The San Francisco 49ers pulled off a 27-17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1 of the preseason. Niner Noise breaks down all that was good, bad and ugly from the game.
NFL preseason games don’t exactly mean a lot, but the San Francisco 49ers are 1-0 under head coach Kyle Shanahan in exhibition bouts after dropping the Kansas City Chiefs 27-17 on August 11.
It was a sloppy game for the Niners, whose multiple penalties must have reminded fans of years prior when these issues plagued San Francisco on a regular basis.
There were other issues too, and those are expected.
Yet there were a number of positives. The 49ers run defense, so terrible last season, showed some promise. San Francisco’s two first-round draft picks, Solomon Thomas and Reuben Foster, both saw action and made impacts.
And the Niners even got some production out of players many are looking at as sleepers for the 53-man roster.
In this slideshow, we’ll take a look at all that went down from San Francisco’s vantage point. There was some good, some bad and a good deal of ugly from this first week of preseason action.
The Good
Again, it’s preseason. So take all of these bits of analysis with a grain of salt.
Remember how putrid the 49ers run defense was a year ago? Well, not so much of a problem in this particular contest.
The Chiefs managed just 31 total rushing yards over the course of the game — averaging only 2.2 yards per attempt. San Francisco’s depth even managed to keep Kansas City’s ground attack in check late in the game. It seems as if defensive coordinator Robert Saleh’s abilities to stop the run are working, for now.
And if players like EDGE Aaron Lynch can replicate their pass-rushing efforts — two sacks and one pass batted down — things should be good on this side of the ball.
DE Solomon Thomas
One of the reasons the 49ers run defense worked so well was rookie defensive end Solomon Thomas, who remained in the game deep into the fourth quarter.
Thomas was highly effective against the run, but there were some key plays in the pass rush too.
Like this one, which resulted in a sack for Lynch:
The rookie missed a lot of offseason activities, so it makes sense the Niners would play him a lot to make up the difference.
As of now, he’s trending in the right direction.
Running Backs Joe Williams & Matt Breida
Carlos Hyde got reps with the first-team unit, but backup running backs Joe Williams and Matt Breida each made notable contributions.
While Raheem Mostert led all runners with 89 rushing yards, Williams and Breida had 60 and 40 yards, respectively. And each broke off some big carries.
Williams’ speed was something to watch, and you can catch a glimpse of it here:
And while Breida had a fumble, the rookie also made some strong contributions as a candidate to make the back end of the 53-man roster.
Wide Receivers Kendrick Bourne & Aldrick Robinson
The 49ers have plenty of questions at wide receiver, although it’s a sure bet Aldrick Robinson makes the 53-man roster.
Robinson, who worked under head coach Kyle Shanahan with the Atlanta Falcons, hauled in two catches for 83 yards over the game and could wind up being a true X-factor for San Francisco.
Not to be outdone, Kendrick Bourne led all Niners receivers with four receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown. Bourne is on the fringes of the roster, and the 49ers might have a tough decision whether or not to keep him around.
Quarterback C.J. Beathard
He made plenty of mistakes and looked raw, but rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard showed why he’s in the discussion for San Francisco’s No. 2 spot on the depth chart.
Beathard tossed two touchdowns en route to a 133.0 passer rating — not bad for a mid-round draft pick playing against his first NFL competition not wearing the same uniforms.
On this particular play in the fourth quarter, Beathard does an excellent job sensing the pass rush and moving up in the pocket, delivering a pass to Bourne for a key touchdown:
.@49ers rookie QB C.J. Beathard tosses a 46-yard TD and this game is tied!#SFvsKC https://t.co/vQPEFvSyG8
— NFL (@NFL) August 12, 2017
Beathard has a long way to go, but there are some signs worth monitoring.
The Bad
Despite the win, the 49ers can’t feel overly good about everything that happened over the course of the game.
San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco’s first-team unit appeared completely outmatched by a mix of Kansas City starters and second teamers. On multiple occasions, the Chiefs targeted — with success — second-year cornerback Rashard Robinson.
Robinson needs to jam receivers at the line of scrimmage, and not doing so led to some key gains for the Chiefs early.
Fortunately, Robinson bounced back with a key interception late in the first quarter.
49ers Cornerbacks
Robinson’s early issues might be something to watch, as the Niners are hoping he turns into a true No. 1 corner.
Rookie corner Ahkello Witherspoon flashed some promise against the run, but he also displayed how raw he is in coverage. The same shouldn’t be said of cornerback Keith Reaser who, according to SFGate.com’s Kevin Lynch, flashed some moments.
But there were still a number of coverage gaffes, which could be a problem with a Niners team running a lot of one-on-one coverage this season.
Quarterback Brian Hoyer
Veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer doesn’t have to worry about losing his starting job, although he was less than stellar in his limited action early in the game.
Hoyer was 1-of-4 for just three yards and a passer rating of only 39.6.
Again, only preseason. But Hoyer was going up against a sizable chunk of NFL starting-caliber players and working with his own first-team unit.
We’ll see if this trend continues, but it’s not exactly the best start.
49ers Red-Zone Offense
San Francisco had multiple attempts to punch the ball into the end zone early in the second quarter — a red-zone appearance set up by a promising run by running back Matt Breida.
Yet the Chiefs stuffed Breida at the 1-yard line and forced a field-goal attempt, only to see the Niners get a new set of downs after Kansas City committed a penalty on the try.
Still, the 49ers couldn’t manage to get into the end zone on three subsequent attempts, settling instead for a field goal.
Overall, the Niners finished 1-of-3 within the red zone. It’s not a great line, for sure, and it’s something a likely offensively challenged San Francisco team will face this season.
The Ugly
Despite the outcome, the Niners played in one of the uglier games seen around the NFL this preseason.
Two aspects from this effort stand out — penalties and the offensive line.
Penalties
Preseason games are typically raw and rough, so it shouldn’t be too much a surprise to see teams committing a lot of penalties early on.
Especially as fringe players battle to make the 53-man roster.
Yet a total of 17 accepted penalties for 131 yards is bad. There’s no other way around it. And the Niners could have generated two touchdowns, had it not been for some of those flags.
Kyle Shanahan coming off the field mentioned penalties being something that they want to clean up after 2 TDs were nullified. #49ers
— 49ers Webzone (@49erswebzone) August 12, 2017
It’s likely the 49ers will clean some of that up between now and the regular season, but it’s an early issue that revealed itself during a crucial phase in this team’s rebuild.
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The Offensive Line
The 49ers elected to go with center Daniel Kilgore over Jeremy Zuttah, who was released by San Francisco earlier this week.
Kilgore had something of a makeshift offensive line around him — a theme that persisted throughout the game, as the Niners attempted to give reps to multiple players at various positions.
Still, the O-line was a major issue for the 49ers.
Kansas City managed just three sacks during the game but did have seven quarterback hits. Even more frustrating, a sizable chunk of the Niners’ inside running plays were blown up at the line of scrimmage.
Losing second-year guard Joshua Garnett (knee) for the foreseeable future doesn’t help. Yet the 49ers will have to make their adjustments and hope whatever unit holds up well enough.
Although it wouldn’t be a surprise to see general manager John Lynch bring in some reinforcements here when NFL cuts are made just before the regular season.
Next: 5 biggest storylines for the 49ers this preseason
But the Niners are off to a good start, and at least there are some pieces in place to be excited about this upcoming season.