3 Positives for the 49ers from Week 5 at Carolina
Oct 11, 2022, 10:49 AM | Updated: 11:39 am
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 09: Jeff Wilson Jr. #22 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates his touchdown with Kyle Juszczyk #44 during the fourth quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on October 09, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
(Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
Week 5 in North Carolina resulted in a mixed bag for the San Francisco 49ers.
On one hand, the 49ers improved to 3-2 on the season, taking sole possession of first in the NFC West standings with a dominant win over the Panthers, 37-15. On the other hand, Sunday proved disastrous for injuries, losing key members of San Francisco‘s elite defense.
Losing defensive end Nick Bosa, safety Jimmie Ward, cornerback Emmanuel Moseley, and kicker Robbie Gould before the final whistle has the team scrambling for replacements on the road. Hosting a number of free agents on tryouts Monday, the 49ers may look to bring in more help or choose to promote some of their existing players to starting roles.
“No, I think it happens to other teams too, so I don’t want to say we’re the only ones, but yeah, it’s a challenge when it happens, so you hope to have better luck,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday.
Nevertheless, there were many positives to take away from Week 5’s dominant win, both offensively and defensively. Let’s explore those, shall we?
Plug & Play RBs
Kyle Shanahan’s philosophy during his 49ers tenure has been built on running the football. When you can run effectively, good things happen for the offense.
Sunday in Charlotte was no different as two journeymen running backs carried the workload for San Francisco: Jeff Wilson Jr. and Tevin Coleman. JWJ got the 49ers cooking early, breaking off a career-long 41-yard run in the first quarter to set up SF with a first and goal opportunity.
Jeff Wilson Jr. cooking early 🍳pic.twitter.com/cDqQsGILt2
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) October 9, 2022
Two plays later, Coleman caught a screen pass from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, weaving his way for the nine-yard touchdown.
The duo continued to churn out yards all day against the Panthers, finishing with 143 yards on the ground combined Sunday. Wilson Jr. was the main catalyst, taking 17 carries for 120 yards and a touchdown.
Many fans were shocked to see Coleman active in place of veteran Marlon Mack in Week 5, signing to the team’s practice squad after the latter. He soon turned those shocked into amazed as the 29-yard-old got into the endzone twice Sunday, one rushing and one receiving.
His best highlight of the day was at the end of the first quarter, making a tough contested catch on the sideline for a huge gain into Panthers territory. He finished with 67 total yards, 44 of those coming through the air.
Tevin Coleman just Moss’d ‘em 😱pic.twitter.com/4Lphh05kRU
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) October 9, 2022
“I showed that I still have it and it was definitely fun out there to play with this team,” Coleman said following the game.
We’ll have to see how rookie RB Ty Davis-Price advances in his recovery from a high-ankle sprain, but right now the combo of two 49ers vets seems to be working this season.
Fred Warner = The Predator
49ers defensive captain, linebacker Fred Warner, is arguably the best middle linebacker in the game of football today. Week 5 made another case for the former BYU Cougar.
Warner was all over the field Sunday in North Carolina, stopping run plays from happening left and right. He was in the backfield, he was in coverage, and he went from one sideline to the other to make tackles.
Basically, Fred Warner was the Predator.
Yes, I am referring to the 1980s hit Sci-Fi film where Arnold Schwarzenegger fights an extraterrestrial military soldier because that’s what it’s like for opposing teams when they see him. Both with his play style and physical appearance, Fred Warner resembles a super-solider alien in the middle of the field.
Last week he matched up All-Pro wideout Cooper Kupp, this week it was RB Christian McCaffrey, who finished the day with 14 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown, all thanks to Warner and Co.
The pro-bowl linebacker stopped McCaffrey in the backfield on numerous occasions. On one play in particular, Warner sniffs out the screen pass when the center goes to block at the second level. The linebacker gets a step on the blockers and breaks up CMC’s completion.
He finished the day with nine combined tackles, one sack, two QB hits, two TFLs and one PBU. A true mercenary on the defensive side of the ball.
Highest Graded Linebackers, Weeks 1-5, PFF:
1. Bobby Wagner, 90.2
2. Demario Davis, 84.2
3. Dre Greenlaw, 80.1
4. Fred Warner, 78.8#49ers currently have 2 of the 4 highest-graded starting linebackers in the NFL on the same defense. Part of why their run defense is so damn good.— Akash Anavarathan (@akashanav) October 10, 2022
His running mate at the position, Dre Greenlaw, was also predator-like in Week 5, racking up 11 tackles against Carolina Panthers. He’s tied for the first in tackles across the league with 41 on the season.
The 49ers are still without linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (MCL) after being placed on injured reserve last week. He is expected to be out up to eight weeks after suffering a knee injury in Week 3 in Denver.
Despite the injuries piling up, the red & gold’s elite defense continues to hum, a large part due to the play of the two predators in the middle.
Chavarius Ward is Worth Every Penny
In the closing minutes of Week 5, San Francisco lost starting CB Emmanuel Moseley to a torn ACL, effectively ending his 2022 season. Riddled with injuries to the secondary over the years, the 49ers again have to make do with what they got for the rest of the year.
Luckily, the team addressed this issue in the offseason, signing CB Charvarius Ward to a 3-year, $42 million deal to lead the secondary in The Bay. Since Day 1 of 49ers camp, “Mooney” has been lights out.
Ward broke up four passes Sunday against the Panthers, adding four tackles as well. He drew the tough assignment of covering speedy WR Robbie Anderson but didn’t wafer. Instead, blanketing him for only one catch of 32 yards on five targets.
Charvarius Ward had himself a day 🗜
4️⃣ Tackles
4️⃣ Passes Defended pic.twitter.com/CJ5sa6eL0P— KNBR (@KNBR) October 10, 2022
He finished the day with a 90.6 overall grade from PFF, the most for any player in Week 5. Ward leads the NFL with 7 PBUs through the first five weeks, as his 88.2 overall grade, this season is the highest of any cornerback with 200+ snaps.
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch took a huge risk paying top dollar for a lesser-known No.1 cornerback, a risk that has paid dividends so far for San Francisco.
John Lynch 🤝 Charvarius Ward #49ers || #FTTB
🎥: @49ers pic.twitter.com/dA34sOlO9p
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) October 6, 2022
“Worth every penny man, worth every penny!” Lynch exclaimed to Ward after week 4’s win over the Rams. A week later, the front office is still blown away by their shrewd signing.
The veteran cover-man has generated the highest tight window target rate (36.7%) since entering the NFL in 2018, per NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
