The San Francisco 49ers led most of the game and came away with another solid preseason victory. Here are some things that stood out:
1) Jimmy Garoppolo Looks Good
The story of the night was obviously all about how Jimmy Garoppolo would respond to his dreadful Week 2 performance. I think it's safe to say he put a lot of doubts to rest. Though the first drive did not yield points, Garoppolo completed passes to Kendrick Bourne and Marquise Goodwin, setting up what would have been about a 47-yard field goal. The 49ers elected to go for it and Jimmy's pass, intended for an open Bourne, was deflected at the line.
The next drive was a thing of beauty. After a third down completion to Dante Pettis, Garoppolo found Richie James down the sideline for a nice 33-yard completion to the 20 yard line on a gorgeous throw. The next play, Jimmy found Matt Breida open for a 20-yard touchdown pass. It was another perfect throw and a great catch.
On five drives, Garoppolo finished 14-for-20 (70%), 188 yards, 1 touchdown, and a 116.2 rating. That is exactly what we needed to see.
2) Health
The 49ers organization and its fans have endured five straight seasons of injury woes and last season was maybe the most disappointing. It's safe to say the heart rates of The Faithful were definitely up as most of the starters played the entire first half. The good news is everyone made it off the field okay.
Linebackers Kwon Alexander and Fred Warner were able to get their first preseason action in and for Alexander, it was his first action since the middle of last season, when he tore his ACL. The health of the team should continue to improve as we close in on Week 1.
3) Wide Receivers
San Francisco will be deep at receiver and will have to make a couple of hard decisions come cutdown day. Richie James, Kendrick Bourne and Jordan Matthews all looked good today and depending on what Coach Shanahan wants to do, Trent Taylor could start the season on IR to make room for six receivers, not counting Taylor.
The locks at this point are Deebo Samuel, Marquise Goodwin, Jalen Hurd, Taylor, and Dante Pettis. Bourne is likely to make it, so that would open up one more spot for James or Matthews.
It will be interesting to see if a trade could be made for someone like James.
4) Defenders Making a Push
With one more game to prove themselves, there are a number of defensive players who have looked good enough to make the roster, most notably Damontre Moore and Emmanuel Moseley. Both continued to impress and could find themselves on the final 53. Moseley looks good in coverage and Moore has had three good games in a row rushing the passer.
5) The Offensive Line is Still a Little Shaky
Overall, in the first half, the offensive line was able to give Garoppolo enough time to make his throws, but we did see a few plays that were a little concerning. Joe Staley was beat a couple of times rather badly by Frank Clark. Staley has had his share of rough preseasons, but the 49ers cannot afford for him to regress this season.
In the second half, reserve guard Najee Toran did not have a good game, as he was also beaten for a sack. Toran is competing for the role of primary backup guard and isn't inspiring a lot of confidence at the moment. If there are injuries, there does not seem to be a lot of depth behind the starters at this point.
Other Notes
- Mitch Wishnowsky continues to impress as he had a 62-yard bomb of a punt that went out of bounds at the 3. He will be a weapon this year.
- Tight end Ross Dwelley may have done enough to be the second or third tight end. He moves well and has good enough hands to be a reliable backup. Another undrafted find for this front office.
- Nick Mullens seems like a lock to be the team's backup quarterback. We will see what happens next week, but it's hard to believe C.J. Beathard can unseat him at this point.
- D.J. Reed and Jimmie Ward showed their versatility at safety and in coverage. Both played well and should make the team. Reed also has special teams value if the team decides to trade Richie James.
- Matt Breida was good last year, but he looks like he will have a great season if healthy now that Garoppolo is back. He is going to be a lot of fun to watch.
