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In spite of that mistake, the 49ers beat the Falcons 31-13, and now stand in good position to make it into the playoffs. But first, here are my observations from the 49ers' big win on Sunday.
- What's the recipe for losing to a team you should beat? Turn the ball over right off the bat. The 49ers did not make things easy for themselves, as JaMycal Hasty fumbled the opening kickoff. The 49ers special teams unit continues to put the team in difficult positions.
- The 49ers defense came out strong, though, with a goal-line stop, to keep the Hasty fumble from doing any damage.
- The defense came up with big stops all game long, and ended up with three fourth down stops inside the 10 yard line. That's not something that happens very often—like every 40 years.
#49ers defense forced 3 turnovers on downs inside their own 10-yard line. According to @EliasSports, this was the first time in the last 40 years that a team forced their opponent to turn the ball over on downs within the 10-yard line three or more times in a single game.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) December 20, 2021
- The 49ers offense, after a three and out at its own goal-line, followed with a 10-play, 79-yard drive, but only came away with a field goal.
- The 49ers offense played really well for most of the game.
The #49ers' last five drives:
— Rob Lowder (@Rob_Lowder) December 19, 2021
Field goal - 79 yards
Touchdown - 77 yards
Touchdown - 75 yards
Touchdown - 38 yards
Touchdown - 75 yards
- George Kittle looked great on the team's first drive. He finished the game with six catches for 93 yards.
#49ers two plays when George Kittle was targeted: 53 yards
— Eric Branch (@Eric_Branch) December 19, 2021
Other 11 plays: 34 yards
- Arden Key has been coming on strong for the 49ers lately. He currently has five sacks on the season. That's more than he had in his career coming in to this season.
Arden Key with his fifth sack of season.
— Eric Branch (@Eric_Branch) December 19, 2021
Sacks in first three seasons with Raiders: 3#49ers
- Jeff Wilson looked like the old Jeff Wilson today. He ran the ball really well. Wilson finished the game with 110 yards on 21 carries, with one touchdown.
- Jimmie Ward and Jaquiski Tartt both came up with some big plays in the fourth quarter. The fact that those plays were touchdown-saving plays, inside the 10-yard line, makes the plays all the more important.
- The 49ers started the second half with a strip-sack by Nick Bosa, his 15th of the season. The fumble was recovered by Fred Warner. The offense converted on a Wilson touchdown run. Bosa has a legit chance to beat Aldon Smith's 2012 single-season sack record of 19.5.
- Speaking of Bosa…
#49ers DE Nick Bosa now has a sack in 6 straight games.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) December 19, 2021
That's the longest streak by a 49er since Aldon Smith in 2012 (7 straight).
- Starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was extremely efficient on Sunday. He was 18 of 23 for 235 yards and one touchdown pass.
- Jauan Jennings continues to get better. He always seems to make big catches. He's making me not regret losing Kendrick Bourne. But he did drop a big pass in the 4th quarter. He still does that too often.
- That Deebo Samuel guy showed up again. He had 29 yards rushing (with one touchdown), and 60 yards receiving. He even threw a pass, although it was incomplete.
Deebo Samuel is built different 😤#49ers || #FTTB pic.twitter.com/xLMLl53iyw
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers_) December 19, 2021
- The 49ers offense continues to struggle in the 4th quarter. They will need to improve for San Francisco to go anywhere in the postseason.
The 49ers offense continues to stall in the 4th quarter.
— John Chapman (@JL_Chapman) December 19, 2021
This is the 4th consecutive game with zero points in the 4th.
Hopefully that changes soon.
Just think, less than two months ago 49ers' fans were screaming for Jed York to fire Kyle Shanahan, release Garoppolo, and blow the entire thing up. And now, here we are, getting ready to watch our team clinch a playoff spot. And for those who think it doesn't matter, because they won't get past the first round, don't be so sure. There are plenty of teams who don't want to play the San Francisco 49ers right now.
- Marc Adams
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Written by:Speaker. Writer. Covering the San Francisco 49ers. Host of the 49ers Camelot show.
YouTube.com/@49ersCamelot
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