Niner Noise
FanSided

49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo among the bad in Week 2 win vs. Lions

By Peter Panacy

Devon Kennard #42 of the Detroit Lions puts pressure quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Devon Kennard #42 of the Detroit Lions puts pressure quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
SANTA CLARA, CA – SEPTEMBER 16: Marvin Jones #11 of the Detroit Lions catches a touchdown pass over Ahkello Witherspoon #23 of the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter of their NFL football game at Levi’s Stadium on September 16, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. The 49ers won the game 30-27. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA – SEPTEMBER 16: Marvin Jones #11 of the Detroit Lions catches a touchdown pass over Ahkello Witherspoon #23 of the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter of their NFL football game at Levi’s Stadium on September 16, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. The 49ers won the game 30-27. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

The Bad from Week 2

Remember Richard Sherman’s comment of the game feeling more like a loss than a win?

Well, that usually means the bad outweighs the good. And in this case, it could easily. After all, the Lions outgained the 49ers 427 yards to 346 and had a 7-of-16 mark on third downs, whereas the Niners went 3-of-11.

Perhaps San Francisco won in spite of its own efforts, not exactly because of them.

Linebacker Elijah Lee

Backup linebacker Elijah Lee got the start alongside the rookie, Fred Warner, with both Reuben Foster (suspension) and Malcolm Smith (hamstring) out. And while his 12-tackle, one-sack performance looked good on the stat sheet, the numerous missed tackles and assignments is more than problematic.

San Francisco has missed Foster in both weeks this season, and the team can’t wait to put Foster back in the starting lineup and relegate Lee back to his backup role.

Cornerbacks Ahkello Witherspoon, K’Waun Williams

Sherman shut down his side of the field, which is a great thing for the Niners this season. But it also puts more pressure on fellow corners Ahkello Witherspoon and K’Waun Williams to make plays.

Matt Stafford targeted both Witherspoon and Williams regularly throughout the contest. And he would have beaten both corners multiple occasions had he not overthrown his intended targets.

Witherspoon, only in his second year, is developing as a pro. So the maturation pains are going to be there. And Williams struggled with the 49ers this time a year ago before finishing strong in 2017.

Let’s hope that’s the case in 2018.

Kyle Shanahan’s Fourth-Quarter Play Calling

The Niners had a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter. They won by three.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan’s fourth-quarter play-calling decisions were a bit interesting, to say the least, and they included a trick play by Jimmy Garoppolo and Co. that was nearly botched and almost led to a turnover.

That, and two pass plays, prevented the clock from running down and allowed the Lions to get back-to-back touchdown drives.

And this, from Niner Noise’s Chris Wilson:

Yeah, something Shanahan and Co. need to fix the next time they hold a comfortable lead in the fourth quarter.