49ers fall to 4-6 on the year after 27-13 loss to the Saints in New Orleans

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) watches the action in the second half against the San Francisco 49ers at the Superdome in New Orleans on Sun Nov 15, 2020 (AP News photo)

By Joe Hawkes
Staff Writer

NEW ORLEANS, LA — Already dealing with a depleted roster, the 49ers needed to play near perfect against the Saints if they expected to leave the Crescent City with a win. San Francisco had their share of chances, but couldn’t overcome four turnovers as the Saints take down the 49ers with a 27-13 victory in front of approximately 6,000 fans inside the Mercedes Superdome on Sunday afternoon.

New Orleans (7-2) have now won six-straight games and send the 49ers to their third-straight loss this season. Its the first three-game losing streak for San Francisco since 2018.

The injury-laden 49ers (4-6) head into a much-needed bye week where they will try to regroup for the final six games of their season. San Francisco has little wiggle room if it expects to make the playoffs after playing the Super Bowl a season ago.

San Francisco’s next game will be at the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 29 in what will be a must-win game for the 49ers. They’ve already taken the first matchup against the Rams, 26-14, back on Oct. 26 at Levi’s Stadium.

Nick Mullens, who was making his second-straight start and fourth of the year in place of regular starter Jimmy Garoppolo, started off the 49ers’ first possession sizzling, completing 6 of 7 passes for 47 yards and converting a couple of third downs on a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive.

Mullens connected with rookie wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk on a 4-yard touchdown pass to cap off a drive that lasted 7 minutes, 17 seconds giving San Francisco an early 7-0 lead.

Aiyuk finished with seven catches for 75 yards and one touchdown while being targeted a team-high 14 times.

Mullens completed 24 of 38 passes for 247 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He was briefly removed from the game in favor of C.J. Beathard in the fourth quartere on a third-and-21 play because of Beathard’s stronger arm. Beathard underthrew the ball deep to wide receiver Richie James.

Mullens would return to the field on the next series.

San Francisco dominated New Orleans the first half, gaining more total yards (166 to 90) and first downs 13 to 6). The 49ers ran 40 offensive plays to the Saints’ 21 while controlling the time of possession (22 minutes to 8 minutes).

After jumping out to a 10-0 lead following a 32-yard field goal by kicker Robbie Gould early in the second quarter, special teams made some costly mistakes.

They gave up a 75-yard kickoff return to Deonte Harris to setup a field goal for the Saints that cut the lead to 10-3.

Later in the quarter, 49ers special-teamer Ken Webster found himself too close to a punt that Trent Taylor let land. The ball hit Webster in the face mask and the Saints recovered at the 49ers’ own 21-yard line.

Two plays later, the 49ers defense made a big play when defensive tackle Kentavius Street sacked Saints quarterback Drew Brees for an 8-yard loss. Brees was hurt on the play. Street’s first career sack was nullified by a questionable roughing the passer penalty after Street landed on Brees. Replays appear to show that Street turned his body to the side to avoid landing on Brees with his full body weight.

Backup quarterback Jameis Winston replaced Brees in the second half. Brees was ruled out of the game with a rib injury. He finished 8 of 13 for 76 yards and one touchdown.

That penalty appeared to be crucial as it led to a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Alvin Kamara three plays later that tied the game at 10-10.

New Orleans would add another touchdown before the end of the first half and take a 17-10 lead into the locker room at halftime after running back Jerick McKinnon was stopped for a 2-yard loss on fourth-and-1 from the New Orleans 41-yard line. Kamara scored his second touchdown in the first half on a 3-yard pass from Brees.

It was a calamity of errors for the 49ers in the game, but the 49ers had opportunities to pull out the upset on the road. Safety Jimmie Ward dropped a potential interception inside the Saints’ territory, but the muffed punt by wide receiver Richie James in the fourth quarter was the back breaker for San Francisco.

Kamara’s third score of the game (a 1-yard run) gave the Saints a commanding 27-10 lead with 7:29 left in the game. The Saints do-it-all running back finished with seven catches for 83 yards and a touchdown, while running for 15 yards on 8 carries and two touchdowns.

The 49ers would add a 40-yard field goal to cut the Saints’ lead to 27-13, but too little too late.

San Francisco’s inability to run the football was clearly evident from the Saints closing up any and all running lanes. The aforementioned McKinnon rushed for 33 yards on 18 carries. Rookie running back JaMychal Hasty rushed for 13 yards on 3 carries, but injured his clavicle on a tackle by Saints linebacker Demario Davis.

Rookie defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw had his best game of his career, registering 1.5 of San Francisco’s three sacks. Despite the final outcome, the 49ers defense played well holding the Saints to 237 total yards and 2 of 12 on third down.

49ers hold off Jets with 31-13 victory, but are decimated by injuries

By Joe Hawkes
Staff Writer

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Running back Raheem Mostert got the 49ers off to a promising start on the day, running for a 80-yard touchdown on the game’s first play from scrimmage and Jimmy Garoppolo tossed a pair of TDs — before the two of them sat out the second half with injuries — as San Francisco picked up their first win of the season holding off the New York Jets, 31-13, at MetLife Stadium as the team was gutted by a rash of injuries on Sunday afternoon.

Facing injury issues entering the game with tight end George Kittle (knee) not making the trip, defensive end Dee Ford (neck) ruled out and cornerback Richard Sherman (calf) and wide receiver Deebo Samuel (foot) both on short-term injured reserve, San Francisco (1-1) lost Garopplo to an ankle injury and Mostert to an injured knee in the first half. Both players left the field shortly before halftime.

Mostert suffered a mild sprain to his medial collateral ligament (MCL), and Garoppolo suffered a high ankle sprain that will likely keep him out of action for a few weeks. According to NBC Sports 49ers Insider Matt Maiocco, Garoppolo isn’t expected to be available for Week 3’s game against the New York Giants at the same venue.

Garoppolo sustained the injury in the first quarter after a sack by defensive tackle Quinnen Williams after his leg got caught in the turf. On the sideline, you could see that Garoppolo was in obvious pain.

Mostert had eight carries for 92 yards and a touchdown before he was injured. His 80-yard TD run on the game’s first play hit a max speed of 23.09 MPH, which is the fastest max speed for a ball carrier on a play from scrimmage over the last five seasons according to Next Gen Stats.

The more serious injuries came along the defensive line, where defensive end Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas were carted off the field after apparent knee injuries that the team “fears” are torn anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL).

With a little more than five minutes left in the first quarter, Bosa was engaged with Jets tight end Trevon Vesco on a running play and his left leg buckled as he attempted to get off the block and tackle running back Frank Gore.

Bosa tried to sit up as a busy 49ers medical personnel came out to check on him. A cart came on to the field and carried Bosa to the locker room. The team would rule out last season’s NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year early in the second quarter.

A few plays later, the 49ers suffered another huge blow to its defense when defensive tackle Solomon Thomas injured his knee. He too was carted off the field and rushed to the locker room. San Francisco ruled him out for the second half.

Even with the team’s injury situation reaching at a critical state, the team didn’t panic against the woeful Jets (0-2).

After the Jets trimmed San Francisco’s lead to 7-3 behind a Sam Ficken 41-yard field goal, a noticeably limping Garoppolo drove the 49ers to another TD, hitting the aforementioned Reed on an 18-yard hookup that put San Francisco up 14-3. Reed’s first score with the 49ers capped off a 14-play, 67-yard drive in 8:44, where Reed leaped over a diving Marcus Maye to get into the end zone.

San Francisco’s defense thwarted a promising Jets’ possession, stopping the Jets on fourth-and-1 from the 49ers’ 20-yard line with linebacker Fred Warner and company stuffed running back Josh Adams for no gain.

Garoppolo would take San Francisco down the field again, capping off a 13-play, 80-yard drive in 3:30 with a 4-yard toss to Reed to put the 49ers up comfortable, 21-3, with 11 seconds in the second quarter. The drive continued after Jets defensive end Henry Anderson was called for a roughing-the-passer penalty where it appeared that the Jets stopped San Francisco on third-and-8.

Garoppolo completed 14-of-16 passes for 131 yards and the two TDs in the first half before backup Nick Mullens took over in the second half.

Mullens, who doesn’t take any first-team reps in practice during the week, looked shell-shocked on his first drive. But running back Jerick McKinnon had a 55-yard run on third-and-31 at the San Francisco 11-yard line. The run would setup a 46-yard field goal by kicker Robbie Gould that gave the 49ers a 24-3 lead in the third quarter.

Per the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time a team converted a third down on that long of a run was Minnesota in 1999 when running back Leroy Hoard rushed for 53 yards on third-and-37 against the Denver Broncos.

Mullens finished 8-for-11 for 71 yards and an interception where the pass bounced off the hands of running back Tevin Coleman that the Jets took back to the San Francisco 22-yard line, but the Jets settled for a 25-yard field goal by Ficken to make the score 24-6.

McKinnon scored his second TD of the season on a 16-yard rush in the fourth quarter that gave San Francisco a 31-6 lead. McKinnon finished with 77 yards on three carries and a TD.

After a horrendous showing on third- and fourth-down last week against the Arizona Cardinals where they only converted 2-of-13 attempts in a 24-20 loss in Week 1, the 49ers went 7-of-13 on third down against the Jets in Week 2. It was a better showing by the 49ers offense that racked up 359 yards of total offense and led in time of possession (32:13 to 27:47) this week against a poor Jets defense.

Even with all of the injuries suffered to its defense in the game, San Francisco limited the Jets to 277 yards of total offense and held them to 5-of-14 on third down.

The Jets added a late TD, when quarterback San Darnold connected with wide receiver Braxton Berrios on a 30-yard completion with 1:23 remaining in the game making the score, 31-13. Darnold finished 21-of-32 for 179 yards and no turnovers.

Instead of flying back to the west coast, the 49ers will be staying at a resort in West Virginia as they prepare to take on the New York Giants.

The Giants (0-2) lost to the Chicago Bears 17-13 at Soldier Field on Sunday, but that’s not the big story. Star running back Saquon Barkley was carted off the field early in the second quarter with an apparent knee injury. Barkley’s status for next week’s game is unclear.

Second-year quarterback Daniel Jones completed 25-of-40 passes for 241 yards and an interception for the Giants. Jones was sacked four times by a stingy Bears defense on the day.

Cardinals,Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins spoil 49ers’ home opener with 24-20 victory

By Joe Hawkes

SANTA CLARA, Calif — The San Francisco 49ers’ “Revenge Tour” for 2020 didn’t get off to the best start, as the Arizona Cardinals slipped by San Francisco, 24-20, in Week 1 of the NFL season on Sunday afternoon.

Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, whom the Cardinals acquired in the offseason via a trade with the Houston Texans, dominated a usually formidable 49ers defense for much of the game. Hopkins finished with a career-high 14 catches for 151 yards in his debut, set up running back Kenyan Drake’s 1-yard go-ahead TD with 5:03 left in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Kyler Murray, last season’s Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year, picked up where he left off, threw for 230 yards and a touchdown and ran for 90 yards and another score to help the Cardinals (1-0) overcome a pair of fourth quarter deficits to the reigning NFC champion 49ers (0-1) in an empty Levi’s Stadium in smoky temperatures.

There were growing concerns all week that the game could be postponed because of poor air quality from fires from across Northern California. The Air Quality Index remained below the 200 threshold and the game kicked off on time.

Murray completed 26-of-40 passes and was sacked twice on the day. Murray actually rushed for 100 yards before two kneeldowns at the end for minus-10 yards.

49ers running back Jerick McKinnon caught a 5-yard TD pass from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in his first game since Dec. 31, 2017, to give San Francisco a 20-17 lead with 8:38 left in the fourth quarter before Murray engineered Arizona’s comeback.

Murray’s 33-yard connection to Hopkins to the 49ers’ 1-yard line would setup Drake’s score on the very next play, putting the Cardinals up for good.

San Francisco’s defense registered just one sack by defensive end Kerry Hyder and one interception by safety Jaquiski Tartt. It was San Francisco’s first recorded interception by a safety since Oct. 28, 2018, coincidentally, by Tartt against the Cardinals when he picked off from first-round pick Josh Rosen.

Tartt recorded the interception in the second quarter off a tip pass from second-year starting linebacker Dre Greenlaw.

The defense looked extremely gassed in the fourth quarter after Arizona went on a 14-play, 94-yard drive that covered 6:48 minutes that resulted in a 22-yard TD run by Murray that gave the Cardinals their first lead of the game at 17-13 with 10:26 remaining.

Garoppolo, who finished 19-of-33 passing for 259 yards and two TD’s, moved San Francisco to the Cardinals’ 16-yard line before throwing an incomplete pass to wide receiver Trent Taylor on fourth-and-5 that sealed the 49ers’ fate.

San Francisco jumped out to a 10-0 first quarter lead, highlighted by a 76-yard TD catch from running back Raheem Mostert from Garoppolo. Mostert’s score reached a maximum speed of 22.73 MPH, per NFL Next Gen Stats.

It was the fastest TD since Tyreek Hill in 2016.

As a whole, San Francisco struggled on offense against a very improved Cardinals defense for much of the game. The 49ers couldn’t convert on third down, going 2-for-11 on the day and got nothing from its wide receiver group.

Taylor (5), Kendrick Bourne (5) and Dante Pettis garnered just 11 targets while mustering just 41 yards among them.

By that same token, fullback Kyle Juszczyk had one catch but that went for 41 yards in the fourth quarter.

Tight end George Kittle, the 49ers unquestioned best offensive player, caught four passes for 44 yards in the first half before leaving late in the second quarter for the locker room with a scary looking leg injury. Kittle jumped high for a pass from Garoppolo on the left side of the field. The All-Pro tight end was tackled around his waist by Cardinals safety Budda Baker just as he landed to the turf.

It appeared that Kittle’s left knee just hyperextend. Kittle did return in the second-half, but was a virtual non-factor in the offense.

San Francisco looks to get into the win column next week as they travel to New York for their first of two games in the Big Apple, when they take on the Jets in Week 2.

The Jets (0-1) fell to their AFC East rivals, the Buffalo Bills (1-0), 27-17 earlier in the day.

Nothing went well for the Jets, who opened the game with three three-and-outs, combined for 23 yards of offense and one first down on their five possessions, and trailed 21-0 before anyone blinked.

Jets quarterback Sam Darnold completed 21-of-35 passes for 215 yards, one touchdown, one interception and was sacked three times.

Wide receiver Jamison Crowder had himself a game, hauling seven catches for 115 yards which included a 69-yard TD catch from Darnold that briefly cut the Bills’ lead to 21-10 with 5:10 left in the third quarter.