Niners Humble ‘Phins

It’s not possible for the 49ers to play a normal game, is it? San Francisco gave up a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage to Trent Sherfield as he raced 75 yards for a score.

Great teams answer a scoring drive with one of their own. Jimmy Garoppolo, in what would be his only drive, led the offense to a field goal. Jimmy would leave the game with what we thought was an ankle injury. San Francisco later ruled it a foot injury. We’ll have more updates on Jimmy’s status, but Levi’s Stadium was lifeless as nobody knew what to expect from Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy.

Of course, it helps when you are surrounded by the best supporting cast in the NFL. Christian McCaffrey had 17 touches for 102 yards in the first half. He also caught a touchdown. Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk made plays, as did Jauan Jennings and George Kittle.

As usual, the Niners’ defense buckled down. They forced multiple three-and-outs after allowing a big play to Sherfield and would only allow a field goal for the rest of the half. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter, on a busted play to Tyreek Hill, that the Dolphins would score again.

McDaniel found a way to take advantage of Talanoa Hufanga’s aggressiveness. He called a passing concept where Hufanga bites on an intermediate route, which left Hill open 45 yards down the field against Mooney Ward.

After converting a fourth down from their 19-yard line, the Dolphins would need to convert another, but Dre Greenlaw jarred the ball loose. Two plays prior, Greenlaw held Tyreek Hill to a minimal gain on a crossing route that ends up a first down for just about anybody else.

All in all, Miami averaged 7.2 yards per play, but it felt like San Francisco did a great job in general. They held Miami to a field goal on their lone red zone attempt. Tua was off-target most of the game. And all this while the 49ers were playing with a backup quarterback.

Nick Bosa added a third sack to give him 14.5 sacks in 11 games. He is now the NFL leader in sacks. Azeez Al-Shaair recovered his sack-fumble for a touchdown. Fred Warner finished the game with an interception.

Purdy was awesome. The fact that Kyle Shanahan let him throw 37 times tells you how much confidence the 49ers’ head coach has in his third-stringer. And Purdy delivered. Sometimes it was with his legs, other times through the air, and there were occasions Purdy needed to use his mobility.

Purdy had a 47 percent success rate and kept the offense on schedule. You can’t ask for a better performance. The Niners studs did what they usually do, and after a slow start, the home team won emphatically, 33-17.