Are rookies making an impact? On a Kyle Shanahan-led team with Super Bowl aspirations? In THIS economy? When looking at the 30-13 final score in the San Francisco 49ers' win over the New England Patriots, many would assume it was a typical dominant game led by their star players. While that is somewhat the case, many new faces also impacted this one.
The 2024 Draft Class is Looking Great
It’s only four weeks into the season, but the 2024 rookie class has built on an impressive preseason and training camp and has made the most of their opportunities thus far.On Sunday, the seven rookies who played combined for 181 snaps on offense and defense.
RB Isaac Guerendo 5
WR Jacob Cowing 4
RG Dominick Puni 62
DT Evan Anderson 19
LB Tatum Bethune 4
CB Renardo Green 23
S Malik Mustapha 64
While it went well for most of them, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. A fumble on the second-half kick-off by Guerendo led to the Patriots' only touchdown by Austin Hooper. Two weeks earlier, Cowing fumbled on a kick return. Shanahan holds higher standards for his receivers and running backs than almost every coach in the league, so it should come as no surprise that these two players didn’t make much of an impact in the game.
The star among the 49ers rookie class is Puni. Puni played 62 out of the 63 offensive stats and didn’t allow pressure. Playing next to a struggling right tackle in Colton McKivitz, Puni needs to be on his A-game every week, and so far, he’s delivered.
On the defensive side of the ball, Anderson, a UDFA, picked up a sack and forced a fumble in his first career game. Anderson also stood out on the field since he was wearing a Guardian Cap, which was also worn by Patriots’ safety Jabrill Peppers, who had an interception.
Playing against the league's worst passing offense, Green and Mustapha saw regular game action in no better game than this one. With Hufanga missing the game one week after he returned from his ACL tear, the 49ers opted to use the young Mustapha instead of veteran George Odum.
Mustapha finished tied for fourth on the team with five tackles, but his most impressive play came on Fred Warner’s pick-six.
For the first time this season, Green had more snaps than veteran Isaac Yiadom. Yiadom struggled in the losses to the Vikings and the Rams and was a liability in coverage. Bethune played late in the game after linebacker Demetrius-Flannigan Fowles left injured.
The best news, however, is that first-round pick Ricky Pearsall should be returning in the coming weeks.
Fred Warner: First Ballot HOF'er
There’s not much that can be said about Warner that has already not been said. He was already the best linebacker in the NFL before this season, and he’s taken his game to another level this year.
Patriots QB Jacoby Brissett came into the game as one of the only few QBs in the league who hadn’t thrown an interception. That was until he threw in Warner’s direction. Warner has two interceptions and leads the league with 70 yards on interception returns. He also leads the NFL with three forced fumbles.
I’ve watched pretty much every Warner snap of his career since he began in 2018, and he has gotten better each season. Even though Warner left the game and didn’t return, the injury won’t be a long-term concern, and he should be back next week.
Three Touchdowns on One Drive?
No, that isn’t a typo. 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw three touchdown passes on one drive; the first two were called back due to penalties. The first was a 24-yard touchdown pass to running back Jordan Mason, which got called back on a holding* by George Kittle.
Even though it didn’t count, getting Mason involved in the passing game will be huge, given Christian McCaffrey’s uncertain status. The second one was on a great play from Purdy, where he found Kyle Juszcyzk in the endzone.
The third, which was the one that counted, was a great throw in the back of the endzone, where the best tight end in the NFL made a tremendous catch. Even though Purdy’s stat line wasn’t the most impressive, if you watched the game, it was clear he looked like his old self.
Up Next: Arizona Cardinals
Even though the Cardinals are 1-3, they aren’t a team that should be slept on. Before their 42-14 blowout loss to the Washington Commanders, they lost close games to the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions and blew out the Los Angeles Rams.
It was good to see the 49ers' defense perform well again, but they’ll have a much tougher task against Kyler Murray and Co.
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