Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers put up a stinker in the season finale against the Seattle Seahawks. It was a game that highlighted the discrepancy between the Jimmys and Joes on each team.
That statistic success rate, especially passing success rate, is one of the highest correlations to winning in the NFL. On Saturday night, the 49ers posted their lowest success rate since Kyle Shanahan became head coach.
The one thing the offense could hang its hat on was not having many negative plays. Unfortunately, they couldn’t generate many chunk plays, run the ball, or consistently get open.
Defensively, the tackling was sloppier than it’s been all season. Still, they did enough to keep the offense in the game. However, the opportunities to flip the game, such as recovering a fumble, weren’t taken advantage of. Eventually, the lack of talent showed when injuries set in, leading to the final score.
Let’s get into the winners and losers from Week 18.
It’s our job to buck any false narratives. Re-watching Week 18, there were maybe three plays where you noticed Trent Williams wasn’t on the field. One was on a screen where Austen Pleasants didn’t make it to the second level in time.
For the most part, the offensive line kept Seattle’s pass rush at bay. They played well enough to win, which is encouraging heading into the postseason.
The Niners’ offensive line generated a higher yards before contact (1.08) than the Seahawks’ offensive line (0.85). They also had a better rushing success rate, at 41.7, compared to 38.5.
Brock Purdy ended up being pressured on 34.4 percent of his dropbacks, good for 19th in Week 18. Four of those 11 came on the final two drives, and a few others were due to Purdy holding the ball because nobody was open.
There were a couple of back-breaking missed blocks, like Colton McKivitz whiffing on fourth down, but as a whole, the offensive line wasn’t the reason the offense stalled consistently on Saturday night.
Kendricks ended up playing 36 of the 69 snaps after Dee Winters ended up leaving with a calf injury. It’s officially an ankle injury for Winters. Kendricks looked like the type of player the 49ers need on this side of the ball. He was aggressive, didn’t miss any tackles, was getting the defensive line lined up correctly, and was excellent in coverage. You wouldn’t think it would be difficult, but Robert Saleh needs to find a way to get Kendricks on the field during the postseason. He looked like he belonged on the field.
Kendricks will get his chance in the Wild Card round with Tatum Bethune out. Despite playing only 52 percent of the snaps, Kendricks finished with a pair of run stops. He took on blocks in the run like you’d expect a middle linebacker to. It was an encouraging sign for a player who hadn’t played football in a year.
His awareness in coverage and knack for...
