Winners, losers from 49ers Week 14 overtime win vs. Bengals
By Peter Panacy
49ers Loser: Right Tackle Tom Compton… sort of
Perhaps we’re starting to see why Kyle Shanahan has elected to start Tom Compton at right tackle in the wake of Mike McGlinchey’s season-ending quad injury instead of the rookie, Jaylon Moore.
Compton falls into the loser category primarily because of the 49ers surrendering five sacks on Jimmy Garoppolo, three of which involved Compton getting beat or not picking up his assignment correctly.
And, as far as pass protection goes, Compton isn’t it.
In fairness, though, Compton was pretty excellent in run support and played a major role in Deebo Samuel’s 27-yard end-around rushing touchdown in the second quarter, so The Athletic’s Matt Barrows’ tweet about Compton has to be pretty accurate:
Tom Compton's had a role in the last three sacks.
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) December 13, 2021
Run blocker: good
Pass blocker: terrible
Still, the final verdict for Compton being on the loser list is just how bad he’s looked on those sacks, and he’s unfortunately been part of a lot of them this season ever since he’s been forced to start.
And the long-term losing prognosis has to center around the need to find an upgrade at swing tackle over him.