San Francisco 49ers
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SANTA CLARA – Nostalgia will sweep through Levi’s Stadium on Sunday, and not all memories are worth celebrating.
In fact, here comes a double-whammy to remember: the 49ers’ only Super Bowl losses, from the 2012 and ’19 seasons.
For starters, the Kansas City Chiefs (4-2) are coming to face the 49ers (3-3) in their first matchup since Super Bowl LIV on Feb. 2, 2020, when a fourth-quarter collapse doomed the Niners to a 31-20 heartbreaker.
Second, it’s alumni weekend, and that means commemorating the 10th anniversary of their NFC Championship-winning team under Jim Harbaugh, who’s expected to attend Sunday’s tribute. That team was the 49ers’ first to lose a Super Bowl, albeit after a gutsy effort in a blackout-delayed, 34-31 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens.
Alas, Super Bowl aspirations are renewed, courtesy of Thursday night’s blockbuster trade bringing former Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers. His father, Ed, was on the 49ers’ last Super Bowl-winning team, that coming in 1994 when Mike Shanahan was the offensive coordinator.
What does it all mean for the current 49ers? Inspiration? Distraction?
At the very least, they’ve got a much-anticipated homecoming. The 49ers are coming off a 10-day road trip, which opened with a rout of the coach-firing Carolina Panthers, followed by a third-annual layover in West Virginia, and capped by a 28-14 loss at the run-dominant Atlanta Falcons.
Here is what the 49ers, as injury-riddled as they are, must do for a seventh straight win at home:
5. COVER KELCE
Tight end Travis Kelce’s seven touchdown catches should be warning enough, that he remains Mahomes’ go-to guy.
“The way that he gets open and the way he can move in and out of routes, and Andy Reid knows how to make calls to get him open,” linebacker Dre Greenlaw said.
Coach Kyle Shanahan (the aforementioned Mike’s son) said Kelce uses his elite footwork to separate from defenders, then uses “the best hands in the league” to snag throws from “a top thrower on the planet,” in Mahomes. “If you try to get him head up and he’s got two ways to go, you got no chance,” Shanahan said.
Linebackers and defensive backs all could match up with Kelce, and that includes safety Jimmie Ward, if he plays with a club-like cast on his left hand. “The best (tight end) in the league right now is my guy (George) Kittle, but right now, as you see, Kelce is out there catching more balls receiving,” Ward said. “… If I get to cover him I welcome the challenge. Should be good. Get to hit him, tackle him, cover him.”
4. BLOCK CHRIS JONES
Jimmy Garoppolo’s third-down overthrow to Emmanuel Sanders wasn’t the 49ers’ only offensive gaffe late in their Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs. Chris Jones literally had a hand in things, too, as he deflected three passes.
“He’s a huge human being,” rookie right guard Spencer Burford said. “Technique is going to be a big thing this week, just basing off the fact he can be disruptive in the way they use him in their defense.”
Burford is looking forward to facing Jones, having already encountered Los Angeles Rams’ Aaron Donald and the Falcons’ Grady Jarrett. Playing the Chiefs’ 3-technique, Jones is key to how their defensive front is so gap sound.
“He’ll start rushing and try to play the line of scrimmage,” Burford said. “You have to get on him early. The earlier you can get your hands on him, the more momentum he won’t have to build off, coming off the rush.”
Chris Foerster, the 49ers’ run-game coordinator and offensive line coach, said they’ve reviewed Super Bowl film to study Jones. “Every week is going to be a challenge for interior guys, so we have to work on details to protect the quarterback,” Foerster said. “He’s a load. He’s a big, strong physical guy who, when he wants to, can be an absolute game-wrecker.”
3. REVIVE RUN GAME
Last game’s dismal rushing output had outsiders freaking out, even though the 49ers essentially resorted to a pass-oriented, catch-up attack. Still, they’ll need to re-establish a ball-hogging ground game to win the time of possession and limit Mahomes’ possessions.
Enter: McCaffrey. Well, perhaps not immediately, nor in a full-time capacity, but maybe in the red zone, if the 49ers make it there enough.
Jeff Wilson Jr. figures to have more heavy lifting to do before McCaffrey takes over, and before Elijah Mitchell’s post-bye return. Wilson must atone for his first-quarter fumble that the Falcons returned for a 14-0 lead last game.
Unlike his previous three games, Wilson did not bust a run over 30 yards against the Falcons. “Some runs are literally inches away from being big hits,” Burford said. “It’s literally fixing little tweaks, because it’s 4 or 5 inches from a big run, I kid you not.”
2. DEEBO TIME?
It always feels like desperation time coming off a loss. Hence, they made a play to drop four draft picks for McCaffrey. Before he becomes their offensive catalyst, that role remains property of Deebo Samuel.
“It’s a hit or miss thing with him,” Foerster said. “They’re not defending him differently. We’re putting him in very similar situations and there are opportunities, some missed by him and others we have not executed for him.”
Samuel’s production isn’t bad, but he certainly isn’t the rushing-game asset as he was a year ago. The 49ers, curiously, haven’t employed him much on short tosses in the backfield. Time to get creative, maximize his All-Pro talents and get him the ball into open space. Or just do the same for McCaffrey, sooner or later.
Samuel has only 31 rushing yards (13 carries) since Garoppolo relieved Lance in the Week 2 home opener; Samuel had 105 yards (10 carries) in the season’s opening five quarters with Trey Lance at quarterback.
1. SWARM MAHOMES
Ideally, the 49ers pin Mahomes in the pocket. Realistically, he’ll escape and cause havoc.
“He’s really good at everything and I think the biggest thing is trying to keep him from extending plays,” Nick Bosa said. “He’s obviously really good in the pocket, but that’s where we want to keep him.”
If Mahomes isn’t rolling out of trouble or taking a zone-read run around the edge, he could do what others have done against the 49ers defense: dart up the middle for yards. The latest example was Marcus Mariota’s third-and-15 dash – against a six-man rush — on the Falcons’ go-ahead touchdown drive last Sunday.
The 49ers assign a defender to shadow Mahomes, and that could be Greenlaw, perhaps Fred Warner, although safety Talanoa Hufanga would be a fascinating spy if he clears concussion protocol.
“I’ve seen it a lot, especially with mobile quarterbacks: they like to have somewhere there in case the pocket breaks down,” Mahomes said. “I just have to be better at working within the pocket. When I do scramble, I know there’ll be somebody there.”
Only two quarterbacks have beaten Garoppolo more than once in head-to-head starts: Russell Wilson, who improved to 5-1 against Garoppolo last month, and Mahomes.
Before Mahomes swiped the Lombardi Trophy and Super Bowl MVP honors from Garoppolo’s clutches to cap the 2019 season, it was Mahomes consoling Garoppolo the previous season. That’s when Garoppolo rode on a cart through Arrowhead Stadium corridors with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the 49ers’ 2018 Week 3 defeat.
Garoppolo, a week before their Super Bowl matchup, recalled how that “simple” gesture “went a long way,” and he praised Mahomes as a “real class act” who is awesome on and off the field.
By the way, of the 33 quarterbacks Garoppolo has started against, he owns multiple wins (playoffs included) over Jared Goff (4-0), Matthew Stafford (4-1), Aaron Rodgers (3-1), Baker Mayfield (2-0), Kyler Murray (2-1) and Kirk Cousins (2-1).
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