49ers minutia minute: Nick Bosa, Ambry Thomas, Charlie Woerner stood out in Seattle
The San Francisco 49ers were back to dominating the clock on Thursday, averaging 5.1 yards on their 31 carries and holding onto the ball more than 10 minutes longer than the Seattle Seahawks . Four days after logging 71 snaps against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , the 49ers defense only was on the field for 56 snaps in Seattle. The offense, meanwhile, had 66 plays.
Here’s how the individual snaps were divided:
Quarterback: Brock Purdy 66
Purdy didn’t have his usual deep-ball mastery on Thursday. He was 2-of-5 (40 percent) on passes of 20 or more yards. For the season, he’s 63.2 percent, the highest rate of any regular starter. Of course, one of the two deep balls he did hit — the 28-yard touchdown to Brandon Aiyuk that sealed the game — was among Purdy’s best throws of the season.
Running back: Christian McCaffrey 51, Kyle Juszczyk (fullback) 28, Elijah Mitchell 17, Deebo Samuel 5
McCaffrey likely will maintain his NFL rushing lead after finishing with 114 yards against the Seahawks, the fourth time he’s gone over the 100-yard mark this season and the first since Oct. 1 (Arizona). He also scored his 15th and 16th touchdowns of the season, surpassing Roger Craig’s 15 touchdowns in 1985 as the most scored by a 49er in one season. His 11 rushing touchdowns also are a single-season 49ers record and are one more than Frank Gore (2009), Derek Loville (1995) and Ricky Watters (1993) had in one season.
Receiver: Aiyuk 59, Samuel 45, Jauan Jennings 24, Ray-Ray McCloud III 8, Ronnie Bell 6
Jennings’ third-down catch toward the end of the first quarter may have been his best play of the season. The Seahawks seemed to have him pinned down by three defensive backs 3 yards short of the first down marker. Jennings, however, managed to wriggle free and pick up the first down, extending what would become a touchdown drive. The play was indicative of the third-down discrepancy between the teams. The 49ers converted 45.5 percent of their third-down tries; the Seahawks managed just 27.3 percent.
Underrated play: Jauan Jennings somehow wriggled free of this three-man tackle attempt and gained the first down. The 49ers went on to score a touchdown on the drive. pic.twitter.com/v45z2bEGz9— Matt Barrows November 24, 2023
Aiyuk, meanwhile, caught two passes for 50 yards and managed to boost his NFC-best yards-per-catch average from 19.3 to 19.6. He trails only the Houston Texans’ Noah Brown (20.9-yard average) in that category, although Aiyuk has caught 24 more passes than Brown.
Tight end: George Kittle 66, Charlie Woerner 18, Ross Dwelley 3
Woerner’s first-quarter catch was his first since Nov. 28, 2021. He also had the key block — on Seahawks defensive end Dre’Mont Jones — that allowed McCaffrey to get into the end zone on his first touchdown run.
Offensive line: Aaron Banks 66, Jake Brendel 66, Jon Feliciano 66, Colton McKivitz 66, Trent Williams 63, Jaylon Moore 3
Shanahan commended Banks after the game, He said in normal circumstances Banks wouldn’t have played on a short week after he missed the previous two games with turf toe. Spencer Burford ’s knee injury and Nick Zakelj ’s biceps injury, however, made the 49ers perilously low on interior linemen for the game.
Banks started at left guard and Feliciano at right guard. Their backups were Moore, who normally plays left tackle, and practice squadder Jesse Davis . Burford should be back in time for the Week 13 game against the Philadelphia Eagles , though it’s possible he will begin platooning with Feliciano at right guard the way he did with Daniel Brunskill last season. Feliciano, however, was flagged for a false start and had the lowest grade of any of the 49ers, according to Pro Football Focus.
Here’s how the linemen fared as far as quarterback pressures allowed:
Defensive line: Nick Bosa 49, Javon Hargrave 40, Arik Armstead 32, Chase Young 26, Javon Kinlaw 22, Clelin Ferrell 19, Kevin Givens 18, Randy Gregory 18
Bosa had his second straight game with nine quarterback pressures. He has 66 total this season, which is second only to the Dallas Cowboys’ Micah Parsons (71). Bosa also registered two sacks against the Seahawks, giving him 51 for his career. He’s now one sack from passing Ahmad Brooks for the third most sacks by a 49er behind Bryant Young (89 1/2) and Charles Haley (66 1/2).
Nick Bosa makes up so much ground in his first three steps: #SFvsSEA on NBC
: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/39mRKO5g4U
— NFL November 24, 2023
Total pressures:
Linebacker: Warner 56, Dre Greenlaw 56, Oren Burks 12
Greenlaw led the 49ers in tackles with eight. But he had two more missed tackles in the contest. Both Greenlaw (13) and Warner (16) rank in the top 15 for missed tackles this season, according to Pro Football Focus. Greenlaw had 11 in 18 games last season.
Cornerback: Deommodore Lenoir 56, Charvarius Ward 52, Ambry Thomas 46, Isaiah Oliver 2
Ward, who was responsible for covering DK Metcalf on most pass plays, was targeted 10 times and gave up only four catches for 44 yards. He also had a season-high three pass breakups. Thomas, meanwhile, was targeted on four throws and allowed two catches for 16 yards. He intercepted one pass, broke up another in the end zone — he might have gotten away with holding — and Geno Smith had a 20.8 passer rating when targeting him. The overall passer rating when targeting Thomas this season: 79.5.
: Gipson 56, Ji’Ayir Brown 56
The 49ers entered the game thin at safety and emerged even thinner after George Odum tore his biceps. He will miss two to four months, which gives him a slim chance to return if the 49ers go deep into the playoffs. The 49ers have one safety, Tayler Hawkins , on the practice squad and there are several other former 49ers safeties who are available as free agents, including Dontae Johnson and Jaquiski Tartt . One-time San Francisco safety Adrian Colbert is a member of the Bears practice squad.
Brown, meanwhile, did well in his first start. He was credited with four tackles, including a solo stop. He allowed three catches on three targets but for just 13 yards. He lined up as a deep safety on 47 of his 56 snaps.
Special teams: Woerner 24, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles 22, Dwelley 20, Burks 19, Jordan Mason 19, Dee Winters 19, Oliver 16, Darrell Luter Jr. 14, Odum 13, Jake Moody 11, Mitch Wishnowsky 10, Taybor Pepper 10, McCloud 9, Bell 7, McKivitz 5, Moore 5, Feliciano 5, Corey Luciano 5, Matt Pryor 5, Davis 5, Ferrell 5, Givens 5, Juszczyk 4, Jennings 4, Kinlaw 4, Young 4, Gipson 3
Wishnowsky booted two punts inside the Seattle 10, one inside the 15 and had another the Seahawks muffed in the second quarter. Woerner, who becomes the team’s top coverage player now that Odum is injured, knocked away the loose ball and Bell recovered it, setting up a Moody field goal that gave the 49ers a 24-3 lead at halftime.
Another candidate when it comes to rising to the challenge and shoring up the team’s suddenly leaky coverage units? How about Luter, who ran down Dee Eskridge from behind on a 66-yard kickoff return in the first quarter? Eskridge ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash before the 2021 draft. Luter was faster on Thursday.
(Top photo of 49ers celebrating Ambry Thomas’ interception: Jane Gershovich / )
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