Super Bowl flashback: Once again, the 49ers failed to protect a fourth-quarter lead.
Garoppolo can’t pull off late comeback attempt as 49ers lose opener
SANTA CLARA >> The 49ers’ season opener headed for a frantic finish Sunday, and we all know how poorly that turned out their last game, in Super Bowl LIV.
This time, too, the 49ers failed to protect a fourthquarter lead, doomed again by the opposing quarterback’s heroics amid busted coverage and failed containment.
And once again, Jimmy Garoppolo could not rally the 49ers on a last-gasp drive.
The 49ers’ fate was sealed Sunday as Garoppolo threw a fourth-down incompletion from the 16-yard line with 33 seconds remaining, and the Arizona Cardinals emerged with a 24-20 upset win at Levi’s Stadium, where no fans were allowed in because of coronavirus precautions.
“It’s a reminder we’re back at football. That’s how football goes,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “We had a number of chances to win that game. We had a chance to run away with it in the first half.”
Garoppolo reflected afterward on the 49ers’ four wins by fourth-quarter comebacks last season, rather than the
Super Bowl woes.
“We were in that situation playing of times last year,” Garoppolo said. “Obviously it was a little different today without the crowd. That game-day feel wasn’t there. It just comes down to execution. In the last minutes like that, every play is crucial. We just didn’t execute”
Added defensive end Nick Bosa: “I mean I hope we’re not thinking about last year. We just played a game. We are definitely focused on last year. We are not too shaken up about this. We know what we’re capable of doing and we’ll come back strong.”
The 49ers fell to 1-3 in season openers under Shanahan, their lone win coming last season to start an 8-0 run that catapulted them to the NFC Championship — and an eventual Super Bowl loss.
Next up are back-to-back road games against the New York Jets and Giants, with a layover in between at The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia.
Here are highs, lows and all you need to know from the 49ers’ opener:
KYLER EXCELS >> The Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray proved as elusive and maddening as Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes did in the Super Bowl, where the 49ers blew a 2010 lead and fell 31-20. Murray sandwiched a pair of touchdown drives around a Garoppolo touchdown pass to Jerick McKinnon amid the fourth-quarter follies.
Arizona went ahead for good on Kenyan Drake’s 1-yard touchdown run after DeAndre Hopkins’ 33yard, near-touchdown reception against the 49ers’ busted coverage. Murray proved tough to defend (231 passing yards, 91 rushing yards). He weaved past the 49ers defensive front, up the hashmarks and then beat the 49ers’ safeties to the pylon for a 22-yard, go-ahead touchdown with 10:26 remaining. GAROPPOLO LINE >> Garoppolo started hot but finished 19 of 33 for 259 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
His first quarter was way better than his last in the Super Bowl, as he opened Sunday 7-of-9 passing for 135 yards with one touchdown, no interceptions, one sack and a 155.8 rating.
Then came an array of off-target passes – one of which led to Kittle’s knee injury, one that slipped out from his grasp on a possible double clutch – and a couple sacks. By the way, Garoppolo wore a brace on his left knee, after not doing so the latter part of training camp.
“He had some good plays in there, but like the entire offense, just missed a number of opportunities it’s going to take to win the game,” Shanahan said. COVERING HOPKINS >> Richard Sherman, strictly a left cornerback most of his previous nine seasons, strayed at times to shadow DeAndre Hopkins. Other times, Emmanuel Moseley covered the former Houston Texans star. Regardless, Hopkins had 14 catches for 151 yards, capped by his 33-yard catch that set up Drake’s goahead touchdown
Richard Sherman said of that 33-yard catch-and-run: “We had two sides playing two different coverages, so anytime you do that, you’ll have a hole.”
FAST START >> Speed demon Raheem Mostert scored on a 76-yard touchdown pass to open the 49ers’ second possession, a sudden score that put the 49ers ahead 10-0 only 5:07 into their opener. Making his first career start, Mostert came out of the backfield, curled around left tackle Trent Williams, cut inside past rookie linebacker Isaiah Simmons then zipped into open field beyond safety Chris Banjo.
In Mostert’s last action on the home field, he ran for a franchise-record 220 yards and four touchdowns in the NFC Championship win over Green Bay.
NOT SO CLUTCH >> The 49ers’ finishing snaps summed up their game-long struggles on clutch downs. After Patrick Peterson broke up a potential 20-yard touchdown pass to an open Kendrick Bourne, Garoppolo targeted Trent Taylor with his final three passes, including a third-down jump ball that fell incomplete in the end zone and then a fourthdown out route.
The 49ers finished 2 of 11 on third down. They opened 0 for 8 on third-down and also failed on their first fourth-down call, a Mostert run from the 1 that got stopped short of the goal line. They broke through late in the third quarter with a third-and-8 conversion, Bourne making a 16yard catch. But Garoppolo’s ensuing third-down throw sailed incomplete.
The Cardinals were 7 of 14 on third downs, and they outgained the 49ers 404-366.
UGLY SEQUENCE >> Dontae Johnson was unable to prevent Ezekiel Thompson’s rush up the middle to block a 49ers punt on their third possession. One snap later, Chase Edmonds scored on 10-yard reception after beating linebacker Kwon Alexander to the right pylon. That shrunk the 49ers’ lead to 10-7 with 6:55 to go in the first quarter.
WIDE RECEIVER WOES >> Add backup Richie James to the wide receivers’ injury ward. He was ruled out in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury. Deebo Samuel (foot) went on injured reserve Saturday and rookie Brandon Aiyuk (hamstring) was inactive.
Starting wide receivers Kendrick Bourne (2 catches, 34 yards) and Dante Pettis (0 receptions, 1 target) were ineffective.
GOAL-LINE FAIL >> Shanahan lost a second-quarter challenge whether Mostert scored on a fourth-and-goal run from the 1. The 49ers reached the 1 on a 16-yard, third-quarter run by McKinnon. The Cardinals took over 12 1/2 minutes before halftime.
TRENT’S RETURN >> Trent Taylor, after sitting out last season with a foot injury, reprised his return-specialist role. As a third-down slot receiver, he deflected a third-down overthrow by Garoppolo to save a potential pick-six into the hands of Patrick Peterson. Taylor made a nice block to help spring Jerick McKinnon for a 9-yard reception to the Cardinals’ 14 after the twominute warning.
THE OTHER TRENT >> Left tackle Trent Williams’ debut featured a devastating, down-field block in the first quarter. It was the first time since 2006 than anyone other than Joe Staley had started at left tackle; Staley retired this offseason. STARTING JOBS >> Answering the mysteries at the few starting spots up for grabs, the 49ers went with cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (over Ahkello Witherspoon), center Hroniss Grasu (over Daniel Brunskill, who started at right guard over Tom Compton).