San Francisco 49ers: Week 13 Studs and Duds
Sometimes all you can do is tip your cap and move on.
After reflecting on the 49ers’ 24 to 34 loss to the Bills, that is the most appropriate response.
Defensively, the 49ers had no answer for the Bills’ offense, led by play-caller Brian Daboll and quarterback Josh Allen. Daboll and Allen ran circles around Robert Saleh’s defense, as they put up points on six consecutive drives. Throughout the game, the Bills averaged 6.6 yards per play.
What is even more mind-boggling is that the 49ers averaged 6.7 yards per play. Despite the Bills clearly being the superior offense, the 49ers found a way to pick up yards in a more efficient manner.
The difference in this matchup, aside from the defense not being able to stop a nosebleed (aside from the 4th and goal stop), was that the Bills have a superstar in the making with their quarterback.
Nick Mullens and the 49ers’ offense were able to produce points on four out of nine drives, which is a solid number. And the drives that didn’t result in points, weren’t always Mullens’ fault. Meanwhile, Allen and the Bills’ offense scored points on six out of nine drives. Superior.
With the loss, the 49ers are now 5-7 on the season. Mathematically, the team is still in the playoff hunt. The Arizona Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings are 6-6, and are the two teams in front of the 49ers for the final playoff spot in the NFC.
Over the course of the final four games, this is each team's remaining schedule:
- 49ers: Football Team, Cowboys, Cardinals, Seahawks
- Cardinals: Giants, Eagles, 49ers, Rams
- Vikings: Buccaneers, Bears, Saints, Lions
The 49ers playoff hopes would’ve significantly increased with a win. However as the game went on, it became apparent there was little hope of achieving that.
Here’s why, through my studs and dud list:
Studs:
1) Quarterback Josh Allen
This is a 49ers oriented studs and duds list, and I’ve made it through 12 weeks without placing a player from the opposition on the studs list. That changes this week.
Josh Allen is a helluva quarterback. Against the 49ers, he completed 32 of 40 passes, for 375 yards and four touchdowns. Watching Allen and the Bills offense reminded me of when the 49ers played the Chiefs Week 3 of the 2018 season. They scored 35 points in the first half, and the 49ers couldn’t do anything to slow down the Patrick Mahomes led offense.
Allen is among the most desirable quarterbacks in the NFL. In my opinion, he’s the best quarterback under 25. He’s a top-three quarterback 25-or-under, with the other two being Mahomes and Deshaun Watson.
Mahomes will likely win MVP this season, and whoever finishes second to him in the MVP voting should be honored. I expect that to be Allen. He’s having that good of a season. Through 12 games, he’s thrown for over 3,400 yards and has combined for 33 total touchdowns (26 passing, 6 rushing, 1 receiving).
Watching Allen, makes me crave the idea of having a 6’4” -or taller- quarterback, who is mobile and has a rocket arm. Hey there, Trey Lance.
2) Dion Jordan
Dion Jordan is the only 49ers player who I will be acknowledging as a stud this week. Jordan was the lone bright spot, of a pathetic defensive showing.
When the team desperately needed a spark, Jordan did everything in his power to give it to them. Down 10, Jordan strip-sacked Allen for the defense’s only sack of the day. Unfortunately for the 49ers, the loose ball was recovered by the Bills. Later on that same drive, Jordan had a run-stop to bring up a fourth and one. Unfortunately again for the 49ers, the Bills converted the fourth down attempt.
Jordan is the only 49ers defender who should be proud of their performance.
Duds:
1) Robert Saleh
I really like Robert Saleh. I’ve given him a ton of praise this season, but again he’s shown he can’t take down a mobile quarterback. It’s been the same story going against mobile quarterbacks for the last two seasons.
Saleh has a ton of hype around him right now, regarding potentially becoming a head coach, but a colleague of mine, Marco Martinez, brought up a very valid question.
Why would a team want to hire Robert Saleh as a head coach, if his defense continues to prove that it can’t stop mobile quarterbacks, which is clearly the direction the league is headed in?
It’s a very valid concern. Maybe Saleh will lose out on a head coaching job, because he’s yet to prove he can stop the style of quarterback play that’s sweeping the league. When there is a stationary quarterback under-center, Saleh’s elite. But he can’t crack the mobile quarterback code.
Even more maddening than the defense not being able to slow down Josh Allen, was the fact he continued to rush four the entire second half. He didn’t try out anything else. It was watch Josh Allen find the soft spot in the zone, or watch Stefon Diggs catch a pass after breaking Jason Verrett’s ankles. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
Saleh left a lot to be desired with his game-plan, and lack of in-game adjustments.
2) The Secondary
Cole Beasley caught nine passes for 130 yards and a touchdown. Stefon Diggs caught 10 passes for 92 yards. Rookie receiver, Gabriel Davis, caught three passes for 68 yards. The secondary was getting picked on all day long. Some things were preventable, like multiple miscommunications between Tarvarius Moore and other players on defense, and other things were not, like Allen extending plays outside the pocket. It’s a tough ask for any defensive back to cover for five seconds or more.
In particular, Verrett and Moore were horrible. Per Pro Football Focus:
Verrett gave up eight catches on ten targets for 85 yards.
Moore gave up six catches on six targets for 126 yards.
3) Kyle Shanahan
I acknowledge Shanahan is limited with Mullens. I also acknowledge that Shanahan is not anywhere close to the reason the 49ers lost this game. But what is the excuse for Deebo Samuel receiving one touch in the entire first half, and not catching a pass until 2:30 left in the 3rd quarter? What’s the excuse for Raheem Mostert not touching the ball in the second half, until less than two minutes in the 3rd quarter? There is no excuse. It’s inexcusable to not make it a priority to get the ball to your best players.
PS, Kyle, throw the run-gun out the window, during critical situations. It fails at a significantly high rate.
4) Kentavius Street
Kentavius Street put himself in a terrible position. On 2nd and 18, after Allen was blatantly throwing the ball out of bounds, he gave Allen a slight shove.
It wasn’t malicious, but the position Street put himself in was enough to garner a penalty. It was a display of a lack of discipline, and the roughing the passer call completely wiped away any chance of the 49ers stealing the momentum.
Street should’ve been benched after his act of stupidity.
5) The offensive line
Mullens was not sacked in this game, miraculously, but he was pressured and hit a ton. Not only did the offensive line struggle to pass block, they struggled to run block as well. Specifically near the goal-line.
Mike “McSquishy” McGlinchey continues to struggle, as he allowed a team-high four pressures. His 5th year option is looming, and exercising that option is looking more and more like it would be a terrible mistake.
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