Dominant 49ers defense easily handles Panthers in Week 5 win

The 49ers offense might have remained a bit sluggish in Week 5 against the Panthers, but the defense had little trouble putting the clamp down on Sunday.

The San Francisco 49ers were already shorthanded on their defensive line entering their Week 5 road contest against the Carolina Panthers, missing starting defensive tackles Javon Kinlaw and Arik Armstead, who were both ruled out with injuries.

Early, safety Jimmie Ward left the game with a hand injury after just being activated off injured reserve. Then, in the third quarter, the Niners were forced to watch the NFL leader in sacks, EDGE Nick Bosa, depart the game with a groin injury, ending his four-game sack streak and putting a bit of a damper on San Francisco’s defensive efforts against a struggling Carolina offense.

About those efforts, though.

The Panthers entered the game with the NFL’s fewest yards gained. And while quarterback Baker Mayfield and running back Christian McCaffrey were able to extend a number of drives, including one at the beginning of the third frame, the 49ers proved they had more than enough depth to make up for the absences of Armstead, Kinlaw and Bosa.

And one of the standouts from the Niners was a player who has often gone overlooked amid the plethora of other defensive standouts on their roster, cornerback Emmanuel Moseley.

49ers’ defensive tone vs. Panthers set by Emmanuel Moseley pick-6

Carolina had a chance to offensively “lap” San Francisco on both sides of halftime, driving at the end of the second quarter and poised to receive the second-half kickoff.

Facing a 10-3 deficit, Mayfield pump-faked but tossed an ill-advised pass right into the hands of Moseley. And while the interception was a gift, the cornerback dodging Panthers players into the end zone for a 41-yard pick-six was something else:

While the 49ers defense was playing well enough up to that point, Moseley’s score helped ensure Carolina would have too big an obstacle to overcome. And another solid pass breakup in the fourth quarter goes onto his stat sheet, too, except his suffering what appeared to be an ankle injury will be something head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad will have to monitor.

In total, the Niners gave up over 300 yards to the Panthers but forced them to only 64 yards rushing, a 3-of-15 mark on third down while also sacking Mayfield four times (six sacks today after Mayfield departed late) despite being without Bosa for nearly half the game.

49ers offense remains efficient enough with Jimmy Garoppolo

San Francisco managed to easily outgain Carolina by mustering 397 yards in Week 5, but it didn’t always come easy.

Tight end George Kittle, so absent from the 49ers’ pass-catching plans the last two weeks, fumbled early, while quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was sacked two times and pressured plenty more.

Granted, unlike their offense, the Panthers defense is notably better and ranks in the middle of the pack in most significant statistical categories. So, it wasn’t anything of a gimmie for the Niners on offense.

However, Garoppolo took advantage of the team-high 58 yards by No. 2 wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk while not forgetting about San Francisco’s best weapon, wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who had his first pass-catching touchdown of the season:

And it was also fun watching an old friend, veteran running back Tevin Coleman, come back like it was 2019 and record a 9-yard receiving touchdown and a 5-yard rushing score, too.

Although starting running back Jeff Wilson Jr.’s 120-yard game with a touchdown overshadowed Coleman’s return.

Garoppolo, meanwhile, continued an effective performance not unlike what he did during his Week 4 bounce-back effort against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football. In total, he went 18-of-30 for 253 yards, two touchdowns against zero interceptions for a 109.4 passer rating.

The 49ers can win easily against inferior opponents when Garoppolo simply manages the offense well enough, and he did just that.

The Niners now have their first win streak of the season and boast a 3-2 record with another East Coast road game on the horizon, Week 6 against the Atlanta Falcons.