

However, the Niners made some big plays, the Packers missed a big field goal and eventually the better team, off its season record, made it to a fourth NFC title in five years.

A statistic tossed about on television was a Shanahan-coached team trailing by five points or more entering the fourth quarter of any game had lost more than 30 straight. Well, that is no longer pertinent.  

“This was a mental challenge,” said Shanahan, “a gut check.”

The Niners passed. Although, like any big exam, it required a high degree of patience. Did someone just exhale?

Did missed kicks matter for Niners in a game that didn’t?

You say the Niners game Sunday didn’t matter, unless you bet the Rams, who were 2½ point underdogs (and won).

Or if you’re a 49ers rookie placekicker who suddenly couldn’t get the ball through the uprights. Perhaps. But it at least was somewhat unnerving, even with the top seed in the playoffs previously clinched.

True, it did matter for the Rams, who moved up a notch in the postseason seedings and after the comeback 21-20 victory at Levi’s Stadium, could face the Niners once more in two weeks. 

This time? No Christian McCaffrey, no Brock Purdy, and no Deebo Samuel for San Francisco, those guys taking a rest as the 49ers took no chances getting them hurt in the regular season finale. That was expected. Unexpected was Jake Moody missing an extra point for the first time after going 60 for 60 and also missing on a 38-yard field goal attempt.

“He never missed one all year,” Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said, defending Moody’s failure after the Niners’ second touchdown. “He’s done a hell of a job.”

That is correct, but so is the comment by former Niner Donte Whitner on Sunday’s post-game TV show, that the pressure builds in the playoffs, and a miss now very well could lead to a miss then—and elimination.

Not that Shanahan was likely to dwell on Moody’s fall from perfection, even though in the end it was the reason the Niners ended regular play with a defeat and a 12-5 record. 

Sam Darnold was the Niners quarterback and was effective enough to provide new hope that if something happened again to Purdy, knocked out of the playoffs last year by that elbow injury, Darnold would keep things going.

The irony, of course, is Darnold was a first-round selection by the Jets, who eventually traded him to Carolina, while Purdy was a final-round pick—last overall, “Mr. Irrelevant”—by the 49ers.

Purdy was on the scene Sunday, just not in uniform, although he did work out with his teammates before kickoff.

The best part of having the top seed in the conference and the bye in the first round of the playoffs is the opportunity to rest players who have been pounded and battered from September. The worst part, some say, is getting out of the weekly pattern.

The Niners, with Shanahan and numerous veterans, should be able to stay the course. They’ve been through the grind, dropped three straight games, then followed with five straight wins.

“Our goal was to get the No.1 seed,” Shanahan said “We did, and it was weird this past week, but I like how our guys handled it. A number of guys got better through the year. We still feel our best football is forward.”

ESPN comments kinder to Niners than the game

What you heard Tuesday wasn’t quite bad as what you saw Monday. If you are a 49ers fan.

Yes, the result stayed the same, the Baltimore Ravens with a 33-19 victory that was as resounding as perhaps it may have been surprising.

But the comments the morning after on ESPN, especially from retired long-time NFL players-turned-commentators Shannon Sharpe and Jeff Saturday, offered a bit of perspective.  

If no particular advice on how to slow down the hype and excitement, nor stop Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson, who despite Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey, may be chosen the NFL Most Valuable Player. As he was in 2019.

That video in the Ravens post-game locker room at Levi’s Stadium Christmas night, of Harbaugh calling out his athletes one by one and then, when Jackson was presented everyone chanting, “MVP, MVP, MVP,” was tough to accept for the Faithful. 

But accept it they must.

Amazing isn’t it how one game turns everything upside down and inside out? Purdy throws four interceptions. The Niners do little on offense and not much on defense.   

They led 5-3 in the first quarter—or was it the first inning?—against the Baltimore Orioles?

The ESPN guys wondered why the Niners kept throwing instead of going to the run with McCaffrey. Or how Purdy, who is in his second pro season, would respond to the worst game of his brief but until now golden career.

The 49ers are 11-4, the best in the NFC, and if they recover after this jolt and in order beat the very, very beatable Washington Commanders and then the improving LA Rams, the Niners will have home field throughout the playoffs and a first-round bye.

“We’re going to find out a lot about Brock Purdy,” said Sharp. “He’ll be helped by (Kyle) Shannahan and (coach) Brian Griese.”

Shanahan, of course, is San Francisco’s head coach, and he’s known as an offensive genius. But this time the offense was ineffective against the Ravens, who with tactics devised by defensive coordinator Mike McDonald were able to stymie every Niners drive—until Purdy was picked off.  

“The first one was his fault,” Shanahan said of Purdy’s interceptions. “The others were tipped balls.”

Purdy incurred a left-shoulder stinger in the fourth quarter, and with the Niners far behind was replaced by Darnold—who also had a pass picked off, five interceptions total for San Francisco.

Nine days ago, when the pre-game odds were favoring the Niners, Jackson, the Baltimore quarterback, whined that his team was being disrespected.

To steal a line from Edgar Allan Poe, whose 19th Century poem is responsible for the team’s name, Ravens, “Nevermore.”

McCaffrey, Purdy and the need for healthy D-linemen

The question was whether having two legitimate MVP candidates on the same team, the San Francisco 49ers in this instance, would prove to be a negative. Not in games, but in voting for the award.

Whether the ballots for Brock Purdy would cancel those for Christian McCaffrey or vice versa. That was last week.

Now there’s a larger question. Can the 49ers slow the Baltimore running attack when the teams meet Sunday night in what could be labeled a holiday gift from the schedule makers.

Or after a look at the standings, maybe called a Super Bowl preview.

The Niners, with their 45-29 victory over the sad sack Arizona Cardinals,  have the best record in the NFC, 11-3. And the Ravens, 23-7 winners over the Jacksonville Jaguars, also are at 11-3, best in the AFC. 

So, yes those would seem to be the favorites for Super Bowl LVIII (58 for us uncivilized folk west of the Roman Empire), that game is on Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas.

But not so fast. There are several weeks to go in the regular season when noting what’s been happening too often, injuries might occur, and then playoffs. So nothing is certain.

Other than what transpired, the Niners, although winning, were unable to halt Arizona’s ground game as the Cardinals rushed for 234 yards — marking the most against SF this season.

The Niners were missing starting defensive tackles, Arik Armstead (foot, knee) and Javon Hargrave (hamstring).

And whether they’ll be back against Baltimore, which rushed for 251 yards against Jacksonville, becomes a large issue.

Shanahan on Monday was asked about the possibility of signing a quick fill-in, someone like Ndamukong Suh.

"Not yet," Shanahan said. "I mean, I'm not ruling out anything. We have guys on our practice squad, as you guys see, that we used last week. But that stuff, we also aren't exactly sure when Hargrave and Armstead are coming back. We do know they have chances this week, so there's a lot of variables that are playing together that we'll be discussing here the rest of the day, and tomorrow. And even if we don't make a move in any area, that'll probably be continuing throughout the year."

If the defense is troubling, the offense is reaffirming. The MVP mentions had their usual spectacular games, despite taking hits that forced them to be examined by medical staff or trainers. McCaffrey was out for four plays. Then Purdy, the quarterback phenom, missed two plays.

Some gasp from Niners personnel but that was about all. McCaffrey, who was diagnosed with a stinger in his leg, rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown and caught five passes for 72 yards and two touchdowns.

Purdy, returning to the suburbs of Phoenix where he went to high school, completed 16 of 25 for 242 yards and four touchdowns. 

Magnanimously he also tossed in the thought of McCaffrey as the MVP.

Because of those two, other Niners on offense tend not to be appreciated. One, of course, would be Deebo Samuel who had four receptions for 48 yards, and 2 TDs.

McCaffrey became only the fourth player in NFL history with at least four seasons of 1,000 yards rushing, and 500 yards receiving. His NFL high of  20 touchdowns moved a bit closer to the franchise season record of 23 that was set in 1987 by, who else — Jerry Rice, now occasionally doing TV commercials for a South Bay insurance firm.

First he grabbed footballs. Now he tries to grab clients.

49ers, a new red (jersied) machine

The label was used originally back in the 1970s for the baseball team from Cincinnati. So pardon a bit of plagiarism for choosing to call the 49ers, in their home uniforms, the Big Red Jersied Machine.

We’re talking pro football. We’re talking big gains (the first play of the game was Christian McCaffrey sprinting 72 yards). We’re talking timely defense. We’re talking another five-game win streak. 

We’re talking a 28-16 victory over the Seattle Seahawks Sunday that elevated the Niners into a tie for the best record in the NFL. We’re talking about a coach, Kyle Shanahan, who was pleased but as every coach until the season ends, seeking improvement.

We’re talking a next game against the Arizona Cardinals, who at 3-10, are as bad as the 10-3 Niners are good. We’re talking a roster of  players who on offense remind us of the 1980s, the Montana, Craig, Rice, Clark, Young group about which John Madden in his role as TV an analyst would say again and again, “too many weapons.”

On this 2023 Niners team the offensive weapons include the almost-impossible-to-bring-down Deebo Samuel (two TDs Sunday), McCaffrey (145 yards rushing and one TD), and George Kittle (one TD).

And, oh yeah, we’re talking about the biggest surprise maybe ever, that quarterback guy Brock Purdy, who Sunday completed 19 passes in 27 attempts for 368 yards and two TDs.

The Purdy legend has been told many times but not enough for the 49ers Faithful, the last player picked in the draft — what were those scouts and assistant coaches looking for anyway? — who may be heading from the infamous Mr. Irrelevant to a more classy title, Most Valuable Player.

Another individual of value is Shanahan, whose decisions on personnel and game plans have been virtually unpredictable and eminently successful.

No, not every move works, but he has shown to be adaptable.

If something doesn’t work, then he’s very willing to try something else, although it’s hard to believe he would be willing to try a different quarterback.

“So many guys made big plays out of little plays,” a perfect summation of the reason the Niners kept getting into the end zone and when for a few moments they fell behind early in the second quarter, getting in front once more.

Shanahan’s specialty is offense — like the days of Bill Walsh. You almost can see the wheels turning in his brain, coming up with plays — but he well understands defense triumphs.  

Once more there will be a reference to the late John McKay, who went from a national championship at USC to become the first coach of the expansion Tampa Bay Bucs.  

“You win on defense,” said McKay. “If the other team doesn’t score you’ll never get worse than a 0-0 tie.”

The other team in this case, the Seahawks, did score against the Niners, but just enough to make the game interesting. Seattle had just 324 yards in offense, compared to 527.

And the linebacker Fred Warner had an interception, his fourth of his career, equaling the team record held by Keena Turner.

Big red machine, indeed.

Niners play the game we had waited for

Those were the San Francisco 49ers we expected, loaded with talent and intent, taking up the challenge and taking down the franchise with the best record.

The Philadelphia Eagles came in 10-1. They were playing at home in damp weather. And the 49ers crushed them, dominating on defense, and overwhelming on offense.

San Francisco won 42-19, the Niners’ highest point total of the season. This was a game that had Niners players talking with more than a bit of confidence — as opposed to the pre-game trash talk from running back/receiver Deebo Samuel.

The post-season still is more than a month away, and teams such as the dreaded Dallas Cowboys and Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are not to be ignored.

Yet this game, if nothing else, restored the belief in the Niners, who lost three in a row at one disappointing stretch. They have regained their swagger and position at the top of pro football’s food chain.

They also can create a bit of strange confusion on the sideline, with their own defensive lineman, Dre Greenlaw getting ejected for a fight that also brought about the ejection of an official from Philly’s Lincoln Field.

What he was doing among the athletes is a question still to be answered.

The Niners in their performance answered any question about their quality. True, they went the first down and with only a few yards, but that defense was spectacular, and San Francisco only fell behind 6-0. After that, it was Niners, Niners, Niners, Samuel running, Christian McCaffrey running and catching, and the pass rush squeezing Philly Jalen (until it) Hurts.  

“Our play spoke louder than words," said Niners star linebacker Fred Warner. “We knew coming in what we had to do.”

They had to defeat the team that knocked the 49ers out of the playoffs, 31-7, last year in the NFC championship game after quarterback Brock Purdy left with an elbow injury that would take months to heal.  

“I wasn’t looking for revenge,” Purdy said after completing 19 of 27 passes for 314 yards and four touchdowns. “I just wanted to win.”

He and the Niners (9-3) did because of the beautiful merging of offense and defense — or should we say defense and offense, the Eagles held to 333 net yards as compared to 456 for San Francisco.

We’re told repeatedly the only statistic that counts is the final score, but the lopsided differences in the other numbers are more than an indication of the differential in that score.  

The strength of any football (or basketball or baseball) team is constructed on defense, keeping the opposition from scoring, a reason the Niners are paying edge rusher Nick Bosa $34 million a year. Sunday, the rest of the defensive line paid off in dividends.

“It’s not making sacks, this isn’t an individual thing. We work as a team,” said Bosa. “We try to keep the pressure on. Even if you don’t get there, they have to block you for a long time and it wears them out. I think the job we did was awesome.”

Hard to argue after smashing a team that had lost only once.

Purdy perfect — like Joe and Steve

He had thrown his first interception. Worse, the 49ers lost.  And lost again. Then lost again.  The skeptics couldn’t be silenced. Maybe, they told us this was the real Brock Purdy, not the kid who unexpectedly captured games and media attention.

Whatever, the Brock Purdy who showed up Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, was as real, effective and efficient a quarterback as anyone ever.  

In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him perfect because that’s what his rating was — perfect, 158.3 out of a possible 158.3. The last time that was accomplished by someone wearing a 49ers uniform —actually, somebodies—was in 1989, and the somebodies were named Joe Montana and Steve Young.

Who would both be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Not bad company.

Of the 25 passes Purdy unleashed only four were not caught. The figures included  333 yards and three touchdowns.

We know football is very much a team sport and that an NFL squad has more than 50 athletes. Yet, isn’t it amazing how the best teams have the best quarterbacks?

Asked about Purdy’s play against the Bucks as San Francisco improved to a 7-3 record, the best in the NFC West, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said merely, “He had a hell of a game.

Halfback Christian McCaffrey was no less enthusiastic. “Brock has been great every game,” said McCaffrey.  

Not quite, but if a player feels compelled to offer a teammate high praise, that’s quite understandable. And acceptable.

“He’s got to be in the MVP conversation with those numbers,” Niners star linebacker Fred Warner said after checking out Purdy’s stats following Sunday’s victory, which left the 49ers (7-3) a game ahead of the Seahawks — their opponent Thursday night in Seattle — in the NFC West. “It’s unbelievable the way he’s playing. He’s having an All-Pro, Pro Bowl-type of year.”

And at the end, of all the numbers on the screen, the only ones that count are those of the final score. Yes, the Niners won Sunday, defeating the semi-good Tampa Bay  27-14.  

On the other side, both symbolically and literally, is the man who played competently at quarterback for the Buccaneers, Baker Mayfield. Mayfield was first pick overall in the 2018 draft, by Cleveland, and now is with his fourth team. Purdy, as we are too well aware, was the last pick in the 2022 draft.

The Niners play at Seattle on Thanksgiving and then play the Philadelphia Eagles, arguably the best team in the NFC. Purdy’s doubters are poised. No less important is the defense for the opening days of the season, the area that was the strength of the team.   

Then, with Purdy, McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle, the 49ers went from a team that stopped others to one that others couldn’t itself be stopped.

Other than three weeks.

Niners end the nonsense

The 49ers certainly put an end to that nonsense. And to their three-game losing streak. They played like the old days. A month ago.

Whatever was wrong with San Francisco’s entry in the NFL has been fixed. At least for one game. And maybe considering the talent and the expectations, perhaps for many games.

Every pro team has difficult periods, Daryl Johnson, the one-time star fullback and current-time game analyst for Fox TV, told us that the most difficult stretch of this particular Niner season was in the process of coming to an end, ironically against a team going through a wonderful period.

The Jacksonville Jaguars never may be ranked with the Baltimore Ravens or the hated Dallas Cowboys, but they were playing at home and had won five straight, as contrasted to the Niners losing three straight. Now both those streaks have been broken. 

The 49ers took control so quickly and so demonstratively in their 34-3 victory, head coach Kyle Shanahan chose early in the fourth quarter to change quarterbacks. In a twist, Sam Darnold, a first-round pick, replaced Brock Purdy, who as the sporting world knows, was the last pick in the 2022 draft.

But as we also know, first or last, what matters is how you play. And after three performances that might be called spotty, a word which similarly can be applied to the once reliable defense, Purdy on Sunday was virtually without flaws — no turnovers (those, five of them, were contributed by the Jaguars). If not silencing the doubters, he was poised and near perfection.  He completed 19 passes in 26 attempts for 296 yards, three touchdowns, and a rating of 148.9. (Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence, No. 1 draftee overall in 2021, had a rating of 56.2).

Those numbers can be interpreted any way one wants, of course, but when a team is functioning properly, the offense working well with the defense, football is a joy.

Nick Bosa and new addition Chase Young made the defensive line what it was supposed to be and more. The return of injured Deebo Samuel gave a boost to the rushing and receiving. And whether the shift of defensive coordinator Steve Wilks from press box to sideline means that much is debatable, but you can be sure he’s not going back.

Football is a game of response. Was the moving of the defensive backs to locations outside the linebackers the reason the Niners were so effective?

Whatever, Bosa has no questions. Now. He had a few when the defeats climbed. As, for one — “I’ll take it. It was a really good team win,” Bosa said “Just complementary ball.  A good reset for us to keep going.”

It’s easy to say that during the bye week when the Niners were forced to endure the criticism of the media and fans while unable to do much except on a practice field. Then after the break, came the success, and a degree of satisfaction.

What's happened to the Raiders?

There are team owners in sports who know what they’re doing. The Golden State Warriors’ Joe Lacob is a perfect example. And then there are owners such as Mark Davis of the former Oakland Raiders.

As is evident from the way the Raiders play football. 

Mark’s late father, Al, built the team into a Super Bowl champion. But if a franchise is transferred to the next of kin because of the legal system, there’s no guarantee the qualities to make that franchise successful also will be.

Mark, who grew up in Piedmont, the tony suburb of Oakland, just surreptitiously fired another coach late Monday night, a few hours after the Raiders suffered a 26-14 defeat by the ascendant Detroit Lions.

The Raiders, explained Davis, “were heading in the wrong direction.” Which a good part of the group called Raider Nation, would point out the team began to do years ago. Literally. 

When like fugitives on the run they fled the Oakland Coliseum for, well, it’s hard to call the landscape around Las Vegas greener pastures. Only more financially beneficial ones. 

Meaning the 68-year-old Davis and his partners, who cashed in elegantly and wealthily, provided a new luxurious stadium and the upcoming Super Bowl, which, no surprise, will not include the Raiders.

Bill Walsh, the legendary 49ers coach, once told me a problem in the NFL when a team is struggling is the owners’ friends will sit near him during games and belittle the franchise. How embarrassing. 

That the Raiders’ woes with Football shown throughout the nation on ESPN’s Monday Night, was more embarrassing. What to do? What Davis did was fire head coach, Josh Mcdaniels.

And oh yeah, even though he’s still on the team, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, late of the 49ers, has been benched. When he wasn’t injured, he was throwing interceptions.  

In the publication “Pro Football Talk” Mike Florio, a longtime observer and NFL writer, asks a very pertinent question, to which: Who is advising Mark Davis?

“Whoever Davis is listening to,” wrote Florio, “presumably had influence over what he’s done and over what he’ll do next . . . Given his track record of hires since he inherited the team he hasn’t been getting good advice, or he’s ignoring any good advice he’s gotten.”  

The advice Raider fans from an earlier era could have given was to keep the team in Oakland, where it not only was a contender but a major part of the community.

Too late for that, certainly. The Raiders are long gone, leaving only memories and an owner who flew the coop and has been unable to build a winner.

Niners can’t stop anything, and that includes losing

They seem unable to stop anything—primarily their losing streak.

The defense that was the heart and soul of the San Francisco 49ers is now clueless and unable to tackle. The season that had people repeating the precious words, “Super Bowl,” suddenly has them mumbling to themselves with phrases that other adults shouldn’t hear. Much less children.

The worst thing for the Niners and their fans, the so-called “Faithful,” may not be the how many, three straight defeats, after the 31-17 debacle against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium. But the how.

They were run over, run past and run through by a team that began the game last in the NFL in offense and third from last in rushing. The Bengals finished with 400 net yards, 134 on the ground. 

The comments from 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and his players were the typical ones you'd expect after a team that is supposed to win, according to the oddsmakers, fails to win: "We've got to play better."

Oh yes, you do. But how does that occur? Sure, some of the answers—or was it all of them?—contained the word “execution.”

That brings to mind the immortal quote from the late John McKay when he was coaching the expansion (and awful Tampa Bay Bucs). Asked after one game what he thought of their execution, McKay remarked, “I’m in favor of it.”

Nothing that severe (or comical) from the Niners postgame, but Shanahan and his crew would be in favor of stepping back to early October when they overwhelmed the Dallas Cowboys, who you may have noticed on Sunday routed the Los Angeles Rams (Lambs?) 43-20.

The NFL is full of surprises, indeed. The Broncos even defeated the Chiefs. But the issue is consistency, to play well—at least to your strength—as often as possible, to be feared by the opponent.  

Nobody fears the 49ers anymore, except maybe the men in charge of the franchise.  

There was so much worry about Brock Purdy coming out of concussion protocol and getting onto the field and into the huddle. He made it. He threw a couple of interceptions and lost a fumble, three turnovers in all.

Far from the magic he appeared to possess for the opening games, yet not being able to get yards wasn’t what doomed the 49ers. It was their inability to keep Cincinnati from getting theirs. 

So much has been written or spoken of Purdy being the last man picked in the draft of 2022. The first man picked in the 2020 draft was Joe Burrow, the Bengals quarterback, and he completed 18 straight passes at one stretch on Sunday.

How much was attributable to Burrow and how much to the 49ers’ ineffective pass defense is a matter to be contemplated. What had to sting was the Fox TV announcer borrowing the line about Joe Montana and calling Burrow “Joe Cool” especially because Montana was in attendance. 

Oh yeah, Christian McCaffrey tied the NFL record by scoring a touchdown (actually two touchdowns) in 17 consecutive games. That pleased Shanahan.

Very little else did.

“We missed a lot of tackles in the first half. “ the coach said. “The bottom line is we have to get better in every aspect.

In other words, they have to execute.

What happened to the 49ers’ defense?

There wasn’t any doubt in this one. Oh, the final score was close, but in truth, the game wasn’t. 

That 49ers team, which only two weekends ago crushed the Dallas Cowboys and had the Faithful talking Super Bowl, has gone missing.

And worse, has gone losing in two consecutive games.

It was the very mediocre Minnesota Vikings that beat San Francisco, 22-17, Monday night at US Bank Stadium. It was a very unstoppable Vikings team that destroyed what we mistakenly believed was one of the best defenses in the NFL.

A Vikings team with apparently no running game.  A Vikings team that ran and passed the Niners to oblivion.  A Vikings team that came into the game with a 2-4 record and when it constructed a lead it surprised ESPN announcer Joe Buck to the point that he said in so many words, “What’s going on here?”  

A national audience, which had been following the Niners’ 5-0 start and reading about the magic of young quarterback Brock Purdy, $170 million pass rusher Nick Bosa and scoring machine Christian McCaffrey, surely wondered the same thing.

Or maybe wondered if all the praise and expectations that surrounded the Niners was just a lot of journalistic nonsense.  

Nobody expects the Niners to go unbeaten. This isn’t 1972, and now the schedule is 17 games and there’s too much talent on every franchise. So, getting beat by the Cleveland Browns, 19-17, eight days earlier was acceptable.

This one against the Vikings wasn’t if you’re thinking about the championship.

What Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan was thinking we never might know, but what he said was, “They had one turnover, we had three turnovers. It was a five-point game, so it's almost as simple as that."

A game decided perhaps by the Vikings constantly blitzing Purdy, whose passing was 21 of 30 for 272 yards. He also threw two interceptions and was sacked once. He was under pressure from the start.

The 49ers couldn’t match that pressure. They didn’t have a chance.

What the Niners did have at one point in the second half was their largest deficit of the season, 19-7. And what they never had for the first time in any game was a lead.  

The Vikings, with the often-maligned Kirk Cousins at quarterback, had a brilliant game on offense as well as defense. Minnesota gained 452 yards, San Francisco 325.

McCaffrey, who was questionable because of an oblique injury, played and got into the end zone twice, extending his team-record touchdown streak to 16 consecutive games. But he fumbled on an early drive, and perhaps that changed the momentum of the entire game. 

Purdy made some key completions as the Niners tried to catch up, but hounded he lofted a ball that was intercepted, ending any chance for a comeback. 

“It was a tough day,” said Purdy. “The Vikings played a very smart game, and we couldn’t quite do it.”

“We can’t sit here and worry about what happened,” said Shanahan. “We have got to find a way to beat the Bengals (the Niners’ next opponent). And then we go into our bye week. We’ve got to take this like men.”

What they took was a figurative punch in the gut. Now there are questions about Purdy, and even worse, questions about the supposedly impregnable San Francisco defense.

A few days ago Shanahan told the media, referring to the defeat in Cleveland, “We haven’t had that for a while. I forgot how it felt after a loss.”

There will be no forgetting now.

Simple explanation for Niners loss: They were outplayed

The coach said it. The score confirmed it. The 49ers were outplayed

That’s no sin in the NFL, where the words “on any given Sunday” remain more than just a persistent slogan.  

No sin, if it doesn’t happen too frequently.

And for the San Francisco 49ers, it hadn’t happened in any game in the season of 2023 until on this given Sunday when they were defeated, 19-17, on the road by the Cleveland Browns.

That left the Niners with a 5-1 record and reminders that what happened a week earlier, a resounding win over the haughty Dallas Cowboys, becomes inconsequential within days. 

It also for the first time in his Cinderella career left questions about the kid quarterback, Brock Purdy, who admittedly while at a disadvantage, a botched-up running game, looked — awful is probably too violent a word.

He threw the first interception of his year-and-a-half career, was sacked three times and completed 12 of 27 passes for a mere 125 yards. Those numbers in part were attributable to the Niners’ lack of a ground game.  

Christian McCaffrey missed much of the second half because of an injury (he did score, however, to extend his team-record touchdown streak to 15 games) and Deebo Samuel, also injured, barely played at all.

Thus the Browns, with the league’s best defense, could concentrate on getting to Purdy, physically and mentally. And they got to him.

Purdy’s slip into imperfection was matched by the rookie place kicker Jake Moody, who missed two field goals, including one from 41 yards with a few seconds left to play. Yes, that could have been the game-winner. But we don’t deal here in could haves.

Somehow those football gods had decided on this afternoon the way the Browns performed and the 49ers couldn’t perform that no way Cleveland would lose.

It didn’t.

“It was a grinding game,” said Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers coach. “We made way too many mistakes.”

It was a weird day overall. Before kickoff, the two teams got involved in a pushing match that involved an occasional sort of event that has been known to take place at college games where the players are hyped up from bellicose coaching advice but rarely if ever in the pros where energy and anger are saved until the line of scrimmage.

It’s hard to call the Browns-49ers a rivalry because of the current divisional league setup, but they began playing in 1946—as noted by the patch on the Browns uniforms when they were part of the old All-America Football Conference. 

Cleveland had Otto Graham, Marion Motley and Lou Groza and invariably outplayed the Niners. Just as they did Sunday.

Niners move on after what they did to America’s Team

It gets down to a two-word description: America’s Team.

So arrogant. So irritating. Unless you’re the designated franchise, the Dallas Cowboys.

To which we now may add, so overrated.

The label was created in 1979 by a self-indulgent team public relations man for a highlight film and was used continually on national TV, when the Cowboys were winning championships, which they might not do lately but still win the attention of ESPN.

That game Sunday, the mismatch at Levi’s Stadium, final score, 42-10, was treated by many across the NFL landscape as not so much a 49ers victory as a Cowboys defeat.

What it was for Niners coach Kyle Shanahan was an opportunity to gloat, at least in a subtle manner.

So much on the tube and in the dailies on the Cowboys. So much from Dallas owner Jerry Jones.  All right, already.

As Shanahan may not have said directly in his post-game comments yet certainly implied that the Niners coach knew what he had, a potential champion. And an all-encompassing audience, prime weekend time.

“This was our biggest game this year,” he said. 

No warnings about what’s in the future. No giving credit to the opponent.

Just an embrace of the obvious domination (421 yards total offense to 197) that verified the Niners’ defense is every bit as good as it needs to be and the offense may be better than believed.

San Francisco both shut down the Cowboys and shut up their all-too-boisterous supporters.

“Our guys were ready,” said Shanahan. Asked to comment on quarterback Brock Purdy, who threw four touchdown passes, Shanahan offered not a scintilla of doubt. “All our guys were good,” he conceded.

Tight end George Kittle caught three touchdown passes for the first time in his career as if to balance the three touchdowns scored a week earlier against Arizona by Christian McCaffrey, who Sunday had one to extend his team record streak of consecutive games with TDs to 14.

“We’re pretty good!” said one of the Niners offensive lineman.

How good still is to be determined (12 games remain for the Niners in the regular season). Only the 1972 Miami Dolphins completed a schedule unbeaten.

Who knows what might transpire?

What we do know is the 49ers are far superior to the Cowboys, whose America’s Team nickname is sadly out of date.

Still, reputations linger in certain cases, notably that of Dallas, which is always in the news for no other reason than history, even undeserved.

The Niners, in contrast, might not attract the attention of the Cowboys, or didn’t until the thrashing, so they’ll simply have to win games under the radar.

Besides, you don’t have to be America’s Team to win the Super Bowl, just the best team in America.

McCaffrey trade that worked for Niners

SANTA CLARA — This is the trade that worked. This is the trade that might get the 49ers to the Super Bowl. This is the trade that brought them Christian McCaffrey. 

All spring we kept being reminded about the bad deal that brought quarterback Trey Lance, who turned out not to be the man the Niners hoped he would be.

Well, McCaffrey, the Stanford guy (as is his dad), is exactly what the 49ers hoped he would be. And more.  

So, let’s hear about the good deal — the great deal — the one that brought them the marvelous runner and receiver. And what a game he had Sunday, picking up yards, picking up records and helping San Francisco pick up another win, this one 35-16 over the Arizona Cardinals. 

McCaffrey scored four touchdowns, with three of those coming in the first half. In the process, McCaffrey extended his team streak of games scoring a touchdown to 13, one more than the record of 12 set by Jerry Rice in 1987.

It was a year ago, October 2022, when Niners coach Kyle Shanahan was able to acquire the running back he knew the Niners needed to balance their defense.

And that McCaffrey, looking to expand his horizons and his performance, sought a change.

He mentioned, while still with the Carolina Panthers, the team that drafted him, that he would like to play with the Big City Guys as if there was much difference between where an NFL franchise is located. It’s the people who run the team and play for the team who count.

Small town or Gotham, you want great players and winners. McCaffrey, who rushed 20 times for 106 yards and caught seven passes for 71 yards, unquestionably is one of those.

“It’s a normal thing for him to score a touchdown in 13 consecutive games,”  said Kyle Juszczyk, the Niners fullback who blocks for McCaffrey. “That’s insane. It’s just come to be expected. He executes everything so well.”

Juszczyk is a prime blocker for McCaffrey, and as you know a Harvard grad. Maybe he’s the only one who would use “insane” in a football context.  

What McCaffrey said about what certainly was a historic afternoon at Levi’s Stadium was very little. He preferred to talk about teammates, especially quarterback Brock Purdy. 

“I think you can go down the list of what makes a quarterback good and he checks every box. Then he has all the intangibles that would be phenomenal. He brings a kind of swagger and energy every day that is fun to be around.  He’s quiet but very confident and he expresses that in the way he plays. It’s just awesome to have him in the huddle.”

The same is true for McCaffrey, out of the huddle and into the end zone.

Niners up against expectations — theirs and ours

Sure it could have been better. But that shows what the 49ers are up against, their own expectations as well as ours. And, oh yes, the opposing team.

Which Thursday evening in the haze and mirth of Levi’s Stadium was the New York Giants, who were, dare we say, resilient and for a few moments effective.

But they never really had a chance of winning, meaning the Niners, now 3-0 and getting things together if perhaps a trifle slow, never had a chance of losing.

In the end, it was San Francisco, 30-12, and a Sunday after a breather they’ll be 4-0 because next on the list is the semi-hopeless Arizona Cardinals, who several days ago couldn’t even hold a large lead over the Giants.

True, there are upsets in the NFL — that  “any given Sunday concept” —  but no way were the Cardinals going to win at Levi’s. So there you have it, Niners against the Cowboys for the autumn version of the annual NFC title game.

Getting ahead of ourselves? Why not, in the NFC, and maybe the entire NFL the Cowboys, who overwhelmed the very same Giants 40-0 two weeks ago, and the Niners, are both the class and power of pro football. 

Niner quarterback Brock Purdy wasn’t perfect in the game. 

“He missed on a few throws early,” conceded head coach Kyle Shanahan. 

However, Purdy is perfect in regular season games as a starter, 13-0.

Defense won the game for San Francisco, as it usually does. The Niners had the ball 39 minutes out of the allotted 60. Small wonder then the Niners outgained New York, 441 yards to 150.

That’s not competition, that’s a joke.

Yes, D is what makes the Niners go, or more correctly keep the other team from going. But Thursday San Francisco offered plenty of offense. Deebo Samuel was running and catching along with Christian McCaffrey

On the telecast Al Michaels, recalling the line probably first used by the late John Madden about the Team of the ‘80s, Niners champions, told us “Too many weapons.”

Not that the weapons couldn’t be silenced. Three times San Francisco had a drive finish with a field goal by Jake Moody.

Thursday NFL football is on the NFL Network, and with Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit doing their best to keep us attentive there was a prehistoric video of Madden using the Telestrator for the first time.

Electronics have become a massive part of pro football. However, they can’t compete with winning.  Ask the 49ers.

Niners opener good reason for optimism

Caution is recommended. True, any game that leaves us wondering whether the 49er offense might be as good as the defense — arguably the best in football — would have the Faithful overly optimistic.  

Yet one game is not a season’s make. Even an opening game by a San Francisco franchise that a year earlier began with a thud.

We are reminded often that in sports it isn’t how you start but how (and where) you finish. Still, after falling a couple of games short of the only game that means anything to us spoiled citizens in NorCal, the Super Bowl, a proper beginning is not unappreciated.

And in overwhelming the Pittsburgh Steelers, 30-7, Sunday at Acrisure Stadium, the Niners opened not only properly but impressively. These Steelers are hardly reminiscent of those great “win one for the thumb”  teams of the ‘80s. However, some people were looking for an upset.

What we had was a mismatch. The Niners controlled the ball so much in the first half, 22 minutes of the possible 30, and it had the weary SF players looking for a breather.

“At one point,” said veteran offensive tackle Trent Williams, “you just kind of wanted (the Steelers) to get a first down. There were all those three-and-outs and we kind of needed a break.”

What they got presumably was a chewing out from longtime head coach Mike Tomlin.

While Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan was less displeased he, of course, found fault with San Francisco needing to settle for field goals five times in the first half along with two touchdowns. 

Asked what he thought of his team’s first half,  “The first 28 minutes were good,” said Shanahan. “The last two minutes were really bad.”

So many factors in this one. Nick Bosa, having become the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history( $170 million) played a ton. His stats weren’t awesome, two tackles and a hit but without a doubt, his presence made the other defensive linemen even more formidable. Like Drake Jason who had two sacks.

Running back Christian McCaffrey, a midseason acquisition last year, had 152 yards and a touchdown. He also caught 3 passes for 17 yards. Brandon Aiyuk, who had 8 catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns, seems to have become the receiver the Niners have been seeking. He also can block, helping spring McCaffrey free on one run.

And no less significantly was Brock Purdy, again the quarterback after injury and months-long rehab of his right elbow. In Shanahan’s disciplined offense, Purdy was 19 of 29 for 220 yards and two touchdowns.

A running attack, a passing attack and that strong defense. That’s balance and cause for belief. And for some, boastfulness.

 “I mean, we’re the baddest guys on the planet, and that’s our mindset, honestly,” said safety Tahsaun Gipson, speaking of the 49ers’ defense. “Not to be cocky or disrespectful. So tip our hat off to (the Steelers). Their offense has a lot of great young core guys. They’re going to be good for years to come. It’s just that the 49ers defense is a different brand of football. … And our offense is just — I would hate to play our offense, man.”

Said Bosa: “We just have so many players. It’s fun to watch Aiyuk do his thing. And Purdy shut some haters up. It’s nice to be on a really good team.”

How good will be decided when more than one game has been played, not that the one game didn’t get people excited.

No present for 49ers QB of the future

So the 49ers quarterback of the future isn’t even going to have a present, and if the Faithful — as the fan base has been labeled — is distressed, how do you think the boys in the front office feel?

We’re raised on adages: You’re always one play from being a star. Or being hurt. It’s the nature of football, where one’s best plans might end up on the injured list.

It’s been two and a half years since the Niners traded three first-round picks in the 2021 NFL draft for the third overall choice. That pick would be used to choose an unfamiliar kid from North Dakota State, who we were advised had great potential.

What Trey Lance didn’t have in the few times he was on the field was the good fortune to avoid injury.

That’s the way it works in sport sometimes. Call it kismet. Call it physiology. 

After relying on good old Jimmy Garoppolo (who himself was always getting hurt) Niner management called on Sam Darnold, who was most recently cut by the New York Jets.

You know the story up to here. The boys in the Niner front office (mostly head coach Kyle Shanahan and GM John Lynch), after watching all or part of two preseason games decided that as of now, Lance wasn’t what they needed.

Unmentioned to this point is the savior from nowhere, who was the last pick in the 2022 draft, Brock Purdy, and while we blinked and gasped — and then applauded — quarterbacked the 49ers to the playoffs.

And, of course, he got injured and underwent elbow surgery.

Which is why substitutes are invaluable. Particularly at quarterback, who after numerous practices and two exhibition games turns out to be Sam Darnold. He too, as Trey Lance, was the third overall pick, in the 2018 draft.

He played for the Jets, threw beautifully, and ran effectively but there were problems with his play calling. 

Hey, he was a rookie so what do you expect?

Time and place — and health — always must be part of the package. A man who struggles on one team, in one system, may succeed on another squad with different teammates.

The speculation is the 49ers will try to trade Lance, if only to be somewhat compensated for all those No. 1s they traded to acquire him. Also perhaps to escape being reminded of what they didn’t get.

Patience is a rare commodity in pro sports. The owner, as the fans, wants to win immediately and is often forced to go with players who are ill-prepared. Newspapers and TV stations forever remind the public which coaches are on a figurative hot seat.

You receive plenty of attention in pro football.

What you never get is sympathy. When someone goes down, the cry is “Next man up.” Who in this case is Sam Darnold. As opposed to Trey Lance.

Niners' Shanahan: ‘Didn’t enjoy game by any means’

“It’s not all about the quarterback,” said Greg Papa, who after his years previously as the Raiders announcer and now the 49ers announcer, well knows, that it is indeed always about the quarterback, especially in San Francisco.

Where from Frankie Albert to John Brodie through Joe Montana and Steve Young, it’s been about the man who takes the snaps and the criticism. As was the case Sunday when the Niners played their first preseason (exhibition) game of 2023 to find a backup for Brock Purdy, who as promised pre-game, didn’t play a down Sunday against the Raiders in Las Vegas (sadly now the home of the Oakland Raiders as it seemingly will be of the Oakland Athletics as well).

If you care about the score, that’s your problem. 

The Raiders won, 34-7, and although the result means little in the grand scheme of things, Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said, “I didn’t enjoy the game by any means.”

Not that there wasn’t some value for Shanahan and the Niners, who now understand (as if they didn’t before) the importance of the quarterback, primarily Trey Lance, to unload the ball before the D-line unloads on him.

As a point of information, the late John Madden, when he coached the Raiders, said if a preseason game was one-sided, he wanted to be the loser, the better to get his team’s attention in practice. 

Lance, who started, was sacked four times for 18 yards, the main reason the Niners didn’t get a first down until the second quarter.

“Trey held the ball too long,” affirmed Shanahan. Perhaps because even if he was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 draft, he’s barely played, losing the position because of injuries, which enabled first Jimmy Garoppolo, then Purdy to take over.

During the off-season, the Niners signed another first-round QB, Sam Darnold, who as Lance, was a third overall pick by the Jets who kept him until he was booed out of New York, not unusual for any Jets quarterback not named Joe Namath.

Darnold played the second half and after completing his first four pass attempts, finished 5 of 8. He wasn’t sacked once, but situations and lineups change later in play. It also may change after a few weeks and before the regular season begins. 

Is this the way the Niners view their QBs? Will the rotation be Purdy, Lance, and Darnold? Or will Lance or Darnold be waived or traded? And since he’s returning from that season-closing elbow injury, will Purdy be healthy enough to regain his place?

“We’re always hard on quarterbacks,” reminded Shanahan. 

Then, when it appeared he would gripe about what had happened — or considering the lack of offense, what hadn’t — Shanahan softened his attitude. Lance was being protected, in a manner by an O-line lacking numerous starters.

He paid the price for backups playing their roles. Then again, he paid the price of a sub not being completely comfortable with moving up to the level demanded.

It’s not all about the quarterback until it has to be.