Jake Moody slipped on the opening kickoff. Deebo Samuel Sr. and Eric Saubert slipped while running routes. Brandon Allen slipped three times, resulting in a near fumble, an incompletion and an actual fumble.
“Yeah it started snowing, raining, whatever, in the second half a little bit so it just made it a little bit slicker and it kind of killed us on one play where I could have got it to JJ (Jauan Jennings),” Allen said. “I started slipping on it and then the fumble. That one is so on top of my mind right now.”
Brandon Allen slipped three times Sunday and teammates had trouble keeping their footing as well. It was reminiscent of the recent wet playoff game at Levi’s — the 49ers kept slipping, the Packers seemed OK. pic.twitter.com/HcqFzVMSk2
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) November 25, 2024
Astute fans might remember that the San Francisco 49ers had slipping issues the last time the teams played, in the 2023 divisional round of the playoffs at wet Levi’s Stadium. As was the case in January, the 49ers had all sorts of footing issues but the Green Bay Packers had none.
“There were definitely issues with the footing,” Kyle Shanahan said Monday. “It happened to our quarterback on a number of plays, but it happened to a bunch of guys throughout the game. Guys were fixing their cleats. Some did it pre-game, some did right after the game (started). But that’s an issue at Lambeau that time of year.”
The Packers had a 2-to-1 advantage in time of possession at halftime, and finished with an advantage of 36:43 to 23:17. Thanks to two fumbles, an interception and two turnovers on downs, Green Bay’s average starting position was their own 44. The 49ers’ was their own 25.
The 49ers played 72 snaps on defense and 49 on offense, their fewest of the season. Here’s how the individual snaps broke down …
Quarterback: Allen 49
Shanahan said Brock Purdy (shoulder) did some light throwing on Monday and emerged from the session feeling good. The plan is to rest him on Tuesday and to see how it feels before Wednesday’s practice.
“We didn’t push him that hard,” Shanahan said. “But he did some light throwing, which was a good sign. We’ll rest him tomorrow and see how he feels as the week goes.”
Purdy had two MRIs last week — one on Monday and another Thursday after his throwing session that day went poorly. Neither revealed any structural damage.
Allen, meanwhile, tried to push the ball down the field more than Purdy had in recent weeks but wasn’t always successful. One throw to Jennings over the middle was behind the receiver. One to Samuel was nearly intercepted by linebacker Quay Walker. Another to Samuel went through Samuel’s hands and was intercepted.
Overall, Allen was 2 of 6 with a 53.5 passer rating in the middle of the field between 10 and 20 yards, which in previous years had been the sweet spot for the 49ers’ passing attack.
As for the finger injury on Allen’s non-throwing hand, he popped up on the team’s practice participation report on the Thursday before the Nov. 10 game in Tampa. He said that week it was the result of a snap snafu and that he was fine. He was a full participant in practices that week and wasn’t part of the team’s practice participation reports beyond that week.
“He’s fine,” Shanahan said Sunday when asked about the finger. “He hurt his finger like three weeks ago.”
Shanahan said Allen would remain the starter if Purdy can’t play Sunday in Buffalo.
Running back: Christian McCaffrey 40, Kyle Juszczyk (fullback) 20, Jordan Mason 9, George Kittle 2, Saubert 1
Mason got two snaps — including a team-best 16-yard run — in the third quarter, then got clean-up duty after McCaffrey’s fumble in the fourth quarter. The 49ers’ 44 rushing yards were their fewest since rushing for 39 yards in a Week 9 loss in 2021 to the Arizona Cardinals.
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Receiver: Jennings 45, Samuel 33, Ricky Pearsall 33, Ronnie Bell 5, Chris Conley 4
For the second straight week, the 49ers got little production from Samuel and Pearsall despite them combining for 66 snaps. Samuel was targeted four times, catching one pass for 21 yards on a gadget play — a nicely executed flea-flicker screen.
Pearsall, meanwhile, was targeted six times in the Week 10 game against Tampa Bay. He had two targets and no catches last week and no targets on Sunday.
Tight end: Kittle 39, Saubert 12, Jake Tonges 1, Brayden Willis 1
Kittle’s six catches against the Packers gave him 509 career receptions and moved him past Roger Craig and into third place in franchise catches. The only two ahead of him in that category are a pair of Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receivers, Terrell Owens (592) and Jerry Rice (1,281).
Kittle, who missed last week’s game against Seattle, ranks third among tight ends in receiving yards this season (642) behind the Las Vegas Raiders’ Brock Bowers (744) and the Arizona Cardinals’ Trey McBride (685).
Kittle’s eight touchdown catches trail only the Cincinnati Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase (12) and the Detroit Lions’ Amon Ra-St. Brown (9).
George Kittle ladies and gents.
📺 #SFvsGB on FOX
NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4nCVJ pic.twitter.com/YVJGOBSIy9— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) November 24, 2024
Offensive line: Jaylon Moore 49, Jake Brendel 49, Dominick Puni 49, Colton McKivitz 49, Aaron Banks 42, Ben Bartch 7
Moore, who was essentially the team’s left tackle in training camp as Trent Williams held out, got Pro Football Focus’ second-highest grade on Sunday behind Kittle. He allowed two pressures and graded well as a blocker, which isn’t supposed to be his strong suit.
Meanwhile, the 49ers might have to tap into their depth at guard this week. Banks had a concussion and is in the protocol. Puni, meanwhile, suffered a shoulder injury. He was getting an MRI when Shanahan spoke to the media Monday and the results were not available.
Finally, the 49ers closed Jon Feliciano’s practice window. Shanahan said Feliciano’s knee never responded the way the team hoped and he will now be shut down for the season. Feliciano, 32, is scheduled to be a free agent in March. He took to X as Shanahan was speaking Monday.
Tried my hardest. Father Time real. Hoping this ain’t the end but if it is, Hell of a ride
— Jonathan Feliciano (@MongoFeliciano) November 25, 2024
Others on the active roster who can play guard are Bartch, Spencer Burford and Nick Zakelj. Bartch filled in at left guard Sunday when Banks left the game. He had been inactive in the first 10 games but was in uniform due to Williams’ absence.
Defensive line: Maliek Collins 47, Yetur Gross-Matos 46, Sam Okuayinonu 45, Leonard Floyd 44, Evan Anderson 36, Kalia Davis 30, Jordan Elliott 26, Robert Beal Jr. 21
Okuayinonu’s 45 snaps were a career high and it was a mild surprise when he, not Gross-Matos, started opposite Floyd at defensive end. Gross-Matos didn’t enter until the ninth play of the game.
Floyd, meanwhile, has finished each of the last four seasons with at least nine sacks. A few weeks ago, it was hard to see him keeping that streak intact. But he had 1 1/2 last week and two more on Sunday and now sits at 6 1/2 with six games to go.
It’s also noteworthy that Anderson, the undrafted rookie, out-snapped Davis (and also was tapped over newcomer Khalil Davis, who was inactive). Among defensive linemen, Anderson tied with Floyd and Gross-Matos for a team-high four tackles.
Elliott is in the concussion protocol. After going through all of training camp and half the season without a concussion, the 49ers have had four in the last four games: Dee Winters (Week 8), Jacob Cowing (Week 11), Elliott and Banks (Week 12).
Quarterback pressures:
- Floyd 5
- Okuayinonu 3
- Collins 3
- Gross-Matos 2
- Beal 1
- De’Vondre Campbell Sr. 1
Linebacker: Fred Warner 72, Campbell 67, Winters 22
The 49ers missed 10 tackles in the first quarter and the problems didn’t stop there. Per Pro Football Focus, they finished with 19, the most PFF has ever documented for a 49ers game since it started charting games in 2006.
Warner led the way with four missed tackles, the most for any 49er in one game this season.
Shanahan said the 49ers came up with a different number for missed tackles — 12 — and defended Warner’s play in recent weeks.
“I still think Fred’s the man. I think Fred’s playing at a high level,” he said. “I know he had four missed tackles, which is too much for anyone, way too much for him. So obviously, he can do better in that way. But Fred’s still playing like one of the best linebackers in the league. I know he’s got a real high standard. So when he has something like (Sunday’s performance) it’s gonna stick out.”
The 49ers plan to open Dre Greenlaw’s (Achilles) practice window this week and he’s expected to practice on Wednesday. That will be his first practice since getting ready for the Super Bowl in February at UNLV’s practice fields.
Missed tackles:
- 4: Warner
- 3: Ji’Ayir Brown, Isaac Yiadom
- 2: Renardo Green
- 1: Campbell, Winters, Okuayinonu, Davis, Collins, Floyd, Deommodore Lenoir
Cornerback: Lenoir 67, Yiadom 59, Green 47, Rock Ya-Sin 19
Opponents have been picking on Green over the past two weeks. He’s allowed completions on 10 of 13 targets for 129 yards and opposing quarterbacks have a passer rating of 107.5 in those games. Green hurt his neck late Sunday and was replaced by Ya-Sin. Green is considered day to day.
Lenoir, meanwhile, banged knees with an opponent during the game. He returned to the contest but, like Puni, was getting an MRI on Monday afternoon.
Yiadom, meanwhile, gave up just one completion on three targets, though the outing could have been far worse. Receiver Christian Watson dropped what would have been a 49-yard touchdown at the end of the second quarter.
Safety: Brown 72, Mustapha 72, George Odum 1
There was one exception to Sunday’s missed-tackle convention: Mustapha. He prominently zipped in from the secondary to stop running back Josh Jacobs in his tracks on one play and finished tied with Yiadom for a team-high nine tackles.
Brown? He had been on a four-game streak with no missed tackles but had three against the Packers. He also could not come down with a makable interception in the third quarter.
Special teams: Odum 23, Beal 20, Conley 17, Winters 17, Saubert 16, Jalen Graham 16, Willis 15, Yiadom 13, Nick McCloud 10, Mason 10, Tonges 9, Isaac Guerendo 7, Ya-Sin 7, Campbell 6, Gross-Matos 6, Warner 6, Collins 6, Brown 6, Anderson 6, Moody 5, Pat O’Donnell 5, Taybor Pepper 5, Lenoir 5, Pearsall 4, Tashaun Gipson Sr. 4, Samuel 3, Davis 3, Elliott 3, Burford 2, Zakelj 2, Banks 2, McKivitz 2, Moore 2, Puni 2, Green 1
Samuel had an 87-yard kick return to begin the second half that would have continued the momentum the 49ers had built at the end of the first half. However, it was wiped away by a holding call on Saubert that seemed more like a pancake block upon review.
Kyle Shanahan said Deebo Samuel’s 87-yard kick return might have changed the momentum of the game if not for a holding call on Eric Saubert (which seemed more like a pancake block). pic.twitter.com/lbpW0EFJUa
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) November 25, 2024
Guerendo, meanwhile, had his second kickoff fumble of the season in the second quarter. The 49ers didn’t lose this one, but Guerendo was out, and Samuel in, on kick returns from that point forth.
(Top photo of Brock Purdy and Brandon Allen: Todd Rosenberg / Getty Images)
