In a 49ers game that didn’t matter, Purdy’s injury could

The game that was to send Brock Purdy on his way to a multi-million dollar contract instead sent him to the training room for MRI tests on his valuable right elbow, which required surgery and a lengthy rehabilitation just two years ago.

Purdy performed effectively if not perfectly Monday night as this tormented season of the San Francisco 49ers headed toward the finish. Then in the closing two minutes of a game that seemed inconsequential but could take on significant meaning depending on test results, Purdy was sacked and left the game.

The Detroit Lions (14-2), perhaps heading to the Super Bowl where the Niners were in February, defeated the Niners 40-34 at Levi Stadium, yet that seemed insignificant compared to the condition of Purdy, who said on NBC Bay Area Sports that, “I got hit on the backside and my arm was on fire. It felt like pins and needles were in my arm. What hurts me is that I couldn’t finish the game.” 

What will hurt the 49ers is if Purdy’s injury is anything like the one he incurred in the 2022 NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He spent the spring and early summer trying to get healthy. Purdy did not think that would be the case this time. 

“It doesn’t feel the best,” said Purdy, “but it doesn’t feel that bad, so we’ll see tomorrow.” 

Purdy said the initial tests showed no damage to the ulnar collateral ligament he hurt two years ago. He hoped to be in the Niners last game of the season this upcoming Sunday at Arizona, but he was replaced by Joshua Dobbs for the remainder of the game after exiting this game.

Not until the start of the 2023 season were the Niners certain the quarterback would be ready to play. He was not only ready, he helped lead them to the NFC Championship. The Niners head coach, Kyle Shanahan, was more than satisfied with Purdy’s game Monday against Detroit. 

“He had better stats tonight,” said Shanahan, “he managed better tonight. He had a good night playing on a high level.” 

Purdy completed his first nine passes and overall twenty-seven of thirty-five for 377 yards and three touchdowns. In the first half, he relied on quick outs which kept the Lion's defense off balance. But after intermission, San Francisco changed its offense, and Purdy started throwing longer routes. Under pressure, in the fourth quarter, he threw two interceptions, which if nothing else, cost the 49ers a chance for a victory.

San Francisco had been eliminated from playoff contention before the game started. The Niners  said they were “playing for pride.” They did a very good job, although the defeat left them with a 6-10 record for a season that will not long be remembered.

Rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall had a fine game, with 8 receptions for 141 yards and his second touchdown of the year. He’s the man who was shot in Union Square by a would-be thief, who tried to steal his watch, during training camp. That was an awful introduction to the NFL.

From beginning to end this season has been full of the unexpected, especially for a team that was supposed to be one of the best and didn’t come close.

Niners looking at next year, although two games remain this year

And for this unmerry holiday (and NFL) season, the San Francisco 49ers will receive the 11th pick in the 2025 draft. Which one guesses is better than a lump of coal. Or another game when they can’t stop making penalties. 

No, the Niners are not finished with the 2024 schedule, unfortunately. They still have two games remaining, including Monday night in San Francisco against the Detroit Lions (13-2), a team playing as well as the Niners have played poorly.

When you get to December in pro football you hope to be at your best. And one year ago, the Niners were. Just wanted to reference the good times. Wasn’t the old showbiz slogan, “Always leave ‘em laughing?”

There is no mirth in Ninerville these days, especially after the failings and misfortunes that have haunted them since September—untimely penalties, numerous injuries, and a general lack of football smarts—that ganged together in Sunday’s 29-17 loss to the Dolphins in Miami. That defeat left San Francisco 6-9. It also officially eliminated the 49ers from any spot in the postseason, although even coach Kyle Shanahan conceded they were out of it before kickoff. 

“We knew that last week,” Shanahan said.

What he similarly knew was that the offensive line and overall defense had regressed. “There was a lack of concentration,” said Shanahan, “the penalties, a missed field goal (by Jake Moody). You can’t expect to have three personal fouls on three drives in the second half and expect to win. It was disappointing in how we got the penalties and how many we had.”

Disappointing is a word that is repeated too often about the Niners this season. They have had their chances, but not unusual for a troubled team, they were unable to benefit from them. The Niners need to get younger and stronger. They lost control of the offensive line, and have to make improvements in the running game—although if Christian McCaffrey comes back healthy that will make a difference.

Quarterback Brock Purdy had a semi-effective game Sunday throwing for 313 yards. However, with the Niners getting outgained on the ground with 81 rush yards to the Dolphins’ 166, he didn’t have much help. The old line is “to win you have to be able to run the ball.” 

“Offensively we didn’t play good enough,” said Purdy. “We hurt ourselves. When we think about the plays we should have made, we had plenty of opportunities, but we couldn't finish. Dang it, that hurt.” 

Purdy is going to get a very large contract in the offseason, maybe $60 million a year. The 49ers also are going to have to spend at other positions, including defensive backs.

After a less-than-stellar performance in the loss to the Rams in the rain a week and one half ago, Deebo Samuel played well against Miami, catching seven passes for 96 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 25 yards in five carries.  

“I’m not frustrated,” said Samuel, who perhaps will not be on the team next year if changes are made. “We have had injuries. We need to get prepared for next year.”

Planning ahead is not a bad idea after a bad season.

Rickey could steal bases and our hearts

And so once more in this terrible year, we lose another Bay Area baseball legend. This time it was the greatest base stealer of all time and perhaps the greatest Oakland Athletics player of all time. Rickey Henderson died Friday, five days short of his 66th birthday, which would have been on Christmas. Willie Mays died in June, followed by another of the San Francisco Giants Hall of Famers, Orlando Cepeda. Now Rickey, of pneumonia. 

Presumably, Henderson was in a hospital bed. Had he been on the basepaths, the Grim Reaper wouldn’t have caught him. After all, few throws from catchers ever did.

When his 25-year major league career came to a close in 2003, Henderson had 1,406 steals, 130 of which set the single-season record in 1982. Then in 1991, when he broke Lou Brock’s all-time stolen base record, Rickey famously celebrated by grabbing the base and holding it aloft. A fan of Mohammed Ali, Henderson was not exactly a paragon of humility. “I’m the greatest,” he boasted. And he was.

Henderson also is the all-time runs-scored leader with 2,295. And what’s more important in baseball for the team at bat than scoring runs? 

Henderson grew up in Oakland, attending Oakland Tech High and playing both football and baseball. He hoped one day to be on his hometown team, the Oakland A’s, and was wildly successful. The team would name the playing surface at their now departed home, the Oakland Coliseum, Rickey Henderson Field. Sadly, that’s all gone, the franchise having been shifted to Sacramento. 

Henderson and former teammate, Dave Stewart, another A’s star, came to the team’s final game at Oakland in October, remembering the good days, as now we will Henderson.

When he was enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009, his first year of eligibility, Henderson, who also played for the Yankees and several other teams, said, “That was something I always wanted to be, and now that the Baseball Writers’ Association of America has voted me into the Baseball Hall of Fame, my journey as a player is complete. I am now in the class of the greatest players of all time and at this moment, I am very, very humbled.” 

Even though his words don’t make him seem that way, Rickey was a comfortable presence in the clubhouse, a not-unwilling interview. He understood the need for an athlete to be cooperative as well as talented.

Stolen bases became less important in baseball during the middle of the 20th century. Ty Cobb’s record of 96 steals was set in 1915 and was not broken until Maury Wills raised the mark to 104 in 1962. Brock stole 118 in 1974.

And then along came Henderson, dynamic and exciting, winning games and in 1990 winning American League Most Valuable Player Award. 

He didn’t exactly change the game, but he certainly made it more thrilling. He gave opponents a run for their money. He’s gone, and so is the field named for him, but the great memories will always remain.

Thanks, Rickey.

For the Niners, plenty of rain but not a touchdown

It was an awful way for the San Francisco 49ers to end the season, in the rain at Levi’s Stadium, without a touchdown, and with a 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. No, the Niner’s season is technically not done, but after Thursday night’s depressing defeat, everyone who is a realist understands that’s it for 2024.

Never mind the playoffs. You have to wonder if the 6-8 Niners even have a chance at finishing the season with a .500 record. To make matters worse—as if they could get worse—one of San Francisco’s defensive linemen, De’Vondre Campbell, refused to return to the game in the third quarter. “I’m not going in,” he reportedly told the coaches.

San Francisco at least played effectively on defense, but the offense was alarmingly poor, managing only two field goals by Jake Moody. That started with the game plan by head coach Kyle Shanahan, continued through quarterback Brock Purdy, and went down to boastful wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who had spent the week insisting he wanted more opportunities with the ball. As if answering his demand, the Niners called a pass to Samuel the very first play from scrimmage. It was incomplete.

Samuel eventually caught three passes for 16 yards but gained only three yards on two carries. “The rain impacted us from running as well as we could,” Samuel explained. “We got to do better. It was frustrating.” That word can also be applied to the Niners performance this year.  Indeed, they had far too many injuries, including such key players as running back Christian McCaffrey—who will not return until next season-—and defensive stars Nick Bosa and Drew Greenlaw, who were able to come back to face the Rams.

Yet every team has injuries and when the Niners lost players, they also seemed to lose their heart.  Everything that could go wrong went wrong for many games, including this one on offense.

“We had offensive struggles,” admitted Shanahan, stating the obvious. “They got their run game going better than we did” (the Rams racked up 142 rushing yards compared to San Francisco’s 63). “LA played well and we left a lot out there. Deebo on third down didn’t catch the ball. That was a big one.” 

The Niners were swept by the Rams for the first time in six years. Can you imagine what it was like for the home fans, getting drenched and then being unable to cheer for a single TD? 

And can you imagine what it was like for Purdy, who had one of his poorest games? He was under constant pressure from the Rams, who came in prepared with methods of keeping the Niners QB scrambling, throwing incompletions (14 for 31 for 142 yards) and an interception. It was a career-worst for Purdy, who gained fame as “Mr. Relevant”, the last man picked in the draft. 

“Obviously this one hurts,” said Purdy. “We have lots of people ready to fight to finish out the season the right way. We had opportunities that we didn’t convert out. I didn’t play my best tonight. I left a lot of plays. I could have been better for my team. The defense did a great job.”

Oh well, someday the sun will shine again.

For Niners, even with a win, ‘These are desperate times’

The San Francisco 49ers understand. They are playing for survival, playing for pride, and playing for respect. It would have been difficult to believe in September, but as acknowledged by defensive end Leonard Floyd, that’s exactly where they are. 

The Niners did beat the Chicago “Very Bad News” Bears on Sunday with a decisive 38-13 victory at Levi’s Stadium. But so what? The victory may have been a tourniquet to stop the bleeding from a three-game losing streak that was finally coming to a close.

In the immediate future, this Thursday night, the 49ers will host the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams not only defeated the Niners two and one-half months ago but also stunned the Buffalo Bills on Sunday—who crushed San Francisco in an all too typical Buffalo snowstorm last weekend. 

Technically, the Niners still are going for a spot in the playoffs, although perhaps only in misguided dreams. They need to win all their remaining games, on a schedule that includes the Detroit Lions, who have lost only once in thirteen games.

“These are desperate times,” said Floyd. “The goal is to grab it by the horns and go home early.”  He didn’t mean departing before the postseason but that seems to be the fate awaiting the 49ers. With a 6-7 overall record and sitting at the bottom of the NFC West, their chances of making a playoff run appear slim. 

It’s hard to judge your quality in a game against the Bears, who were playing their first game under interim coach Thomas Brown and have dropped their seventh straight game.

Still, San Francisco was remarkably impressive on defense, keeping Chicago to four yards in the first half. So, the Bears would be an embarrassment to their late founder and owner, George Hallis, but they’re still a legitimate NFL team. 

The Niners' offense was, in a word, effective. Quarterback Brock Purdy reminded us of his performance last year, the Super Bowl year, completing fourteen of his first sixteen passes and finishing with 20 of 25 for 325 yards and two touchdowns. “We had offensive rhythm in the first half,” said Kyle Shanahan, the Niners' relieved coach—who had been a target of fans and journalists during the brief losing streak.

“We had to step it up today”, said Shanahan. “We did and we got a win.”

Floyd, who had two sacks of San Francisco’s total seven, said “Great defense. Everyone stepped up. The goal is to carry it to Thursday.” 

The defense had been a problem with the injuries to Nick Bosa and others. 

Bosa still was unable to play for a third straight game, but with Floyd and ever-reliable Fred Warner taking charge, the D certainly dominated Chicago. The Bears were held to just 162 total yards. San Francisco surged to a commanding 24-0 lead by halftime, effectively deciding the game before the break. Chicago didn’t score until about the middle of the third quarter. 

Niner partisans had been eagerly anticipating—or perhaps just patiently waiting—for a performance like this over the past couple of months. They finally have it. However, it might have come too late.

Montana’s advice to Purdy: Don’t press

The evening dealt with the passing of time and because the guest speaker was a quarterback—in San Francisco, The quarterback—the passing of a football.

Through the years, the MPSF Speakers Series has offered prime ministers, former presidents,  executives, and other notables. On Wednesday at the Paramount Theater in Oakland and on Zoom,  it was Joe Montana. 

He is now 68 years old, a proud grandfather of three, and as successful in the business suite as he was on the gridiron—arguably even more so A look back is full of sweet memories, both for Joe, who led the 49ers to four Super Bowl victories, and for the fans who remember the exploits of the guy nicknamed “Super Joe” and others from those championship years.

An audience that likely included more than a few current Niners supporters frustrated with the team’s disappointing record this season was given the opportunity to ask questions. Unsurprisingly, one of the questions was about Brock Purdy, who now holds the quarterback position that long ago was held by Montana.

What advice would he give Purdy, was a question for Montana. “You don’t press,” was Montana’s response. “Go back to your fundamentals—on offense and defense.” 

Sounds simple, but as Montana knows, it doesn’t turn out to be simple. 

Montana was drafted in the third round in 1959 by a rookie coach named Bill Walsh. The Niners were not very good in those days. 

“That season, to put it mildly, we looked like the Bad News Bears,” said Montana. “When we played the Cowboys, Bill started to substitute and I hid behind him, but he saw me and put me back in the game.”

Ronnie Lott, the star defensive back, joined the team in the 1981 draft, and, alongside the maturation of Montana, helped elevate the Niners to a Super Bowl appearance that once seemed out of reach. "The culture improved," Montana recalled.

Walsh then chose a little-known receiver from Mississippi Valley State University, Jerry Rice, who broke virtually every receiving record and helped win more Super Bowls. 

“Walsh was ahead of his time,” said Montana. “He started the back shoulder throw. His offensive style was different than the others. He always wanted to complete the pass. You had to understand the philosophy behind what he did. He demanded that the quarterback be perfect. He paid most attention to the littlest details.”

Montana fondly recalled Walsh’s sense of humor, like the time he dressed up in a bellman’s uniform to greet the team upon their arrival in Detroit for Super Bowl XVI. He also talked about Super Bowl XIX at Stanford, where before the game Walsh sat in the locker room and jokingly whined, “Oh, those Miami Dolphins are so good, we have no chance.”

As history shows, the Niners beat the Dolphins.

Montana and his wife Jennifer have been married for 40 years. And Joe laughed as he talked about trying to propose to her. 

“We were out to dinner, and I wrote on the back of the check, ‘Will you marry me, Jen?’ She said I didn’t really ask her. Then I hired a plane to fly over the Marina Green with a banner that said, ‘Will you marry me, Jen?’ She still said I hadn’t actually asked her.”

Finally, he added, “So then I asked her properly—and she said yes.”

He always had the right touch.

The falling snow had nothing to do with the fall of the 49ers

The snow was unstoppable. So were the Buffalo Bills, as they dominated the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, winning 35-10. 

This wasn’t cause and effect. The weather had nothing to do with the result. If this game were played in Miami or even Milpitas, the Bills, who may be headed to the Super Bowl, would have won just as easily as they did in the game at their home stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. 

What’s happened to the Bills, possibly certainly seemed predictable. They have a great young quarterback, Josh Allen, who is from Firebaugh near Sacramento and, ironically, grew up to be a 49ers fan. He became the first player at his position—and only the fourth in NFL history—to throw a touchdown pass, catch a touchdown pass, and run for a touchdown in a single game. One of the other three was the Niners’ Christian McCaffrey who did it two years ago. He had been hurt much of this season, and then Sunday after returning, was injured again.

That mirrors what the 49ers have experienced since September—suffering from injuries when they weren’t plagued by mistakes. Now, after losing their third straight game, they find themselves in last place in the NFC West.

“We only scored one field goal in the first half,” said 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan. 

And for all intents, the game—and sadly, the Niners season, was over right there.

“I’m very disappointed,” said Shanahan. “I thought we could better than that”

The Niners haven’t been able to run, partly because of McCaffrey’s injuries, and worse, they haven’t been able to stop the run. Buffalo stomped its way through for 222 yards and three touchdowns rushing. 

McCaffrey seemed on his way to a touchdown in the second quarter but was pulled down and hurt again. “He had a great week of practice,” Shanahan said of McCaffrey. “When he broke it open, it looked like he was going all the way, but he was tripped and that was when he hurt his knee and had to leave the game.”

Did that make a difference? Perhaps. Let’s say probably. The Niners were not going to win this game the way Allen and the Bills’ offense were going through the suddenly ineffective Niners' defense.

What has happened to the San Francisco team that made it to the Super Bowl last year is a haunting question. Yes, the inordinate number of injuries—Nick Bosa missed Sunday’s game—has been a factor. But, whether because key players have aged too quickly or there is another explanation, something is very wrong. The 49ers either come apart in the last quarter or like this game against Buffalo, get beaten badly. Good teams do have their off days, which is the reason nobody since the 1972 Miami Dolphins has finished undefeated. But these Niners have had too many off days.

The Niners particularly have had trouble on both offense and defense in the area near the end zone, which is known as the Red Zone, but Sunday with the snow it should be renamed the White Zone.

This Maverick is now a PGA tour winner

The last hole of the last PGA Tour tournament of the year, and the kid named for an auto brand finally finished first.

Maverick McNealy birdied the final hole Sunday at the RSM Classic in Sea Island, Georgia, to break through in his fifth year as a pro after great success at Stanford.

“A moment I’ll never forget,” said McNealy. Understandably.

In his career McNealy, now 25, didn’t exactly need to pull himself up by his Footjoys—his father Scott was one of the founders of Sun Microsystems—but like a true maverick he obeyed his own desires. And it has paid off in much more than the mere $1.368 million prize money he picked up in this event. Or the realization that he has now achieved every golfer’s goal, the win that gained him a place in the 2025 Masters. There's also the recognition every athlete strives for—something McNealy had already begun to earn, thanks to both his name and his game.

When you think of Stanford golf, legendary names like Tiger Woods and Tom Watson come to mind. McNeely, although sharing the Stanford record of 11 victories, is a long way from that category. However, with this win, he’s taken a significant step forward in his journey.

As you hear every week, winning on tour is incredibly difficult. Especially when you are identified as McNeely has been. Scott McNeely, now 70, a one-time auto executive in the auto industry before advancing to Silicon Valley power and wealth, had four sons and named each after cars: Maverick, Scout (who now is caddying for Maverick), Colt, and Dakota. Whether the other kids or their parents found humor in their names hardly matters when you reside in Portola Valley in an estate that boasts a hockey rink (Maverick is a skilled hockey player too), a golf driving range, a basketball court, and other recreational facilities, including a gym. 

Maverick had shown the quality of his game the last few years. Victory seemed inevitable and it was. McNeely said there was a reason.

“My parents have always treated me and my three brothers like a team,” he told Cameron Morfit of PGA Tour.com. “Everything I remember growing up is family-related. I miss playing college golf and being part of a team.”

“This year, I’ve felt like I had more of a team with me than at any point in my golf career. That, I think, has been a huge difference-maker for me.”

The current team he refers to includes instructors, advisors, accountants, and trainers, 15 people.

The idea that golf is an individual game isn’t quite true anymore, although it is still one person swinging the club. A year ago, McNealy had problems trying to make that swing. He tore a ligament in his left shoulder and was unable to play on tour. He underwent biomechanical analysis, stem-cell treatment, and worked on a new swing.

Obviously, it all worked.

Where do the troubled Niners go from here (aside from Buffalo)?

It wasn’t only that the Niners were without notable starters Brock Purdy, defensive end Nick Bosa, and offensive tackle Trent Williams due to injuries. It also was because the men on the field seemed to be as confused as they were incapable.

These Niners have evolved from a team that last season appeared in the Super Bowl—oh how far away that seems with the current circumstances—to one that appears incapable of stopping making penalties or even more critically incapable of stopping the opponent from making yards on the ground.

Statistics are sometimes misleading. Not this time. The Niners failed to record a first down until roughly midway through the second quarter. They gained only 44 yards rushing (while allowing 169). They were called for nine penalties, costing them 77 yards. The Packers had an unordinary five penalties for 44 yards. 

As you might surmise, the Niners coach Kyle Shanahan, having endured one of the most one-sided defeats in his coaching career, was less than thrilled.

“We missed way too many tackles,” said Shanahan. “The 1st half was the worst.” 

That’s when they fell behind 17-7. 

“We had three turnovers and they all turned into touchdowns,” emphasized Shanahan—as if on this Sunday, when the Niners dropped to a record of 5-6 and the bottom of the mediocre NFC West, he needed to be emphatic. What he needs to do is figure out how to restore the winning ways, something that may prove difficult. 

San Francisco next plays at Buffalo against a Bills team that is the only one in this season of 2024 to defeat the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs. Purdy’s return certainly will help, not that the Niners didn’t get an impressive temporary replacement in Brandon Allen, who hadn’t been in a game for three years. He completed seventeen passes for 199 yards. 

It's the defense—formerly the backbone of the Niners—that needs fixing. Suddenly, they can't stop the run, and when that becomes a problem, a team is in serious trouble. The opponent simply calls one ground play after another, gaining yards and keeping the ball. In the end, on Sunday, the Packers controlled the ball for 36 minutes compared to San Francisco's 23. Hard to do much in football without the ball, except conjure up ways to get it and then give it away. The three turnovers—an interception, a lost fumble by Allen, and another by Christian McCaffrey—were part of the reason the Niners' offense was stymied. 

Where do the Niners go from this point? Do they regain some of their skills and their mojo? Or, because of what has transpired, does it get worse before it gets better? If it ever gets better?  

Amazing how long it takes to reach the top or close to it, and how quickly a team can tumble.

Was it the defense, the offense, or both that cost the Niners?

The San Francisco 49ers’ expectations of September have been overwhelmed by the failings of November. Head coach Kyle Shanahan used the word disappointing. He was specifically talking about the 20-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. But the word would apply to the 2024 season, in which an attempt to return for a second straight year to the NFL Championship game now seems very doubtful.

Whatever happens to teams that lose the Super Bowl is mysterious and deflating. Right now the Niners are 5-5, and almost certainly a doubtful participant in the coming Superbowl. The unavoidable factors on which football is known, offense, defense, special teams, and, perhaps heart—that propelled the Niners to success a year ago—have vanished. 

Yes, key players have been missing and bad breaks have been too prevalent, but good teams overcome the bad stuff. Which is the reason they are good teams.

The manner in which the Niners fell to the Seahawks giving up the lead they had taken with only twelve seconds to go, is all too indicative of a team that for whatever reason has lost its way.

This was the fifth time San Francisco failed to retain a fourth-quarter lead this season. They say good teams win the close ones. What this makes the Niners is up to the judgment of the individual, but so far they certainly seem to meet the standard of a good team.

“We had our opportunities to win this game,” said Shanahan, “but we didn’t get it done. Penalties just killed us.”

That the Niners were without their star defensive lineman, Nick Bosa, in the final minutes, after he incurred a hip injury, certainly did not help. Yet winning teams manage to survive the negatives.

Through the length of an NFL schedule with players crashing into each other game after game, there will always be injuries and missed games. It’s how you respond when key players are not on the field. One of those was Bosa. Another, unquestionably was George Kittle, the Niners tight end whose blocking and receiving are a major part of the offense. He was declared out even before the kickoff. Still, as Shanahan has pointed out, the Niners had their chances—opportunities he called them—and were unable to take advantage of them. It’s been that kind of year for San Francisco, a team often unable to do the right thing at the right time, or even at the apparent wrong time. 

The Niners were unable to move the ball on the ground. A month ago in Seattle, the 49ers rushed for 228 yards and beat the Seahawks. But Sunday, they gained only 131 yards. Was it because the offensive line has worn down or because Seattle was better on defense?

Some might point out that the reason the Niners were beaten by Seattle in this game was because of their defense. However, maybe if San Francisco picked up more yards with the ball, it wouldn’t have mattered how many they allowed when the other team had the ball.

It may be unfair to blame what the Niners couldn’t do with the ball on what the Seahawks could do with the ball, in other words finding fault with the offense rather than the defense.

In truth, it was a little bit of both. And that’s why the Niners are struggling and may not get to the postseason.

Will 49ers find it less stressful against Seahawks?

Yes, as you are aware, after three failed field goals, a muffed punt and a confrontation between a couple of teammates, the Niners crushed the hard-luck Tampa Bay Buccaneers down in Florida, where the guys on the telecast kept talking about the hot weather and the officiating.

The winning margin was provided by Jake Moody, who, after missing the previous two games because of an ankle injury and missing kicks in this one, hit the winning field goal with 0:00 on the clock.

The game was perhaps a bit too exciting for the 49ers, who had opportunities to make it easier on themselves.  However, what they did accomplish was pull off a 23-20 victory and get their record above .500. Now, they have a chance to go up a notch when they face the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday—a team they defeated just a few weeks ago in Seattle.

Christian McCaffrey played for the first time this season, and according to those in the know, helped make a difference. He gained 39 yards on 13 carries and caught six passes for 68 yards. 

“I feel good,” said McCaffrey, who was recovering from leg and groin problems.  

Quarterback Brock Purdy completed 25 of 36 for 353 yards, several of those in the final minute on third-down plays as San Francisco drove for the victory.  

It was a satisfying conclusion. However, anyone viewing on Fox TV would not forget that in the first half after one of those errant kicks, Moody was challenged (threatened? berated?) by Deebo Samuel, who was irked by Moody’s inability to get the ball through the uprights.

Both players eventually shrugged it off, using that familiar explanation that emotions become apparent in an activity where 200-plus-pound individuals spend hours pounding into each other.

Niners coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t offer much more about Samuel-Moody or whether Moody would remain the man responsible for field goals and PATs. Shanahan said he had no advice for Moody before the kick that would win the game. 

"What am I going to say to him?" Shanahan remarked. "'You better make it'? Does that help?"

Hard to say, and maybe it would hurt.

Warriors reminding us of what used to be—and could be again

And from out of the past come, yes, the Golden State Warriors, reminding us of what used to be and offering us a delightful possibility of what again could be.

Klay Thompson has moved on while Steph Curry and Draymond Green are competing with that ageless rascal Father Time as much as any opponent in uniform.

Still, there are the Warriors with the best record in the NBA.

On a Wednesday in Boston, where history has been made and titles won, the Warriors arguably played their best game of the season—brief as it has been—or any recent season since their championship years. With the sort of defense that is always emphasized by head coach Steve Kerr and responsible for their success in the glory years, the Warriors limited the high-scoring Celtics to 41 points in the first half and then managed a 118-112 victory.

That was only the second loss in nine games this fall for the league’s defending champions.

With the victory, Golden State supplanted the Celtics as the leader of the pack whatever that means with months to go. Yet, a 7-1 record with a 5-0 mark on the road is something worthy of mention. And so it is being mentioned.

Skeptics will say it is premature in November to become concerned of what eventually may result during June, months before the last game is played. However, a great beginning often leads to a great conclusion.

The San Francisco Giants were a disappointment. The San Francisco 49ers have struggled because of injuries. So maybe it’s up to the seven-time NBA champion Warriors, as the team logo brags, to bring the thrill back to the Bay Area once more.

Certainly,  Curry, who scored 27 points Wednesday—after a slow first half of 6 points—has achieved the rank of the region’s most recognizable and most enduring athletic figure.  

Curry will be 37 in March and missed a few games because of an ankle injury. Still, he throws up those jump shots with beautiful consistency.   

As you might imagine, Kerr was more than satisfied with the way the team played against the Celtics. 

“Everyone stepped up,” he said on the NBC Bay Area post-game show. “It was a total team effort.”

Meaning, people such as Draymond on defense, and Buddy Hield, who the Warriors acquired last summer in a deal with Philadelphia, on offense.

Also contributing significantly was Andrew Wiggins, who scored 16 points, and played meaningful defense.  

This Warriors’ progress may be unexpected but it certainly isn’t unappreciated.

The atmosphere at the Warriors’ home, Oracle Arena in San Francisco, is among the best in basketball. True, the fans are spoiled but that’s what happens when you are winning most of the time.   

The assumption is that they will be able to replicate at home what they have been able to accomplish on a very successful road swing. If that happens, the winter will be anything but cold.

Will Posey, Minasian find help for the Giants this week at GM meetings?

For the San Francisco Giants, the nightmare next door—meaning 350 miles down the coast—isn’t going anywhere.

The talented, highly paid, yet often despised World Series champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, will be back with the same high-priced cast next season. And once again, Shohei Ohtani will be pitching again as well as hitting home runs and stealing bases.

That reality makes the tasks of the Giants’ new controlling executives, Buster Posey, president of baseball operations, and general manager, Zack Minasian, even more significant at this week’s general manager meetings in San Antonio.

And to make the situation even a little more difficult, the Giants have to figure out whether they want to re-sign Blake Snell, who opted out of his contract, in order to get more money. That’s not an unusual situation in the sporting world of the 21st century. But the people in charge, Posey, Minansian, and those who control the bankroll have to decide whether Snell is worth it.

Certainly Ohtani, who the Giants attempted to sign last spring, was worth what the Dodgers spent for him. You sensed when leaving the Angels, and joining the other team that uses Los Angeles as its identification, even though the Angels are in Anaheim, that the Dodgers would be very much one of the very best teams in the sport.

They turned out to be the best, not only winning more games during the regular schedule than any other team but also winning the most important games, the four in the World Series.

As Giants fans know all too well, the Dodgers have dominated San Francisco the last few seasons. L.A. has had an abundance of skilled players, and for the Giants too much success. 

So, how can that be changed? Who is out there that the Giants can acquire? The name Juan Soto, last a member of the Yankees, keeps popping up, and he certainly would be what the Giants could use, an outfielder with power.  However, there is little optimism.

The baseball aphorism is no team can have too much pitching, again verified in the World Series. Nor, too much defense. Just maybe if the Yankees don’t fumble, stumble, and drop the ball in that wretched fifth inning of Game five, the result of the series is changed. Then again, the better team usually wins, and clearly the Dodgers were the better team. 

The Giants had their own defensive problems the last couple of years, and their former GM, Farhan Zaidi, tried to make moves to correct those problems. You can’t keep giving teams four outs an inning, no matter how strong your offense is.

What Giant fans would like is a team that can field and hit, of course. Posey, the catcher on the Giants three World Series champions—and that seems so far away—knows well the significance of fundamentals. 

He also understands how a big bat would not only help the team but bring in the fans. Ever since the days of Babe Ruth, the power hitter has been the star. Yes, the Giants could use one along with one or two guys who can throw strikes. You have to start someplace if you ever want to overtake the Dodgers, as difficult as it seems. 

Nerve-wracking but successful: 49ers game against the Cowboys

Sure it was more nerve-wracking than preferred, but in the NFL you accept the fates the opposition and your defense provide, especially when the game concludes with a win that was most needed and satisfying. Especially when it comes against the oh-so-pretentious Dallas Cowboys.

On Sunday night, the Niners held on—that phrase is not meant critically, but emotionally—to a 30-24 victory at Levi’s.

History virtually dictates that the 49ers will somehow defeat “The Boys” because they usually do. However, this one, after the Niners came from behind and then almost came from ahead, was as difficult and exciting as any recent Niners-Dallas game. It also was as necessary as any game this season, with San Francisco coming in with a 3-4 record. Now they’re even and now they have a bye for the coming week which may enable them to continue their brief success and regain some of their injured players, primarily the running back Christian Mc Caffrey who still hasn’t played since the end of last season.

Look, there is still half the season to go, but you don’t want to settle down with a losing record, especially when you are only a few months away from competing in Super Bowl XVIII. And you got that very feeling from the post-game remarks by head coach Kyle Shanahan. He called the game a “gut check” which is strong language and a reflection of how important it was.

The Niners trailed early, 10-6, and then led 27-10, but the final margin was six after the Cowboys scored on a pass from Dak Prescott to Cee Dee Lamb with 3:36 to play. 

Whether the Niners were in danger of losing depends on the viewpoint, but they seemed enough in control that this one wasn’t going to get away as some games earlier in the season. Brock Purdy had arguably his best game after being criticized earlier in the week. In today’s game, he used his legs as well as his very accurate arm. He scrambled several times and also bursted away for 16 yards on one carry, ending up with a rushing total of 56 yards. He completed 18 of 26 pass attempts for 260 yards and one touchdown.

The defense kept us in it,” said Purdy, “and then we got going on offense.”

All this despite the lack of MacCaffrey and Deebo Samuel, who after spending time in the hospital because of pneumonia, injured his ribs carrying the ball in this game. Just another hurt player for a San Francisco team that has been affected by an enormous amount of injuries. 

If you turn on ESPN, you might believe the Cowboys are the only team in existence. Yes, they have their reputation, and their owner, Jerry Jones, is only too willing to discuss the franchise anytime there is a microphone within shouting distance.

The Niners have performed well against the Cowboys, winning the last four matchups. This rivalry—if you can call it that—is beneficial not only to both teams but also to the league as a whole.

“Going into this game we knew it was a big one, “ said Shanahan. 

Maybe bigger than the coach of a 3-4 team would admit. No worry, that’s old news. The record is back to respectability.

Niners’ Shanahan on loss to Chiefs: “We got our ass kicked today”

They were calling it a Super Bowl rematch. It was more like a mismatch.

"There's no way to sugarcoat this. We got our ass kicked today," said Kyle Shanahan, the San Francisco 49ers coach. 

The final score made it seem close, Kansas City Chiefs 28, Niners 18. It wasn’t. A more accurate reflection would come from the time of possession: Kansas City owned the ball for more than 35 minutes. It owns the 49ers seemingly forever, now having beaten San Francisco the last five times they played.

The Chiefs only defeated San Francisco 25-22 in overtime in Super Bowl LVIII last February, and yes, the 49ers could have won that game. They had no chance of winning this one, Sunday, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, as Shanahan so tersely pointed out.

Not only was it because of the three interceptions of quarterback Brock Purdy, who concedes he tried to force the last two of the throws. Indeed Purdy and the Niners were without three top receivers, Jauan Jennings, Deebo Samuel and then when he got hurt in the fourth quarter—apparently a torn ACL—Brandon Ayuik. The loss of those players understandably had a huge effect on the Niners' offense, but every team in the NFL has injuries. KC was without several players, and the best teams survive if not thrive.

The Chiefs indeed are thriving at 6-0. They are the only team in pro football still undefeated with the Vikings falling to Detroit earlier Sunday. So much for any thought that KC would have a letdown after last season's title.   

The Niners are 3-4. While the situation figures to improve if and when halfback Christian McCaffrey returns, along with several of the missing receivers, it will not be easy to return to the playoffs. 

So many things have gone wrong this year, including the inability to finish games. If the Niners are to regain their once-exalted position as one of the NFL’s leading franchises, Sunday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys would be a good place to start. 

The Cowboys have had their own troubles, and have owner Jerry Jones giving various explanations. Long ago Dallas was labeled “America’s team,” and whether that was justified, the Cowboys have earned as much respect and disdain as any team in any sport. 

The Chiefs have simply gained admiration under coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. They just kept winning and on Sunday the Niners were their victim. Again.

KC did it with a defense that wasn’t overwhelming, just efficient. The Niners gained 384 net yards, compared to the 358 for the Chiefs, but San Francisco, as has been the case, could not turn yardage into enough points.

Purdy’s three interceptions were part of the reason. Turnovers hurt even the best teams, and it is obvious that San Francisco, now behind Seattle in the division, isn’t one of the very best teams at the moment. The Niners still have more than half of their season remaining, which could be good news if they figure out how to complete the drives and somehow keep players healthy enough to play.

Mets, Dodgers show that money is a key to the Postseason

So here in the wasteland of baseball—but ain’t the weather beautiful?—we try to accept the fact the Dodgers are where the Giants are not, in the postseason. And we wonder whether the new guy, Buster Posey, is as surprised by what has happened.

Or what hasn’t.

Now, as the newly appointed director of baseball operations, his task is clear: to do what his predecessor, Farhan Zaidi, could not—build a Giants team that can overtake the dreaded Dodgers.

Posey of course was an MVP catcher and a major contributor when (sigh!) the franchise from San Francisco finished ahead of the one from Los Angeles and every other team in the majors. One thing Giants fans must hope is that when Posey goes out to get players, he will be accompanied by a large amount of money.

Poverty doesn’t work anymore in baseball. The New York Mets have the largest payroll in the sport, and that’s the reason they are facing the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. Dodgers and Yankees are also among the top spenders. It’s been proven that, with rare exceptions in baseball, you get what you pay for.

The San Diego Padres thought they would be getting the place where the Dodgers are now, and they had a 2-1 lead over L.A. in the division series, but San Diego choked it away or got stopped by Dodger pitching that reminded people of the Sandy Koufax-Don Drysdale era of the early 1960s.

What might strike Giants fans as humorous is the way the Padres and their supporters have stolen a page from the book of Giants-Dodgers history. Before the playoffs, San Diego was flooded with posters and T-shirts with the words “Beat LA.”

Giants fans have chanted that for decades, to no avail, rather than a positive slogan like “Let’s go Giants.”

Early on, when the Dodgers recorded 33 consecutive scoreless innings, starting with the Padres and running on into the Mets, LA seemed unbeatable. It is hard to win when you don’t score, but one of the great cliches in baseball is momentum only lasts until the end of the game. The guy who hit a home run one day is quite likely to strike out three days the next. 

Even superstars can begin to struggle. The great Shohei Ohtani, who is a lock for National League most valuable player after hitting 50 home runs and stealing 50 bases, has only two hits in the two games against New York. Los Angeles Times columnist Dylan Hernandez tried to interview Ohtani after his hitless second game against the Mets Monday, but Ohtani wouldn’t talk. He had three hitless at-bats and now is 0 for 19 in the playoffs with the bases empty, but he is six for eight with runners on base. He is batting .222 in the postseason.

However, he and the Dodgers are in the Postseason. Unlike the team from San Francisco. Maybe next year… Buster Posey may have an effect.

Niners get the game they needed—for themselves and the fans

This was the game the San Francisco 49ers needed, maybe as much for themselves as their doubting fans and skeptical media. And this was the game the 49ers, calling down the echoes, grabbed in the most resounding and reassuring of ways.

True, the final score showed the Niners only in front 36-24, but from the opening moments you sensed they not only were going to win but prove that the talent and fire were still in the locker room and on the field.

They didn’t correct all the faults on display in consecutive losses to the Rams and Cardinals, but they once more reminded us of the exciting teams that got the ball into the end zone and stopped opposing runners when needed.

Playing at Seattle’s home, Lumen Field, against a Seahawks team that had its own problems, but still had a better record (3-2) than San Francisco, the 49ers showed plenty of offense (483 yards) and enough defense—including big interceptions by two rookie defensive backs, Renardo Green and Malek Mustapha. 

Maybe the game became a little uncomfortable for the Niners and their supporters, when the Seahawks, after trailing 16-0 late in the first half, closed to 23-17 late in the third quarter.

However, one never felt the Niners wouldn’t stay in control.

The belief that the Niners were among the NFL’s best teams had been restored, although we’ll find out more when they play the Super Bowl champion, Kansa City Chiefs, a week from Sunday. At the moment, we’ll be content with the fact that against the Seahawks the Niners seemed revitalized and very competitive.

Niners coach Kyle Shanahan, as disappointed in his team’s offensive output the previous two games as anyone—San Francisco had only one offensive touchdown against the Cardinals—was understandably thrilled by the way his team moved the ball, especially moving it into the end zone.

Shanahan was intent on opening up things, and that tactic worked beautifully, quarterback Brock Purdy throwing three touchdown passes, a 76-yarder to Deebo Samuel, and two to the ever-reliable George Kittle, 10 and nine yards. For a man known for his solid blocking that sets runners free, Kittle is impressive as a receiver.

“He made two very good catches,” said Shanahan about Kittle. “And Deebo really turned in a great play. We used him a lot.”

Purdy spoke about the team’s resilience after its stumbling start.

“I think that we all came together as a team,” said Purdy. “Both touchdowns were trust factors. We stuck together as a unit.”

Niners need a kicker, luck and a win

The San Francisco 49ers need a new placekicker. Surely they will have one before Monday is done. The 49ers need a victory. They may get that in a few days. The Niners likewise need a break. Who will guess when one might occur?

The intent is not to seek sympathy for the Niners, who over the past decades have had their share of good fortune and success. And even if that were the intent—nothing is normal in the business of pro sports—none would be provided.

But for all the things that went right through the years when the 49ers were winning, including last season when they came within a victory—albeit a very significant victory—of taking the Super Bowl, so much has gone wrong this screwball season of 2024.

Not only are the Niners stumbling along with a losing record of 2-3, but the situation seems to be even bleaker than the numbers. On Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, San Francisco had built a 13-point lead over the quite mediocre Arizona Cardinals and then lost on a field goal with 1:37 remaining. Yes, the temperature climbed to more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit by the second half and yes the Cardinals train in the desert where temperatures are in that range daily, but good teams overcome such difficulties, which is why they are good teams. The Niners, on Sunday, could not. What the Niners similarly could not overcome was the loss of their kicker Jake Moody, who injured an ankle while trying to do what kickers and quarterbacks should be reluctant to do, make a tackle.

San Francisco after consecutive defeats to two other West Division teams, the Los Angeles Rams—blowing a big lead in that one—and the Cardinals, are in more than a bit of trouble.  They do have a chance to make a correction quickly when they play the Seahawks in a Thursday night game at Seattle. However, that could end up as another loss for the Niners, no matter who they pick up as their new kicker.

You’ve often heard the line that defense wins. And that’s not untrue, but you need a little offense, and it would be unfair to blame the defeat against the Cardinals on the D even though the Niners had built a large advantage. San Francisco scored only one touchdown on offense and was shut out in the second half. The Niners were without their All-Pro back, Christian McCaffrey, as they have been in every game this season, yet backup Jordan Mason has done more than an adequate job. It’s just like a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces don’t fit with the Niner offense. San Francisco outgained the Cardinals 384 yards to 358. And yet, the Niners were unable to do what we’ve become used to them doing, taking the ball and getting it into the end zone when needed.

It was needed Sunday and maybe it will show up for Thursday’s game along with the new kicker.

Nobody said winning would be easy, but it has become very hard for the Niners the last few games.

Giants replace Zaidi (a baseball man) with Posey (a baseball player)

So the San Francisco Giants have decided to replace executive Farhan Zaidi, a baseball man, with Buster Posey, a baseball player.

And the question after consecutive losing seasons is not so much why but why not?

That Zaidi schooled in the beauty and agony of analytics couldn’t turn the Giants into winners in his five seasons as their director of baseball operations, probably wasn’t entirely his fault. Still, you can’t finish under .500 three years in a row and get pounded by the dreaded, despised Los Angeles Dodgers, without some consequences.

Posey, an MVP and star catcher of the Giants’ World Series Teams of 2010, 2012, 2014, was one of the most popular players of the recent era. Whether that popularity translates into success in the front office remains to be seen. After retirement, Posey, who has a young family and resides in Georgia where he grew up, has worked for the Giants in an advisory role. The plan was for him always to move up into a power position, but who knew it would be this quickly.

Everyone understands how dominant the Dodgers have been—although they only have one World Series title in the last few years—and that has made it unsettling for the Giants’ situation.  The San Diego Padres came along with the intent of catching L.A., and in the process have made life more difficult for San Francisco.

The Dodgers and Padres have slugged it out and as expected both are in the postseason.  However, the Giants failed to get to the playoffs and maybe even worse, were unable to win as many games as they lost. The Giants, indeed attempted to sign big-name free agents, including this year the remarkable Shohei Ohtani, but were unable to make a blockbuster deal that in retrospect would have given Zaidi job security as well as a place in baseball lore. Zaidi repeatedly said the Giants budget was large enough to sign Carlos Correa in 2023 or Ohtani in 2024 but those deals never came to fruition.

One of the frequent rumors in baseball is that top players don’t want to come to San Francisco for one reason or another, having nothing to do with baseball in particular, but the city’s reputation as a haven for the disenfranchised. And yet when Oracle Park is packed and fans are cheering, that seems to be less of an issue, as most likely it gets down to the team winning or losing. They stopped winning with Zaidi in charge. Will they be able to restart when Posey takes over?

We will know sooner than later.

49ers use a Belichick-type defense to beat his old team

You imagine Bill Belichick found a measure of appreciation the way his former team was defeated Sunday—if given the circumstances, not quite to the same degree Kyle Shanahan found in his current team winning.

Belichick’s historic success with the New England Patriots, the seven Super Bowl championships, was constructed on defense, although to be sure, no one doubts the contributions of a quarterback named Tom Brady.

The Patriots, now without Belichick and very much rebuilding, came to Levi Stadium Sunday, where the 49ers finally showed the type of defense needed to win in the NFL, defeating the Patriots, 31-13.

Quarterback Brock Purdy again played impressively for the Niners, but the difference as Purdy pointed out in the post-game interview, the defense missing the last couple of weeks—both defeats—was back and in full force. If that was the result of linebacker Fred Warner’s pre-game almost threatening inspirational speech to the squad, then so be it. Sometimes it takes a slap from more than the final score.

The Niners knew what to do. It’s just that they didn’t do it against the Minnesota Vikings or the Los Angeles Rams. Was it complacency or merely the unavoidable fact that teams do not play at the highest level each time out? 

“We were not playing the way we should,” said Warner.  

Quickly enough he turned his words into actions. In the opening minutes of the second quarter with San Francisco ahead 6-0, Warner picked off a pass from Jacoby Bissett and turned the interception into a 45-yard return for a touchdown. He injured his ankle on the play and did not return, but Warner said he would be fine—and after the pick-6 it was apparent the Niners also would be fine.

“The defense was awesome,” said Shanahan, “especially on 1st downs.”

San Francisco limited the Pats to a mere 216 yards on offense. New England had the ball for only 3 fewer minutes than the Niners, but couldn’t do much with it. The Niners had six quarterback sacks, in part because of the Patriots’ ineffectiveness but in part because of San Francisco’s needed aggressiveness. After all, didn’t the Niners give defensive lineman, Nick Bosa, $170 million for five years to help the defense play the way it finally did?

Purdy will be getting a new contract for next season and it is predicted to be enormous because quarterbacks, understandably, get better paid than anyone in pro football. But at the moment, however, Purdy is only talking about this season—and what has transpired.

“The offense and defense today were complimentary,” said Purdy, alluding to one category helping the other. “We distributed the ball.”

Jordan Mason, filling in beautifully for the injured Christian McCaffrey, rushed for 123 yards. Tight end George Kittle, known for his necessary blocking, made a spectacular touchdown catch and kicker Jake Moody was perfect on three field goal attempts.

So now the Niners seem to be revitalized, particularly on defense. They have many games left to verify that this is true, starting with the one against the Arizona Cardinals. If a game against the mediocre Cardinals verifies anything.