The 49ers put away the Lions 41-33 Week 1 in a game that was simultaneously a blowout and a nail-biter. Niner Noise grades the winning performance.
The San Francisco 49ers first looked like a team trying to get in sync during their 2021 regular-season opener against the Detroit Lions, which happens when the defense has to stop a fourth-down attempt only to get back onto the field immediately following a fumbled snap.
Then the Niners looked like a powerhouse, cruising to a 41-17 lead on the backs of a potent offense. Then they looked lost, giving up 16 points in under two minutes to make what was a blowout a close game they barely eked out.
Which team are they going to be in the future? That much is unclear.
There are a lot of ways to interpret a game like this and a performance that ended up the way it did, and Week 1 is not always indicative of a team’s future prospects. But as we recap Week 1, let’s take a look at how the 49ers position groups did against the Lions in what ultimately turned into an exciting-yet-nerve-wracking 41-33 win for San Francisco.
49ers Quarterbacks
Players: Jimmy Garoppolo, Trey Lance
Grade: B+
For the first time, a quarterbacks grade has to include multiple players. And though Trey Lance got only five snaps total, his touchdown pass is a definite win for the 49ers.
The running plays are less so, but perhaps those were an attempt to set something up in the future.
This game, though, belonged to Jimmy Garoppolo. With a history of starting off slowly in Week 1, as his prior performances with poor interceptions and ill-fated decisions attest to, Garoppolo needed a good game, not only to start the season off on the right note but also give him some confidence following what was functionally a quarterback competition he will eventually lose.
Garoppolo started off in the worst way possible, fumbling a snap from center Alex Mack. But from then, he looked as efficient as he had at his best.
Garoppolo will always have issues with slightly inaccurate ball location that may kill yards-after-catch ability at times, and while those issues flared up in this game, he was able to get the ball where it needed to be the majority of the time. Most importantly, he worked in the pocket efficiently when he had time, he was able to show some semblance of elusiveness when pressure was too much to handle, and he was able to find the correct read and fire capable passes when staring down the barrel of pressure, even if the passes weren’t always the prettiest.
To say Garoppolo played a perfect game would be unfair, given how there are things he still needs to improve upon that showed this game. But he played exceptionally well, and the 49ers will take this level of performance for him every game. That type of effort is absolutely worth a high grade.
49ers Running backs
Players: Raheem Mostert, Elijah Mitchell, JaMycal Hasty
Grade: A+
Raheem Mostert showed tremendous burst on his first two runs, racking up an easy 20 yards on two carries before he injured his knee, unfortunately. For Mostert, another injury is simply heart-breaking, but luckily, it seems to not be season-ending.
For the 49ers, it was equally lucky that their backups came ready to play.
JaMycal Hasty had one carry, which he took for a touchdown, and one target, in which he caught the ball and evaded a would-be tackler to convert a first down on third down. There’s not much more you can ask from his performance.
Kyle Juszczyk, who’ll be included as a back, wasn’t involved in any particularly interesting plays, but as an old-school fullback just opening holes and blocking defenders, he played quite well.
The real star of the show was Elijah Mitchell, who rushed for 105 yards at an easy 5.5 yards per carry clip as well as a touchdown. Mitchell, whose aggressive north-south running style coupled with speed and power, led me to believe he’d be the unsung hero of the 49ers season, was extremely effective, and his ability to break tackles made him significantly more valuable. It was a constant sight to see Mitchell fall forward for a couple of extra yards, a skill that endears a running back to any team.
The 49ers have a deep stable of backs, and they filled their roles to a tee in this game. Fantastic showing by this position group.
49ers Wide Receivers
Players: Deebo Samuel, Trent Sherfield, Mohammad Sanu, Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings
Grade: A-
The 49ers receivers dealt with no major drops, and the only minor drop they had was on a pass behind Deebo Samuel in tight coverage on third down. Should he have caught that? Probably. Could it have been a better ball? Absolutely. For a team absolutely struggling with grabbing the football, that was perhaps the biggest benefit of the game.
Beyond that, the Niners wide receivers played an exceptionally strong game. The 300 yards plus in the air for Jimmy Garoppolo happened in large part because the receivers were able to catch and run with the football, and even when they lost momentum, they made several positive plays.
The biggest standout was Samuel, who finished with 189 yards on nine receptions, most of which coming from a big 79-yard touchdown grab. For a player whose ability down the field had been questioned and not showcased, it was a great performance. Both Trent Sherfield and Mohammad Sanu hauled in their targets with strong hands, with Sherfield scoring a touchdown from Trey Lance. Jauan Jennings didn’t get any passing love, but his blocking was a key part of Elijah Mitchell’s touchdown run.
The two biggest issues for this game for the receivers were Brandon Aiyuk and Samuel’s fumble with under two minutes to go in the game. Samuel’s fumble was inexcusable; it was a fantastic play by Garoppolo to find him the ball in space, and Deebo had gained the first down, but he simply forgot to keep the ball secured. Aiyuk didn’t receive a target in the game; Coach Shanahan said it was the result of the team managing Aiyuk’s hamstring. However, given that Aiyuk did run routes and received a punt, it seems to have also been a message to a second-year receiver that Kyle Shanahan wanted to light a fire under. His comments (h/t NBC Sports) seemed to indicate Sherfield had earned a chance to be one of the two starting receivers, and while it’s not clear how Aiyuk’s future involvement will change, it’s something to keep an eye out.
For the 49ers, though, their receivers were a key part of their offensive explosion.
49ers Tight Ends
Players: George Kittle, Ross Dwelley, Charlie Woerner
Grades: A-
These grades won’t talk about how these players performed on special teams; that’ll be discussed later on. And if George Kittle‘s onside snafu is removed from this position grade, the tight end position looks much more favorable.
As the primary weapon for the 49ers, Kittle always gets a ton of attention. But on five targets, he caught four passes for 78 yards, showcasing his ability in space to get extra yards. The biggest performance for the tight ends was in the run game, where the tight ends were blocking spectacularly. Kittle missed a blitz assignment (another rare occurrence from him), but his blocking on Mitchell’s touchdown run was insane.
The tight ends played a large role in Sunday’s outcome.
49ers Offensive Line
Players: Trent Williams, Laken Tomlinson, Alex Mack, Daniel Brunskill, Mike McGlinchey
Grade: A
The offensive line played the game on their terms, and the only sack Jimmy Garoppolo endured was off a blitz that George Kittle didn’t pick up. When the running game runs at a 4.7 yards per carry clip, including six runs for 4 yards by the quarterbacks, that means the offensive line was able to maul and push defensive players back.
When the quarterback ends the game with only three hits, that means the offensive line by and large managed to take care of pressure.
Garoppolo was hassled at times, although it usually came off an overload blitz, but the offensive line played incredibly well. The Lions don’t exactly strike fear into offensive lines, but the Niners took care of the line of scrimmage up until the very end of the game when momentum had swung and the offense was extremely one-dimensional.
Good game for the big guys up front.
49ers Defensive line
Players: Dee Ford, Samson Ebukam, Nick Bosa, Arden Key, Zach Kerr, D.J. Jones, Kevin Givens, Kentavius Street, Arik Armstead
Grade: C-
The defensive line’s performance was one of considerable ups and downs, much like the game overall. Without Javon Kinlaw, the interior lacked the freakish power that manages to swallow up and control run games. With a wide-9 defensive front especially vulnerable to runs up the middle, early runs have to be a committed effort on the defensive line in order to make the game be played on the defense’s terms.
The interior DL was… not successful in that regard.
Gut runs gashed the 49ers repeatedly, creating offensive flow where none should have been. It was disappointing to see a team whose offensive line should not have handled the Niners as well as they did simply maul up the middle.
The edge, however, was a different conversation entirely. Nick Bosa did not have the success many assumed he would against rookie tackle Penei Sewell, perhaps because Sewell moved back to his natural position of left tackle, but Bosa was disruptive as always and managed to rack up his first sack on the way to three tackles for loss and two quarterback hits. The pressures were equally amazing. Dee Ford had an explosive return, finished with several pressures, a sack, a pressure that led to an interception, and just overall a strong day of football. Samson Ebukam had himself a near forced fumble when he almost broke up an end-around, and it was his pressure that sealed the game for the 49ers.
Next Gen stats indicated the average separation from QB for defensive linemen (an indication of their pressuring ability and pass-rush wins) and the top four 49er pass-rushers were all better than or at the league average.
However, there was a lack of contain on naked bootlegs or Jared Goff scrambles that will only amplify with the more mobile quarterbacks the 49ers will face, and near the end of the game, the pass rush simply couldn’t get home because they were flat-out exhausted.
There was good here, but with the run defense being what it was, and the pass-rush missing a few times, much to improve for San Francisco.
49ers Linebackers
Players: Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, Azeez Al-Shaair, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, Marcell Harris
Grade: A
It’s hard to grade linebackers from the naked eye or box scores simply because volume tackling is not always a sign of a good linebacker; it’s the sign of a linebacker who is near the end of the play, for better or for worse. But today, it was apparently clear that the 49ers best position group during the game was the linebacking corp.
Fred Warner was his usual solid self, racking up tackling and generally playing strong coverage. It seemed at times he wasn’t being leveraged as best as possible given his unique talents, but he certainly played well.
Dre Greenlaw continues to fascinate as he always seems to break late into coverage but manages to wrap up tackles securely. Today though, his tackling was as solid as ever and he tracked a bad Jared Goff throw into a pick-six, a crucial play as it seems in hindsight. Greenlaw had a lot of potential and a lot of growth left, but before he got hurt, he seemed to be playing very well.
The SAM (strongside) linebacker who eventually took over Greenlaw’s spot, Azeez Al-Shaair, was phenomenal. He was aggressive against the run, broke quickly and effectively in coverage, and his instincts flashed all over the field. It may not be a stretch to say at times he was playing the best of any player on the field.
Overall, a strong day for the linebackers. All they’ll want next time is to have their performance spill over to the defense as a whole.
49ers Secondary
Players: Jason Verrett, Deommodore Lenoir, Ambry Thomas, Dontae Johnson, Kwaun Williams, Jaquiski Tartt, Jimmie Ward, Talanoa Hufanga, Tavon Wilson
Grade: D-
The player who had the best game in the secondary was fifth-round rookie Deommodore Lenoir, who in 55 coverage snaps, gave up one catch for 3 yards and one pass interference on four targets. This performance was including when he played opposite Jason Verrett and would theoretically be the weak link on the field.
The major storyline from the secondary, though, was the unfortunate and heartbreaking injury to Verrett, who has likely suffered a torn ACL, another setback in what has been a long and arduous journey back to playing at an elite level. His play before the injury was quality as always, and his leaving the field was a massive deflator for the 49ers.
Verrett’s injury is terrible for many reasons, but one that particularly impacts the Niners is just how suspect the cornerback depth behind him was. This was shown during the game against the Lions. Ambry Thomas, the rookie third-round pick, did not look good in his snaps. He got beat consistently, and he was largely ineffective. The only reason people are not talking more about him is that the man opposite him, Dontae Johnson, may have single-handedly been the reason the Lions managed to get back in the game.
The second the Lions got the ball back and Verrett was gone, they picked on Johnson up and down the field. It was ugly to see, and it fueled their furious late-game comeback. As a sixth cornerback necessary in the utmost emergency, Johnson is serviceable at best, but this was a reminder of how barren the cornerback depth can be for the 49ers when he had to play meaningful minutes.
The safeties were unfortunately not much better. Jimmie Ward made several tackles in the open field, but he missed a big one to allow a touchdown to D’Andre Swift. Jaquiski Tartt wasn’t able to handle Lions tight end T.J. Hockenson, a surprise given his coverage ability usually.
The backups in the secondary were not much better.
Overall, it was a disappointing affair for the 49ers’ back end, but the hope is that many of the main culprits correct themselves or don’t end up on the field. But there are deep issues here the Niners need to address or scheme around.
49ers Special teams and coaching
Special Teams: D-
Mitch Wishnowsky in his two punts pinned the Lions inside the 20 both times. Taybor Pepper didn’t have a bad snap. That’s about it for the positives for the special teams units.
Brandon Aiyuk was back to return punts, and he didn’t provide much, if any, of a spark. Robbie Gould missed a 52-yard field goal pretty clearly; 50-plus kicks aren’t guarantees but for a kicker who counts as much as he does against the cap, there needs to be more. And of course, George Kittle had a onside kick hit his facemask and couldn’t recover it, that’s a big issue right there.
Are some of those things temporary aberrations? Probably. But special teams continue to be an issue for the 49ers, and until they gain more value from the third phase of the game, they’ll continue to handcuff themselves in big games.
Coaching: D+
Kyle Shanahan called a rather vanilla offense against the Lions, but it worked extremely well. Players were running wide open against the Lions, and until the very end, runs were gashing them for chunk plays.
The defense on the other hand was more of a mixed bag. DeMeco Ryans called some smart blitzes and stunts to get his rushers free and get pressure on Jared Goff, but by and large, the defense was gashed by simple football that it did not adjust to. Ryans called his first-ever game; there’s no need to panic just yet. But schematically there were some holes, and off an initial glance, it looked like his best players (Fred Warner especially) weren’t always in the best position to leverage their unique talents.
The elephant in the room for this game is Shanahan leaving his starters out, Verrett getting injured, and then Shanahan taking his starters out only for the Lions to mount such a furious comeback the starters needed to come back in.
The unfortunate reality is that injuries are a part of football. Should Shanahan have attempted to protect his most injury-prone player (Verrett)? Perhaps. I would personally lean towards yes. But there was a clear correlation between the starters leaving and the Lions attacking with more focus and energy. Most of the time, the onside snafu and fumble don’t happen, and the starters aren’t rushed back. But it did this time, and the 49ers almost lost because of it. That’s squarely on the coaches for letting their teams let up.
The 49ers will await injury news and prepare for the Philadelphia Eagles, who eviscerated the Falcons with a potent rushing attack and a strong pass-rush. We’ll see how this team responds next week.