SANTA CLARA – Before we race through the 10 things that caught my eye Sunday in the 49ers’ 30-13 confidence booster over the New England Patriots, bear with me as I devote extra space to this opening item:
1. HELLO SAM-O
The more that Sam Okuayinonu detailed the adversity he has overcome in his life, the more striking it contrasted to Nick Bosa’s, and the more fun it was to envision them blossoming into a pass-rushing duo.
“My whole life has been adversity,” Okuayinonu said with a smile at his locker. “I grew up in Liberia, on the west coast of Africa. I was born during a civil war out there. My and my mom migrated to America at the age of 12.
“I started playing football my senior year of high school. I went to a couple of junior colleges because I was fresh to the game. I’m very new to football and still learning the game.”
San Francisco 49ers’ Sam Okuayinonu (91) stands on the sidelines during their game against the New England Patriots in the fourth quarter at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Bosa, a second-generation NFL player and a star since his South Florida youth, is happy to be mentoring Okuayinonu. “He sits right next to me in meetings and he always asks me stuff,” Bosa said. “He’s only going to get better. I’m really happy for him.”
Okuayinonu bounced from high school in Lowell (Mass.) to community colleges in Massachusetts, Mississippi and Minnesota before transferring to Maryland. Undrafted, he spent most of the past two seasons on the Tennessee Titans’ practice squads before the 49ers signed him to their practice squad on Jan. 10 during their Super Bowl run.
“I love it all, man, because it makes a great story,” said Okuayinonu, whose breakout performance Sunday was the type of next-man-up stuff that injury-riddled teams must receive. Promoted to the 53-man roster Saturday from the practice squad, he forced a fumble to open the 49ers’ second series. He later put a big hit on quarterback Jacoby Brissett, made a tackle for a 7-yard loss, and earned a spot in a defensive-end rotation with Yetur Gross-Matos and Robert Beal behind Bosa and Leonard Floyd.
“He probably played no more than 15 plays (19 of 64 actually) and probably affected 10 of them,” Bosa said. “To have a guy like that to give some of our starters a rest and make an impact like that, it’s huge for us.”
San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy (13) high-fives 49ers mascot Sourdough Sam as he leaves the field after the 49ers 30-13 win over the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
2. PURDY TOPS CHARTS
Do you know where Brock Purdy ranks after his 25th career start? His 112.6 passer rating is the NFL’s best since at least 1970, and he’s set 49ers records for passing yards (6,508; Jeff Garcia 6,470), touchdown passes (47; Garcia 46), completion percentage (69.1%; Joe Montana 63%), and passer rating (112.6; Colin Kaepernick 93.4).
Purdy is doing it all so well, from scrambling for third-down conversions to completing deep passes. He leads the NFL with 1,130 yards and an average of 9.3 yards per attempt. Purdy provided the quote of the day regarding his scrambling ability: “I feel I have just the right amount of athleticism to make plays. I don’t have to be a freak athlete. I know who I am.”
He’s the type of quarterback who can throw three touchdown passes on one drive. Explanation: Scoring strikes to Jordan Mason and Kyle Juszczyk were nullified by penalties, so Purdy merely threw up a 12-yard prayer that landed in George Kittle’s hands to cap an 80-yard drive for a 20-0 lead.
3. AIR KITTLE
Trent Williams, a 15th-year veteran, called Kittle’s 12-yard touchdown grab “one of the greatest catches I’ve seen in person.” Kittle’s response: “That’s saying a lot coming from Trent Williams. He’s played a lot of football. That makes me really happy.”
Kittle had doubts the “out-and-up” route would work, up until his 6-foot-4 frame soared above three defenders – none over 5-foot-11 – to snag Purdy’s throw, which was hurried because of Colton McKivitz’s porous pass protection.
“That was one of the greatest catches ever,” cornerback Deommodore Lenoir said. “The whole place was quiet and then OH! I love that.”
San Francisco 49ers’ Fred Warner (54) leaves the field after the San Francisco 49ers 30-13 win over the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
4. WARNER PICK-SIX
Linebacker Fred “All-World” Warner, after his 102nd career start, credited his experience with getting in position for a win-staging interception he returned 45 yards for a touchdown and a 13-0 lead.
“Lots of experience. You know where to be at the right spot. You understand route concepts as well as coverage responsibilities. And usually if you’re in the middle of the field around the hashes, good things happen,” said Warner, who forced three fumbles earlier this season.
It was his second-career pick-six (December 2019 vs. Rams), and it was his 10th career interception. With 10 career sacks, Warner joined Keena Turner as the only players in 49ers history with at least 10 interceptions and 10 sacks; Turner had 11 picks and 19 ½ sacks in his stellar 1980-90 tenure.
San Francisco 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey (23) walks on the field after the San Francisco 49ers 30-13 win over the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
5. MASON ‘A STUD’
Jordan Mason has an NFL-leading 447 rushing yards through his first four career starts. A year ago, Christian McCaffrey had an NFL-best 459 yards through four games. Similar totals, but Mason has only three touchdowns on 91 carries, whereas McCaffrey scored seven touchdowns on 80 carries.
“He just apologized to me before I walked in here because there’s a couple he missed, which is the type of guy he is,” Shanahan said. “But there’s also (times) when I feel there’s nothing there, he also always gets a lot more than I’m expecting. He has been a stud this year.”
Congratulating Mason on the bench Sunday: McCaffrey, who was in Germany a week ago getting Achilles treatment and is expected to resume on-field conditioning this week.
6. RED ZONE WOES
The 49ers can survive settling for chip-shot field goals against bad teams, but someday they’ll find themselves in a touchdown fight, perhaps with a Lombardi Trophy on the line again. On Sunday’s opening possessions, Jake Moody made 22- and 26-yard field goals – shorter distances than his 3-for-3 point-after kicks.
A year ago, the 49ers had the NFL’s best red zone efficiency (67.2%) for producing touchdowns. This season per game: 2-of-5, 2-of-4, 2-of-3, 2-of-4.
“I like running the ball when we get in the red zone. I’m a huge fan of that,” Kittle said. “Teams are doing a good job about countering a lot of stuff we want to do as an offense. The Pats had six on the line and daring us to throw. There are things we need to look at and clean up. I know Coach Shanahan is going to be brutally honest with us.”
San Francisco 49ers’ Kevin Givens (90) sacks New England Patriots starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) in the second quarter at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
7. STATE OF D-LINE
A week after losing defensive tackle Javon Hargrave to a triceps tear, the 49ers saw his replacement, Jordan Elliott, exit with a knee injury. The depth got tested, and surprisingly excelled with five sacks combined from Kevin Givens, rookie Evan Anderson and veteran Maliek Collins. Yetur Gross-Matos also shifted inside on passing downs.
“If you look from an outsider’s perspective, you’d think the building was burning down,” Nick Bosa said. “I told the D-line guys in our (Saturday night meeting): ‘We’ve lost some guys but I haven’t lost confidence in this group one bit,’ and that’s the truth. I think we’re going to be fine.”
Bosa’s exhaustive pursuits of Jacoby Brissett kept coming up just short of an official stat until he timed the snap and produced a strip-sack fumble recovery in the final three minutes. Leonard Floyd hasn’t had a sack since the season opener, but after two exceptionally quiet games, he had three hits on Brissett, pressured the pass Warner intercepted, and got credit for a forced fumble.
8. WILLIAMS’ HEALTH
Williams threw a key block on Mason’s touchdown run and looked perhaps his best this season, despite being unable to practice Wednesday with an illness and Friday because of a toe issue. “Oh, it wasn’t that bad,” Williams said of his toe. “On Friday, I was wondering, is it worth it? So we talked to Coach and said it’s good as it sits, let’s not make it worse and get ready for Sunday. It turned a corner pretty quick. It wasn’t a big deal, I never was worried.”
He played all 63 snaps.
Winning Sunday meant more to Williams than avoiding a three-game skid. “It was something for the confidence,” he said.
The 49ers’ only other win also came against an AFC East visitor: a 32-19 triumph over the New York Jets.
San Francisco 49ers’ Talanoa Hufanga (29) and San Francisco 49ers’ Fred Warner (54) walk off the field after the 49ers 30-13 win over the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
9. SAFETY SITUATION
Safety Talanoa Hufanga’s return to the lineup lasted one game, but apparently not because of a setback from last season’s knee surgery. He got scratched Sunday because of an ankle injury in Thursday’s practice, and that prompted rookie Malik Mustapha’s first career start. “He did great,” Warner said. “He had an opportunity to get an interception late in the game and we’ve got to bring those in. Other than that, I love the way Malik plays the game — hair on fire, no hesitation, and you see how he sprints to the football.”
Shanahan said of Hufanga: “He got here early, he worked out and he didn’t feel like he could go and I’m really glad that he didn’t.”
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10. NEXT MEN UP
The 49ers will look for a second straight home win when they host the Arizona Cardinals (1-3) on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. The Cardinals capped a three-game homestand with a second straight loss Sunday, 42-14 to the Washington Commanders.
Arizona’s lone win came when they routed the Rams and received a 130-yard, two-touchdown effort from rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. “I’ve been waiting on this one. The new guy. I like him,” Lenoir said. “It’s going to be a fun game.”