Niners Nation
The 49ers had another disappointing outcome in a game where they should have won. It’s not too surprising, as they’ve played the same game every game this year.
The parity in the NFL is why it’s the most-watched sport in the NFL. The variance from week to week provides outcomes that we least expect.
Then, there’s the San Francisco 49ers. This team had Super Bowl expectations but is now 5-5 and 1-3 in the NFC West—the disappointing offseason, during which Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams held out, carried into the preseason.
It wouldn’t be a Niners season without a litany of injuries. Christian McCaffrey missed the first half of the season. Javon Hargrave didn’t make it a month. Aiyuk, after earning a $120 million contract, didn’t make it two months.
Pull a name out of a hat, and that player has likely missed time. So, after everything that’s taken place leading up to Week 11, how could you be surprised by a .500 record when you can argue that the 49ers have played the same game ten times this season?
The coin did not land on the Niners' side against Seattle in Week 11. Let’s discuss why that’s the case in this week’s Winners and Losers.
Jennings is the heartbeat of the offense. Jennings caught 10 of his 11 targets for 91 yards and a touchdown. Four of those receptions were first downs on third-down targets. San Francisco needed every one of those yards.
Jennings was among the league leaders in the NFL in receiving EPA added and catch rate over expectation. He was the 49ers' best player on Sunday.
Football is a game in which you have to separate the results from the process or what happens during the play.
The 49ers had 20 pressures on 32 of Geno Smith’s dropbacks. They lived in the backfield. The edge-rushing duo of Nick Bosa and Leonard Floyd led them. Both players pressured the quarterback 16.7 percent of the time.
Sam Okuayinonu chipped in with a 15 percent pressure rate, with Maliek Collins checking in at 12.5. You're doing pretty well when you have four players above the 12 percent mark. They each had a sack, while splitting one, and Yetur Gross-Matos added a sack.
The pass-rush win rates support the eye test:
Bosa - 27.8%
Gross-Matos - 21.7%
Floyd - 16.7%
Okuayinonu - 15%
Seattle averaged 3.4 yards per carry on 19 non-quarterback scrambles. Floyd and Bosa had three run stops. Gross-Matos and Okuayinonu each had two. And that doesn’t count the different times a player along the defensive line affected the play. I thought the defensive line was excellent against the pass and the run, forcing Geno to hold the ball and making him uncomfortable for much of the afternoon.
When you lose your best player, things will inevitably take a turn. Seattle averaged 2.1 more yards per play without Bosa on the field. The defense held Seattle to six points...
