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1) Starting to Believe Nick Bosa Could Be Defensive Player of the Year
Nick Bosa continues to live up to the hype and is dominating offensive tackles.
Bosa finished with 4 tackles, 3 sacks and a gorgeous interception that almost turned into a pick six.
He consistently pressures the quarterback and makes plays. The scary part is, he's just getting started.
2) The Run Game Hasn't Missed a Beat
The 49ers ran for 232 yards and five scores against a very stout Carolina defense. What gets overlooked is that this production is happening without both starting offensive tackles and
Kyle Juszczyk, the all-important starting fullback.
The scheme is certainly part of it, as we all saw on the
Deebo Samuel touchdown. (If you missed the game, you really need to see the highlights. This play design was stunning.)
The truth is, tackles Justin Skule and Daniel Brunskill have stepped up in a way few thought possible. The 49ers have also done a great job at utilizing backup tight end
Ross Dwelley at both the tight end position and also as a fullback.
The offensive line as a whole (and
George Kittle) has been superb thus far at clearing lanes for Tevin Coleman, Matt Breida, and Raheem Mostert.
3) Emmanuel Sanders Made an Impact
The stat sheet isn't overly impressive, but Emmanuel Sanders came up big today. He caught four passes for 25 yards and a touchdown. Two of those catches went for first downs and he scored the opening touchdown.
The opening touchdown really set the tone and showed that the offense wasn't going to settle for field goals.
The Sanders pickup is as big of a pickup as anyone else they added this year.
4) The Defense is Elite and Can Carry the Team Far
Carolina came into the game on a four-game winning streak, a quarterback who hadn't lost a game or thrown an interception, and it was coming off a bye. It didn't matter, largely because the 49ers have an elite defense.
The 49ers completely dismantled the offense of the Panthers and finished the day with seven sacks, three interceptions, and held them to 230 yards. Carolina was only able to convert two out of 13 on third down and got stopped both times it went for it on fourth down.
Teams have only been able to score a total of 23 points the last four games and haven't been able to do much of anything. This defense will be a problem for anyone and can truly carry this team. Fortunately, the offense will continue to get better, making this a complete team.
5) Extra Points
- Tevin Coleman showed why the team wanted him. He finished with 115 rushing yards and four total touchdowns. His 48 yard scamper before the half made the game feel like a rout.
- It wasn't all Nick Bosa.
Arik Armstead finished with 2 sacks, while D.J. Jones and Ronald Blair also had one apiece.
- Emmanuel Moseley had a big interception that set up the touchdown that put San Francisco up 21-3. He has filled in nicely for Ahkello Witherspoon.
- Richard Sherman continues to show that he is all the way back with his third interception on the year.
- Robbie Gould was perfect on the day with a field goal and made all his extra points. The only failed extra point was a snap mishandled by
Mitch Wishnowsky and turned into an incomplete pass.
- The last time the 49ers scored 50 points was on December 7, 2003 against the Cardinals. They also put up 50 points against Atlanta in 1994 when they had their throwback jerseys on.
The 49ers ended their offseason workout program on Wednesday with their final session of mandatory minicamp. But before they made their way out the door for the summer, the team gave fans and reporters one last dose of info in the form of the final media sessions of the spring.
Among those speaking to reporters on Wednesday were defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, left tackle Trent Williams and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, as well as defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. Each session produced some interesting tidbits, which we'll review in this version of 49ers notebook.
Hargrave speaks
Despite being the splash free agent addition of the offseason for the 49ers, Javon Hargrave had not met with the team's beat reporters in person before Wednesday.
(Episode 239) - Al Sacco and Zain Naqvi react to the recent Brock Purdy development, how the 49ers had a franchise QB drought, how the edge rush needs to be more than Nick Bosa, and a fun discussion on which 49er head coach and QB duo is the best and more!
The audio for the show is embedded above. Don't forget to subscribe!
You can listen to the latest "No Huddle Podcast" episode above, from our dedicated podcast page, on
Conor Orr continues his annual tradition of making 100 bold predictions for the upcoming season. That's a lot of predictions to sift through. Luckily for you, I've pulled out the San Francisco 49ers-related ones for this article. That doesn't mean the others aren't worth your time, though. So head over to the Sports Illustrated feature to peruse the remaining 96.
For now, here are Orr's 49ers-related predictions.
49ers-Bengals Super Bowl clash
The good news is that Orr predicts the 49ers to be among the Super Bowl participants in February. The bad news is that he has the Cincinnati Bengals handing San Francisco its third
What happens if Sam Darnold beats out Trey Lance? We're answering this question and others in this week's edition of the 49ers Webzone Mailbag.
It's week two of OTAs, and the 49ers will have a session open to the media on Wednesday. It may even be happening as you're reading this. And Brock Purdy is believed to start throwing a ball this week (though probably not a regular football).
But for now, ignore those reports, and let's jump into our latest mailbag and answer your questions.
Who's starting on Opening Day at FS? - Chris W.
The 49ers re-signed veteran free safety Tashaun Gipson to a one-year deal and drafted Penn State safety Ji'Ayir Brown back in April. Brown is the future starting free safety. That future is most likely to
