49ers tame Panthers, dominate game to stay undefeated

The San Francisco 49ers absolutely dominated the Carolina Panthers, walking away with a convincing 51-13 victory. Niner Noise recaps the action.

Even though the San Francisco 49ers were 6-0 heading into this game, many pundits thought they would lose to the Carolina Panthers. Our Jeremey Wolfhart, however, did show how the Niners could walk away with a victory, and boy, was he right.

The Niners dominated the Panthers in every facet of the game, running away with a 51-13 victory. And even that score doesn’t tell the entire story.

The Niners started with the ball and went to work. Tight end George Kittle played well early, helping them march down the field and score a red-zone touchdown, courtesy of newly acquired wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.

The Niners’ defense forced a three-and-out but quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo threw an interception on a poorly-timed pass, allowing the Panthers to score a field goal. That was about it for Panthers positives in the first half.

The offense marched down the field again, scoring a touchdown on a Tevin Coleman run. It was a play of beauty, and a sign of things to come.

The defense then did something on defense no team had done before, intercepting Carolina quarterback Kyle Allen. Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley had the interception which led to yet another Coleman touchdown, this one by the air.

The teams traded punts, with the Niners’ defense harassing Kyle Allen, and then Tevin Coleman had yet another touchdown, his third on the day.

The 49ers headed into the half up 27-3.  The start of the third quarter gave the Panthers life, with a safety forced by defensive lineman/linebacker Bruce Irvin and a touchdown plus two-point conversion by running back Christian McCaffrey put the score at 27-13. That was the closest it would get.

Coleman had another touchdown, his fourth on the day, Richard Sherman had an interception and Nick Bosa also had an interception, allowing the 49ers to take complete control of the game.

Key Takeaways

The Niners proved they are a legitimate contender yet again, pressuring Allen into his worst game as a professional. Allen finished with a stat line of 19 for 37 for 158 yards and three interceptions.

The pressure came from various places – Arik Armstead had two sacks, Ronald Blair had a sack, D.J. Jones had a sack, but Nick Bosa, the clear favorite for Defensive Rookie of the Year, had three sacks, three QB hits, and the aforementioned interception, seen right here:

Facing a quick turnaround against the Cardinals, the Niners managed to rest several key starters for most of the fourth quarter. They’ll get Joe Staley back for that bout as well.

The 49ers will hopefully resume their winning ways against the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football this Halloween.