Move. That’s what you have to do as a pro, regardless of what happened yesterday, two series ago, or two plays ago. Unfortunately for the San Francisco 49ers, they’ve been forced to “move” in situations that are borderline impossible.
On Monday, Kyle Shanahan said, “It’s about what’s happening going forward,” and the focus will be on what kind of team this will be. It’s not about Warner, it’s about which players will step up in the coming months.
Were there any that did for the 49ers in Week 6? Here are the winners and losers from the Bucs game.
Winners
Kendrick Bourne
Bourne did most of his damage on two plays, but those plays got the 49ers into scoring position—one of those led to the team’s first rushing touchdown of the season.
There was another play where Bourne would have had a first down after making his defender fall on a route, but Mac Jones had already moved on from his progression.
Bourne was the reason for the first interception in this game and also had a penalty and missed blocks in the running game, but the explosive plays in the passing game were enough to make him the top winner.
Tatum Bethune
Bethune had 10 tackles in this game. The next closest player had five. It was the first defensive snap Bethune had taken since Week 1. Four of those were run stops. Bethune is on here because he stepped into an impossible situation. Yes, he gave up 53 yards on two targets. Coverage has never been Bethune’s strong suit, even dating back to his time at Florida State. But he did more than enough against the run, and also pressured Baker Mayfield on one of his pass rushes that resulted in Mayfield throwing an incomplete pass to a wide-open receiver.
Eddy Pineiro
What a find by the 49ers. Or is this how it’s supposed to feel? The kicker takes the field, and there’s zero worry that he’ll miss. Pineiro went 4-for-4, including 2-for-2 from 50+ yards.
Losers
That’ll probably do it for the winners. There were not a lot of positive takeaways on either side of the ball in this one for the 49ers.
Confusion in the secondary
There are a lot of moving parts and different faces this season for the Niners. In this game, Malik Mustapha rotated in. We did not see Jason Pinnock. Ji’Ayir Brown played all 53 snaps. Marques Sigle came off the field when Mustapha was ready.
It was a disaster.
Per Next Gen Stats, Baker Mayfield completed 12 passes to 14 open receivers for 215 yards and two touchdowns. The Niners couldn’t have made it easier on Mayfield, who played the second half without his three starting receivers.
However, those coverage busts weren’t limited to the second half once Emeka Egubka left. There were two on back-to-back plays in the first quarter. The first one happened when neither Upton Stout nor Deommodore Lenoir ran with Egbuka. Baker threw it behind Egbuka for an incompletion.
On the next play, Renardo Green inexplicably ran with the same receiver Stout was defending, leaving Egbuka open over the middle. Bethune’s pass rush was enough to disrupt Baker, but that doesn’t absolve the miscue in the secondary.
The third-quarter touchdown was the result of a rookie safety falling for a veteran quarterback toying with him. There was another play where Bethune needed to peel with the running back, and he didn’t. Lenoir gave up a 34-yarder. Luke Gifford a 23-yarder. You name it, and that player probably made a mistake.
Mac Jones
This game was a perfect representation of who Mac Jones is as a quarterback. When he knows the answers to the test, Jones can thrive in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. But when Jones isn’t comfortable, it’s difficult for him to execute.
Todd Bowles blitzed Jones on 34 percent of his dropbacks, which was right on cue with what Bowles has done this season. Both of Jones’ interceptions came against the blitz. He was also sacked three times and had only two first downs on 13 attempts.
It was painfully obvious how sped up Jones was. In previous games, Jones would hang in the pocket and deliver a strike to the second-level receiver. On Sunday, Jones was more than willing to check the ball down, even if there wasn’t pressure.
It’s not often that a quarterback throws for 347 yards but only has a 20.4 quarterback rating. That’s what happens when you lose 51 yards on six sacks, and most of your yardage came from two plays. Jones looked uncomfortable, unsure, and limited. But it’s not all his fault.
The offensive line
Jones (2.69) and Mayfield (2.68) were nearly identical in the average time they had to throw on Sunday. One quarterback was sacked six times, while the other was sacked only once. In fairness to Mac, he was pressured ten more times than Baker.
It’s been a rough start to the season for second-year pro Dominick Puni. Shanahan acknowledged that his play has slipped:
“I think Dom has played better before in his rookie year. I think it was a big injury coming into this season, which was a huge setback for him and has made things more difficult. I’m sure that hasn’t made things easier for him, but a lot of guys are battling stuff and I’ve got a lot of confidence in Dom. He’s played at a high level for us before, so I expect him to do it again.”
Puni allowed a team-high six pressures. That does not count his work in the running game, either. That’s an area where he and rookie Connor Colby have struggled in ways Shanahan couldn’t imagine. The worst part about it is that both have been consistently on the wrong end of some ugly plays.
Vita Vea bowled over Colby a couple of times. Colby allowed a sack and a quarterback hit. The 49ers are using resources to protect Colton McKivitz, and it’s allowing teams to take advantage of their guards.
Trent Williams gave up two sacks and two other pressures. Christian McCaffrey and Luke Farrell also gave up sacks. Farrell’s stung, as Jauan Jennings was open 20 yards down the field, but that’s what happens when you leave a tight end against a pass rusher. Well, tight ends not named George Kittle.
It’s tough to generate offense when you can’t block, and now your quarterback is affected by that to the point where he’s feeling pressure, even when it’s not there.
Skyy Moore
Moore fielded the second punt from San Francisco’s 2-yard line. The offense gained nine yards and had to punt. The next punt Moore caught was much better. This one was on San Francisco’s 3-yard line. The offense ended up scoring, but that’s not the point.
Why is the returner fielding punts inside the 10-yard line? Let the ball do its thing and bounce. If it takes a funny hop and dies on the spot or skips back toward the field of play, so be it. But the odds of that happening are lottery ticket-esque. It makes zero sense, and the fact that Moore did it twice is a fireable offense.
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