49ers minutia minute: Tatum Bethune's eventful day included key decision on final snap
SOURCE:The Athletic|BY:Matt Barrows
Tackles Colton McKivitz and Austen Pleasants had strong outings, while it was another feast-or-famine game when targeting Jauan Jennings.
Kyle Shanahan isn’t wild about playing the Seattle Seahawks on a Saturday.
“I mean, we just had a short week,” the San Francisco 49ers head coach noted after Sunday evening’s 42-38 victory over the Chicago Bears. “Really wished it would’ve been Sunday.”
Shanahan has reason to be concerned. All four of the Chicago Bears’ second-half drives on Sunday night lasted 10 or more plays, and all but the final, frenzied one ended in points. Communication was shoddy at times, deep coverage was lax and the pass rush was nearly nonexistent.
The 49ers dominated the play clock in the first half, controlling the ball for 21:56 versus 8:04 for Chicago. The second half, however, was another story, and the ratio at game’s end was more reasonable: 33:33 for the 49ers to 26:27 for the Bears.
The 49ers’ offense played 72 snaps while the defense logged 66. Here’s how the individual snaps were divided:
Quarterback: Brock Purdy 72
Among NFL quarterbacks, the average time to throw is somewhere between 2.7 and 2.8 seconds, according to Next Gen Stats. Purdy’s time to throw has been well over 3 seconds in each of the past three games, including 3.24 seconds against the Bears.
That’s due in part to good protection and designed rollouts. Of course, it also helps when the quarterback has the quickness to extend plays, which Purdy did to an extraordinary level on his 6-yard touchdown to Kyle Juszczyk in the third quarter. From snap to throw, Purdy held the ball for 8.24 seconds, an eternity in the NFL.
Running back: Christian McCaffrey 61, Juszczyk (fullback) 39, Brian Robinson Jr. 11, Jake Tonges (H-back) 1
McCaffrey had a season-high in rushing yards (140), his longest carry of the season (41) and his second-best game in total yards (181; he had 201 in a Week 7 win over the Atlanta Falcons).
He also set a franchise record for total touches in a season (399), moving him past Roger Craig (386 in 1988) and Frank Gore (373 in 2006). It’s worth noting he did so in 16 games, the same number Craig and Gore played in their respective seasons.
Jennings has now scored at least one touchdown in five consecutive games, the first 49ers wideout to do so since Terrell Owens midway through the 2001 season.
However, the 49ers have also gotten into trouble throwing in Jennings’ direction. Purdy’s first-quarter, tipped-ball interception, which Shanahan credited to an aggressive play by Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson, was the 49ers’ seventh this season when targeting Jennings. That ties for second most in the league behind the Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson (10 interceptions when targeted). Last year, Jennings had more targets (113 to 84), but there were fewer interceptions (three) on those throws.
Tight end: Tonges 49, Luke Farrell 27, Brayden Willis 1
Five of Tonges’ seven catches went for either a first down or a touchdown. His 21 total first downs this season rank sixth on the team. That’s not bad for someone who’s played roughly a third of the offensive snaps. Tonges also drew the attention of three Bears linebackers late in the game, allowing space for Purdy to hit Jennings over the middle for the winning score.
As Cris Collinsworth noted during the broadcast, the fact that Jake Tonges drew the attention of all three Bears linebackers helped give Brock Purdy and Jauan Jennings the space for the 49ers' game-winning score. pic.twitter.com/47LaGewY69
Pleasants entered for an injured Williams after one snap, and the 49ers’ offense didn’t miss a beat. He might get the blame for the Bears’ lone sack, but that came on a deep rollout from Purdy on which pass rusher Austin Booker made a wide loop around Pleasants and eventually found Purdy on a slow-developing play. Per Pro Football Focus, that was one of only two quarterback pressures Pleasants allowed on 40 pass snaps.
McKivitz, meanwhile, drew Chicago’s best pass rusher, Montez Sweat, who entered the game with 9.5 sacks. Sweat finished the game with three quarterback pressures and a 46.4 PFF grade, his lowest of the season.
Defensive line: Sam Okuayinonu 41, Bryce Huff 34, Clelin Ferrell 32, Kalia Davis 31, Alfred Collins 29, Jordan Elliott 28, Keion White 28, Yetur Gross-Matos 24, CJ West 20
White, who’s been arguably the team’s most consistent pass rusher in recent weeks, didn’t play on the Bears’ final drive due to a groin strain, and his status is in doubt for Saturday. Gross-Matos took his spot and had a quarterback hit on the final snap, one of only three hits on Caleb Williams on Sunday.
Gross-Matos’ 24 snaps also were a season high.
Quarterback pressures:
Gross-Matos 3
White 2
Okuayinonu 2
Ferrell 2
Elliott 2
West 1
Collins 1
Huff 1
Linebacker: Dee Winters 66, Tatum Bethune 66, Luke Gifford 15
Bethune had two 15-yard penalties, one in which he swatted and grabbed tight end Colston Loveland’s facemask in plain sight of an official and one on a low-block penalty in which he went through a lineman’s lower legs to take down Loveland.
Other than that, it was a strong outing for Bethune, who led all tacklers with 11 and also had a pass breakup. He and Winters also made a critical decision on the game’s final play, choosing not to blitz as instructed and instead gumming up the end zone alongside two defensive linemen who dropped into coverage.
“Me and Dee were supposed to be on a blitz,” Bethune said on KNBR radio after the game. “And we dropped out because we knew what they were capable of, and we just wanted to put some extra hands in the throwing lane and make Caleb run around and waste the time out, and that’s what he did.”
Cornerback: Deommodore Lenoir 66, Darrell Luter Jr. 64, Chase Lucas 25, Upton Stout 17
Bears rookie receiver Luther Burden III spent half of his snaps in the slot and bedeviled the 49ers’ defensive backs throughout the game. Stout gave up a 27-yard catch to Burden while Lucas, filling in for a concussed Stout, had trouble with him in the fourth quarter. Lucas gave up 3 of 5 targets for 31 yards.
Safety: Ji’Ayir Brown 66, Malik Mustapha 66, Jason Pinnock 8
The 49ers allowed seven plays of 20 yards or more, their second-highest mark of the season. One of those was Burden’s 35-yard touchdown in the first quarter, in which he got past Brown, who has given up four touchdowns in the past three weeks.
Of course, the 49ers would have had one more 20-plus-yard play against them had Brown not taken down Bears running back Kyle Monangai in the open field after an 18-yard gain.
Special teams: Gifford 25, Farrell 24, Marques Sigle 24, Siran Neal 24, Willis 24, Garret Wallow 18, Pinnock 17, Lucas 16, Eric Kendricks 16, Eddy Piñeiro 13, Moore 10, Thomas Morstead 8, Jon Weeks 8, B. Robinson 7, Luter 7, Okuayinonu 7, Bethune 7, Ferrell 7, Davis 7, Elliott 7, Brown 7, McKivitz 6, Puni 6, Pleasants 6, Matt Hennessy 6, Burford 6, Connor Colby 6, Collins 6, White 6, Jordan James 2, Juszczyk 2, Tonges 2, Lenoir 1, Mustapha 1, Winters 1, Huff 1
It was a rare off day for the 49ers’ return unit. That group returned only one of four kickoffs beyond the 30 (and it went to the 31). Moore, meanwhile, averaged 5.5 yards on his two punt returns.
Saturday’s matchup will feature two of the league’s best special teams units, though the Seahawks could be without return man Rashid Shaheed, who suffered a concussion Sunday. Shaheed has averaged 16.4 yards per return, including a 58-yard touchdown, since the Seahawks traded for him midseason.