49ers’ Thanksgiving challenge: Can offensive line depth hold up against Seahawks?
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — It’s one of the weeks during which San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and at least some of his assistants sleep in the office. A Thursday night game against the Seattle Seahawks means a frenetic turnaround.
“We enjoyed Sunday night, knowing how miserable the next few days are going to be,” Shanahan said Tuesday afternoon. “We’ve been here since we came in Monday morning.”
An uncertain situation at both guard spots along the offensive line has upped the 49ers’ stress level. Starting right guard Spencer Burford (knee) has joined starting left guard Aaron Banks (turf toe) on the injury report this week. Although Banks returned to the team’s only practice of the week — a half-speed session that was more resemblant of a walk-through — on Tuesday evening, the 49ers listed him as only a limited participant, and Burford did not participate.
“I think (Burford) would be all right if we played Sunday, but it’s a question here on Thursday, and he can’t go today,” Shanahan said before the practice. “So, it’s worrisome.”
Aaron Banks is back at practice, which is more of a walk-through. If it were a full practice, he’d be limited with his turf toe injury pic.twitter.com/ahezsgqbg7— David Lombardi November 22, 2023
Seattle features a retooled defensive line that’s generating more pressure than it did last season, especially from the inside.
Leonard Williams , a stalwart who came over in a trade with the New York Giants last month (the 49ers faced Williams in Week 3), anchors a 3-4 front that has also added veterans Dre’Mont Jones , Mario Edwards Jr. and Jarran Reed to its interior. Reed, who played for the Seahawks until 2020 before spending the past two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers , gives Seattle the type of 300-plus-pound size that’s given the 49ers’ interior — outside of Banks and center Jake Brendel — some trouble this season.
So, considering their uncertain health situation, how might the 49ers counter?
If Banks can return, veteran Jon Feliciano — who started the past two games for him at left guard — could move to right guard to replace Burford. The 49ers signed Feliciano to fill in at any of the interior O-line spots, and he said Tuesday that experience at center has prepared him to seamlessly flip to that other side if needed.
Matters become much more complicated if neither Burford nor Banks can suit up against Seattle. The top options on the roster would be Jaylon Moore and Matt Pryor . Both linemen are primarily tackles.
“We’ve got guys like Jaylon who can double in at guard,” 49ers left tackle Trent Williams said Tuesday. “You know, that’s the league, man. It’s a next-man-up type of deal. Hopefully, it won’t have to come to that, but if it does, I think those guys will be ready for the opportunity.”
Moore hasn’t played guard in either college or the NFL , though he was projected to move inside after the 49ers drafted him in 2021. He has developed into a swing tackle instead. Pryor, a veteran whom the 49ers signed this past offseason, started several games at right guard earlier in his career for the Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts .
Shanahan also noted the 49ers have three guards on the practice squad and a new interior lineman who joined the team Tuesday.
That’s guard Ben Bartch , whom the 49ers signed off the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad. It seemed Bartch had developed into a solid pass blocker with Jacksonville by 2022 until he dislocated his knee in Week 5. He returned from that season-ending injury in 2023, but the Jaguars benched him after three games. The 49ers are hopeful that Bartch — who began his college career as a tight end before adding over 70 pounds of weight, thanks in large part to a headline-grabbing smoothie recipe — is still ascending in his return from that injury.
Newest 49ers OL Ben Bartch is interesting (from Wiki):"In order to gain weight, Bartch consumed a protein shake daily consisting of 7 scrambled eggs, a tub of cottage cheese, quick grits, peanut butter, bananas, and Gatorade, growing from 240 pounds to 275 in just the summer....
— David Lombardi November 21, 2023
“There’s an outside chance,” Shanahan said of Bartch’s potential availability for Thursday’s game. “Being a short week, we’ll most likely go a different direction, but we’ve got a lot of moving parts with that.”
The options on the practice squad are rookies Ilm Manning and Henry Byrd or 32-year-old veteran Jesse Davis , who has starting experience at every position on the offensive line except for center. Danville native Corey Luciano is also on the practice squad and has impressed the 49ers, even earning a game day elevation last week. That might happen again this week because Luciano, a center, might be the emergency option there in case Brendel goes down and Feliciano, his top backup, is already occupied at one of the guard positions.
Regardless of how it shakes out, it’d behoove the 49ers to polish their pass protection in front of surging quarterback Brock Purdy . His top-ranked efficiency scores have come behind underwhelming pass protection. That has made Purdy an outlier.
Brock Purdy is #1 in NFL QB efficiency by a huge margin playing behind a 49ers' offensive line that ranks #28 in pass-blocking grade. 's graph shows just how much of an outlier Purdy is: pic.twitter.com/ipFsfNLRVW— David Lombardi November 21, 2023
Purdy can continue evading opposing pass rushers — and he’s healthy against the Seahawks this time after playing through a broken rib in last season’s Thursday night trip to Seattle — but the most sustainable way for the 49ers to perpetuate his excellent play figures to be through better protection.
The 49ers offensive line ranks No. 19 in ESPN’s pass-block win rate and No. 28 in Pro Football Focus’ pass-block grade. It’s delivered only two games with a cumulatively positive PFF grade: against the Arizona Cardinals and then versus Jacksonville . The Jaguars, though, do not have a particularly disruptive interior rusher. That helped the trio of Feliciano, Brendel and Burford to shine. They combined to allow only one pressure in the win.
But last week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ rigid front, anchored by 347-pound nose tackle Vita Vea, generated 10 pressures against the 49ers’ interior offensive line.
— David Lombardi November 22, 2023
The Seahawks don’t feature a player as dominant as Vea, but they do have a collection of talent starting with Williams that can give guards a load of trouble. That’s why this is a tenuous situation for the 49ers.
They’re grinding through the week’s uncertainty and looking forward to the rest on the other end.
“We enjoyed Sunday for a little bit, got to bed early and aren’t going to look back until after the game on Thursday,” Shanahan said.
Matt Barrows
David Lombardi
Matt Barrows: It’s entirely possible the Seahawks, fueled by their home crowd, play above themselves and pull off a Thanksgiving night upset. Pete Carroll lives for these scenarios. But Seattle had three chances to do that last season and couldn’t. And the games weren’t all that close. The 49ers were largely in control throughout all three encounters. Seattle added some new faces to its offense this season — including 41-year-old right tackle Jason Peters — but it’s largely the same group that struggled to put up points against Nick Bosa , Fred Warner and Charvarius Ward last season.
David Lombardi: The Seahawks defense is largely different, though, and that’s what marks the one real point of concern for the 49ers. But Purdy is acing the challenge, and he’s given every reason to believe he’ll continue to do so. Seattle has been solid at cornerback but weaker up the middle in pass defense. Linebackers Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks and safety Julian Love have given up profuse yardage in coverage. Expect Purdy to work the quicker passing game to Christian McCaffrey , George Kittle and Deebo Samuel to mask any 49ers issues up front.
(Top photo of the 49ers offensive line pass protecting for Brock Purdy: Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
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