Put me in, coach: Rookie linebacker Reuben Foster says injury won’t stop him.
49ers’ 20-point, seasonopening loss Sunday could have been far worse: They could have lost Reuben Foster to a seasonending injury.
Their dynamic rookie inside linebacker was carted off the Levi’s Stadium field after his right ankle bent awkwardly in the first quarter, but the firstround pick surprised fans and teammates by walking back to the sideline with a slight limp less than 20 minutes later.
Foster, the No. 31 pick, didn’t return to the 23-3 loss to the Panthers, but he declared he would be back on the field “very, very, very soon.” In fact, after lobbying to return after his injury, he expects to play Sunday at Seattle.
“I can play still,” Foster said. “I wanted to go back out there. It was loosening up. It doesn’t hurt any more. I’ll be good against Seattle.”
Foster dealt with an unrelated mild right ankle sprain during training camp, but it didn’t cause him to miss a practice. Although Foster is optimistic about a quick return, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner advised him to exercise caution.
“I told him when he was on the bench that he’s got to take it a day at a time,” Buckner said. “We want to get back out there and play. But if he doesn’t get it right, it’s going to linger throughout the whole season.”
Foster was off to a strong start in his NFL debut. He had three tackles and nearly had an interception on a third-down play on the series before he was injured. Foster was replaced by Ray-Ray Armstrong, who finished with six tackles. Fourth-down failures: Head coach Kyle Shanahan twice eschewed a punt on fourthThe down plays near midfield in the second quarter, and the 49ers failed to convert both chances.
After stopping the 49ers, the Panthers then had 27- and 37yard drives that ended with field goals to take a 13-0 halftime lead.
“It’s always that area where do you want to punt and put them inside the 10?” Shanahan said. “Or do you want to go for it and try to get yourself into fieldgoal range, possibly a touchdown?”
First, on 4th-and-4 from Carolina’s 44, quarterback Brian Hoyer was sacked for an 8-yard loss. With 46 seconds left in the half, fullback Kyle Juszczyk was stopped on 4th-and-1 from Carolina’s 45. Defensive improvement: When asked if the blowout gave him a here-we-go-again feeling, inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman rejected the idea.
“I don’t think the defensive side looked like last year,” Bowman said. “It’s easy for you to say that when we do lose.”
Bowman has a point. After establishing a franchise record for points, yards and rushing yards allowed in 2016, the 49ers limited an opponent to 287 yards, a feat they managed just twice last year.
The Panthers had 116 rushing yards (3.1 yards a carry) and had only one scoring drive longer than 42 yards. Carolina had 76 rushing yards entering the final quarter.