Cardinals defender bounces off 49ers TE Vance McDonald

When referencing the San Francisco 49ers linebackers during the offseason, the main spotlights were All-Pro Fred Warner and his coverage sidekick, Dre Greenlaw. Greenlaw is most known for his magnificent stop of Jacob Hollister at the 1-yard line to clinch the NFC West title in Week 17 of the 2019 NFL season. But, after Greenlaw went down at the beginning of the season with a groin injury, Azeez Al-Shaair, who went undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft, stepped up with a major opportunity and hasn't looked back. Recently, I placed Al-Shaair as essentially the sixth-most valuable player on this 49ers football team this season, and the third-most valuable defender, behind just Nick Bosa and Emmanuel

It was a playoff atmosphere at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara on Sunday as the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers battled for positioning in the NFC Wild Card race, and in the end it was the 49ers who proved to be up to the task as they outlasted the Vikings in a 34-26 shootout. The Vikings and 49ers entered into the game at 5-5 on the season and in control of the No. 6 and No. 7 seeds in the NFC playoff picture, respectively. The 49ers answered the bell with a combination of effective offense and big plays on defense in the first meeting between the two teams since their 27-10 win over the Vikings in the 2019 NFC Divisional Playoff round. The 49ers fell behind 14-7 early in the game but were able to tie the game before the half before taking the lead for

Carlos Dunlap's hand may have been all that stopped the San Francisco 49ers from scoring on their final play during their 30-23 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. The 49ers had the ball on a 4th-and-Goal with seconds to play when quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo spotted wide receiver Trent Sherfield open near the end zone. Garoppolo threw the ball in Sherfield's direction, only to have it batted away by the 6-7 defensive end Dunlap. With the game on the line, the Seahawks defense came up HUGE 💪📺 Re-watch the game »

The once-dismissed San Francisco 49ers have now won three of their last four with two consecutive routs of opponents. A week ago, it was the dismantling of a division rival, the Los Angeles Rams. Yesterday, the Niners dominated a struggling opponent, the Jacksonville Jaguars, to climb to .500. Next for San Francisco will be a matchup against another .500 team, the Minnesota Vikings, winners of two straight. A win against the Vikings could be enough to finally push the Niners into the playoff picture. Below is a breakdown of the current playoff picture in the NFC, with the first four teams being the division leaders. The most significant change from last week is the Arizona Cardinals leaping past Green Bay for the top spot thanks to the Vikings knocking off the