“Players, not plays.” That’s a phrase you’ll hear often in the football space. For the San Francisco 49ers, Kyle Shanahan and Robert Saleh can come up with all of the complex and creative schemes imaginable, but the players not only have to execute, but they also need to win.
The 49ers will need more from everybody during the final month of the season, and that includes Shanahan and Saleh. Today, we’ll go over one player on each side of the ball who needs to show up in a major way. Let’s start on offense, with the first-round pick from a season ago.
A post-bye breakout for Ricky Pearsall?
Pearsall came out on fire to start the season. He was the focal point of the passing game, with 327 yards on 29 targets, and an EPA of +20. But in the three games since returning from injury, Pearsall has only nine targets for 20 yards, with a -11 EPA.
The 49ers are 3-0 during that stretch, with George Kittle and Jauan Jennings receiving the majority of targets. It’s also worth noting that neither of those games was competitive. That will not be the case, Week 15 aside, for the 49ers moving forward. Did the 49ers use the last three games to allow Pearsall to knock off the rust? Will we see September Ricky out of the bye week?
The lack of targets might be frustrating for fans. Pearsall played well against Arizona and Carolina, but ran into a No. 1 cornerback in Denzel Ward in Week 13. Still, the sample size from 2025 suggests Pearsall is not struggling to separate. PFF has a raw separation grade, and Pearsall ranks No. 9 in the NFL, at least through 13 weeks. That matches the eye test, as Pearsall is consistently open. Many conflate the lack of production as a reason that Pearsall isn’t getting open. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
Sauce Gardner has a “realistic opportunity” to return to the Indianapolis Colts in time for their matchup on December 22 against the 49ers. They also have Charvarius Ward. Jaylon Johnson on the Bears. Devon Witherspoon on the Seahawks.
Those are all high-quality cornerbacks. There will be a point during the next month when the 49ers need their first-round pick to produce. That doesn’t mean Pearsall needs to have a stat line of 10/150/3. But it’s unlikely they’ll be able to get away with winning down the stretch if Pearsall only has 20 yards during the next three games, the same way he did during the previous three.
Since Week 11, Brock Purdy is 2-for-7 on 20+ yard throws. The 49ers not being able to generate explosive plays in the passing game has lowered the ceiling of the offense. Pearsall is the type of player to change that.
It’s time for Alfred Collins to come to life
The safety play seems to be stabilized. The cornerbacks have been competent all season. The linebackers are getting a boost with the addition of Eric Kendricks. Getting Yetur Gross-Matos back will add juice to the interior pass rush. Bryce Huff has been ol’ reliable, while Sam Okuayinonu, Clelin Ferrell, and Keion White give the Niners enough bodies up front to compete.
It’s time for one of the rookies to flip the switch. Alfred Collins and CJ West have given the 49ers exactly what they needed from a run defense standpoint.
In Collins’ case, the team needs even more. The plays where he’s working down the line of scrimmage and forcing the running back to redirect into somebody need to turn into tackles for loss — something Collins has yet to do this season. The last time Collins hit the quarterback was before Halloween.
Collins will have plenty of opportunities to make plays. He played 60 percent of the snaps against Cleveland in Week 13. He registered one stop against the Browns, but that same Texans game was also the last time Collins had a stop.
A man of Collins’ stature will be needed against Jonathan Taylor, a Ben Johnson offense, and a Seahawks offense that’s 20th in passing attempts. Collins can be the reason why Gross-Matos and Huff get to see the field on obvious passing downs.
He’s the second-round pick who flashed. Fair or not, the flashes from the Niners’ top 50 pick could go a long way if they start to turn into production.
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