Three Takeaways from the 49ers’ Week 13 win over the Dolphins
Dec 5, 2022, 1:30 PM
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 04: San Francisco 49ers celebrate an interception in the third quarter of their NFL game against the Miami Dolphins at Levis Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Dec.4, 2022. (Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images)
(Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images)
Week 13 was bittersweet for the San Francisco 49ers.
On the one hand, they defeated Mike McDaniel and the Miami Dolphins in a dominant defensive fashion. On the other hand, the 49ers lost their second starting quarterback of the season when Jimmy Garoppolo fractured his left foot on the team’s first series of the game Sunday.
The injury leaves a Super Bowl-caliber roster in the hands of rookie QB Brock Purdy, the last pick of the 2022 NFL draft. To say the team is in crisis mode would be an understatement, hoping this year they would finally get title No. 6.
Nevertheless, there were a lot of positives from Week 13, both on offense and defense. And with only five games left in the regular season, the 49ers will need more games like this if they want to make a run in the postseason.
Brock Purdy was Jimmy Garoppolo-esque in Week 13
Filling in for the injured Garoppolo, “Mr. Irrelevant” Brock Purdy certainly made his name known Sunday afternoon.
The last pick in the 2022 NFL draft, Purdy delivered in a huge spot, posting 25 for 37 completions, 210 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception against the Dolphins. While the stats aren’t eye-popping by any means, his play Sunday resembled Garoppolo’s to a degree.
The 49ers offense works in a simple yet efficient manner: Get the ball in then hands of your playmakers as quickly as possible. Purdy excelled at that Sunday.
Making a few miraculous short-range throws, he hit wide receiver Deebo Samuel over the middle in one of the tightest windows you’ll ever see. With a cornerback on his Samuel’s heels and a linebacker creeping up, Purdy delivered the ball right in the bread basket, only allowing Deebo to catch the pass for a first down. The rookie QB did it again in the fourth quarter, finding Deebo in another tight window to pick up the first down on a gain of 12 yards.
Kyle Shanahan told Peter King after the game that this was Brock Purdy’s best throw.
Recognized the blitz, audibled Kittle’s route, got rid of the ball in 1.72 seconds (6th-fastest throw of the SEASON) and it was a first down.
pic.twitter.com/k2yD9m2oie— Akash Anavarathan (@akashanav) December 5, 2022
My point being, Purdy doesn’t have to be superman for this unit to work effectively, he just has to play Garoppolo’s style as he figures out the timing in the offense.
The big difference for the rook is his mobility, escaping Dolphins’ pass-rushers numerous times Sunday to hit a wideout on the run. Jimmy G has never been the most mobile of QB, so it may be an upgrade for head coach Kyle Shanahan and his play-action plays.
Additionally, Purdy looked confident and unafraid of the moment, a huge sign that this could work going forward. And when he didn’t like the look of the play, he got rid of the ball or called timeout before it went haywire. All signs of a competent NFL signal-caller.
There will be growing pains along the way (no avoiding that), but so far so good for the Purdy experiment in San Francisco.
“In preseason he looked like he had some dog in him,” Nick Bosa said about the rookie QB postgame Sunday. “I love his mindset, he’s super tough. He’s not afraid to make mistakes. He gets playmakers the ball. He’s our guy now, so we got to roll.”
Nick Bosa has established himself as the Defensive Player of the Year
Speaking of Nick Bosa, he was a one-man wrecking crew against the Dolphins in Week 13.
The 49ers’ pass-rusher finished the day with all three of the team’s sacks, attacking QB Tua Tagovailoa in a variety of ways. His stat line also included seven pressures on Tua, a 29% win rate on pass rushes and a crucial forced fumble/sack that led to linebacker Dre Greenlaw’s scoop-and-score TD to seal the win for his team.
Only playing in 12 games this season, Bosa is on pace to record an NFL-record 24 sacks in the regular season, per NBC Sports Bay Area’s Jennifer Lee Chan. Already at 14.5, he is one shy of his career best 15.5 sacks total from last season.
Nick Bosa NFL ranks…
Sacks: 14.5 (#1)
Pressures: 62 (#1)
QB Hits: 19 (#1)
Pass-rush productivity: 11.8 (#1)— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) December 5, 2022
Now ranked at the top of most pass-rushing statistics again, the only case for Bosa not being the best defensive player in the NFL this season was the sacks. Passing New England Patriots’ Matthew Judon Sunday (13), the path for DPOY is getting clear and clearer for Nick Bosa.
Part of the reason for his statement game was Shanahan’s comments in team meetings Saturday, calling out the defensive line in a big way. After the game-sealing sack fumble, Bosa went over to his coach and said “don’t talk s–t about me anymore.” Looks like the callout worked.
“Yeah, he threw a little shade at me and the D-line, so we kind of talked in our meeting. We don’t like being called out like that. It’s our head coach so he obviously has the right and he watches the tape more than anybody and he expects the most out of us. So, I’m glad we were able to make an impact,” Bosa explained to the media postgame.
Ol’ Reliable Robbie Gould
We don’t talk about kickers very often on Sactown Sports, but how about a little love for longtime NFL kicker Robbie Gould today.
Turning 40-years-old on the sixth of December, Gould was money for the 49ers in Week 13, hitting all seven of his kicks in the contest. The former Chicago Bear hit field goals from 47, 43, 36 and 48 yards Sunday afternoon, seeing the 49ers in control of the contest for the majority of the day. That equals to 18 fantasy points, including all three PAT attempts as well, his most points scored all season.
Sunday was also historic for the 49ers place-kicker, passing future hall-of-famer Sebastian Janikowski for tenth most points career points all time among kickers.
Victory Monday! Yesterday, we passed Sebastian Janikowski for 10th all time in career points scored in @nfl history. 🏈 pic.twitter.com/mqX3XhLnwr
— Robbie Gould (@RobbieGould09) December 5, 2022
Joining the 49ers in 2017, Gould has been as reliable as they come for San Francisco, hitting 88% of his field goals in six seasons in the Bay Area. Who knows how much longer ol’ reliable has, but let’s take a moment to appreciate his 18-year career in the NFL.
