Niners Nation
49ers minutia minute: Young safeties bounce back; CJ West has his best game (paywall)
“General manager John Lynch must have liked this sight: His rookie defensive tackles, Collins and West, not only got their first sacks of the season, but both were on the field when the other got his sack (and were the first to congratulate the other). West, a fourth-round pick, had his best game of the season in leading the team with four quarterback pressures — one sack and three hurries.
Gross-Matos’ 18 snaps were in keeping with what he averaged early in the season before going on injured reserve. He deserves an assist on West’s sack, considering his quick get-off from the right defensive end spot forced Philip Rivers to step forward and into West….Stout was around the ball a lot in Indianapolis, finishing with six tackles and two pass breakups. With Rivers mostly sticking to shorter throws over the middle, he targeted Stout eight times, completing four attempts for 45 yards. Luter, substituting for starter Renardo Green (neck), gave up three catches on three targets, including a touchdown.“
49ers game review: How Dee Winters turned ‘53 Orlando Right’ into a pick-six (paywall)
“Rivers, in shotgun, regularly surveyed a Niners defense featuring nine starters who had fewer than 30 career starts and made play calls just before the snap. At times, Rivers called a play at the line of scrimmage when Indianapolis was in no-huddle mode. Before other snaps, Rivers audibled, changing the play called in the huddle, often after he sent a player in motion to see if the 49ers were in zone coverage or were playing man-to-man.
Twelve days after Rivers signed with the Colts, ending a layoff of nearly five years, the head coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Ala., spent much of the evening pointing to get his new teammates correctly positioned. And he did so after screaming calls that television viewers could easily hear with the home crowd hushed to let the future Hall of Fame conductor do his work.“
49ers overreactions: Does Christian McCaffrey belong in NFL MVP conversation?
“McCaffrey is showing his value to the team. He rarely played last season, and the 49ers finished 6-11. This season, he rarely comes off the field and the 49ers have 11 victories with two games remaining in the regular season.
Coincidence? Nope.
He is that valuable to the team.
McCaffrey probably is not in the NFL MVP conversation because that award seems to always go to a quarterback. Matthew Stafford, Drake Maye and Josh Allen are considered the front-runners.
While there is no denying just how important he is to the 49ers, the best chance McCaffrey has to earn some hardware is probably as the favorite for NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year.“
Luke Gifford’s first Pro Bowl nod emblematic of the 49ers’ special teams success
“Gifford leads the 49ers with 19 tackles on special teams. Long snapper Jon Weeks also was selected to the Pro Bowl, and...
