Ankle sprain will sideline RB Coleman
YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO >> Running back Tevin Coleman’s high-ankle sprain in Sunday’s season-opening win is expected to keep him out of the 49ers’ next game, Sunday at Cincinnati.
“I know he got hurt on the first play of the game, when they landed on his ankle and then it just got worse as the game went,” coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday. “He tried to battle through it throughout the second quarter and he was done at halftime.”
The Bengals also could be without their starting running back. Joe Mixon sprained his left ankle and left Sunday’s
UP NEXT 49ers at Bengals, Sunday, 10 a.m., FOX
21-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Matt Breida and Raheem Mostert handled the running back chores after Coleman’s exit, and the 49ers may summon Jeff Wilson Jr. from the practice squad, as they did last season. Breida had 15 carries for just 37 yards, and Mostert had nine carries for 40 yards against what Shanahan described as solid strategy by the Bucs defense that included run blitzes. PROMISING MORE FOR PETTIS >> What exactly is going on with a 49ers wide receiver corps in which Dante Pettis appeared for only two plays and rookie Deebo Samuel was in for 60 of 68 snaps as a starter? Pettis’ groin injury two weeks ago was a factor but not a deciding one. Nor is Samuel locked into the starting role alongside Marquise Goodwin.
“It’s definitely not Deebo’s job. It’s not anyone’s right now,” Shanahan said. “That’s something I talked about all preseason: Nobody’s really taken that role.
“Dante got a setback with his groin injury where he missed some practice time, so that gave him a setback leading into Week 1, which made it easier for Deebo to start over him.
“We went in knowing Deebo would get more playing time, but I definitely didn’t only plan on Dante getting only two reps. He 49ers wide receiver Dante Pettis appeared for only two plays in Sunday’s victory in Tampa Bay.
should have been in more than that. That starts with me and I’ll make sure not to let that happen again.”
Pettis made a 7-yard reception when he entered in the second quarter. Marquise Goodwin also had a 7-yard catch, his only reception in a 50-snap workload. Samuel caught all three of his targets for 17 yards. Jimmy Garoppolo turned mostly to tight end George Kittle (eight catches, 10 targets, 54 yards, two touchdowns negated by penalties).
Samuel appeared to move up the depth chart two weeks ago. Slot receiver Richie James Jr. played 26 snaps, one of which resulted in him scoring the 49ers’ only offensive touchdown. Kendrick Bourne played 17 snaps; Trent Taylor (foot) and Jalen Hurd (back) were inactive. SLIM ACTION FOR SOLLY >> Not surprisingly, DeForest Buckner played the most snaps (53 of 70) among 49ers defensive lineman, and all nine suited up for the opener.
Most surprisingly, Solomon Thomas played only 12 defensive snaps, likely because the 49ers preferred using D.J. Jones (37) and Sheldon Day (17) on the interior next to Buckner.
“I expected him to play a little more than that. We also have a pretty deep Dline group,” Shanahan said, adding that the rotation is up to defensive line coach Kris Kocurek. “Solly isn’t starting on the outside or inside but he’s one of the key guys right behind all four of the positions. There will be games he plays more and some where he’ll play less.”
OTHER SNAP COUNTS >> Arik Armstead 47, Dee Ford 41, Nick Bosa 39, Ronald Blair 29 and Julian Taylor six. Armstead, Ford and Bosa each had a sack, and Blair pressured Jameis Winston on Richard Sherman’s picksix.
Shanahan said Bosa did not hurt his ailing right ankle further, and that Coleman’s was their only serious injury, although several players battled dehydration, including Breida and kicker Robbie Gould.
GRADING GAROPPOLO >> Shanahan thought Garoppolo’s best play came in the fourth quarter, and it wasn’t among his 27 passes. Instead, it was a 20-yard scramble from the 49ers’ 8-yard line, a play that got wiped out by a Mike McGlinchey holding penalty. It’s worth noting that Garoppolo got hurt last season on a September scramble.
Said Shanahan: “He made some good plays yesterday, for sure. I thought the best play was the huge scramble when we were backed up. The pocket opened up, he just hit it and ran, and moved the chains for us. Unfortunately we got a holding call so it didn’t count but he had a number of good things.”
With a run-oriented game plan, Shanahan said his play calling was not altered when Garoppolo had a second-quarter pass intercepted and returned for a Bucs touchdown. “Like the rest of the offense, we weren’t very consistent and missed too many opportunities. We’ll be better going forward next week,” Shanahan said.
• The 49ers flew after the game to Youngstown, Ohio, where they’ll stay through Friday before leaving for Cincinnati. They’ll have closed practices starting Wednesday at Youngstown State, and the York family will host players for dinner Tuesday after a busy day of community-service events. The 49ers had similar layovers here between backto-back road games in 2011 and ’12.
• Sunday’s four-takeaway haul relieved the 49ers a year after setting NFL futility records with two interceptions and seven takeaways.
“The longer we went without interceptions last year, the harder it got. It became a burden on everyone, nonstop,” Shanahan said of 2018.