Sure, it’s the start of the season, but Sunday’s 49ers avoided falling two games behind the NFC West standings.
Jimmy Garoppolo, the 49ers’ insurance policy for Trey Lance, left the field early when the team’s young quarterback fractured his right ankle side.
Lance is scheduled to undergo season-ending surgery.
The 49ers’ defense and Garoppolo’s 27-7 victory over the Seattle Seahawks at Levi Stadium on Sunday.
Here’s the 49ers’ Week 2 victories team transcripts:
charge into battle
The 49ers had complete control of the game, racking up 45 runs and 189 yards in one run.
The offensive line performed well for most of the game, averaging 5.0 yards per attempt. The yardage got tough at the end, so the average dropped to 4.2 yards.
Jeff Wilson Jr. took over as the starter for Elijah Mitchell, who finished with 84 yards on 18 rushing attempts. Deebo Samuel added 53 yards on four runs.
Guards Kyle Juszczyk and Garoppolo scored on a 1-yard touchdown.
score: A-minus
pass attack
Garoppolo came on the sidelines and found tight end Ross Dwelley on a 38-yard touchdown to give the 49ers a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Garoppolo played well. When you consider that he never practiced during training camp, his game was excellent.
Garoppolo completed 13 of 21 passing attempts for 154 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. The offensive line provided good protection for Garoppolo, who was dismissed once for zero yards.
Brandon Aiyuk had five catches for 63 yards, including a 25-yard catch by Lance in Game 3.
Samuel added five catches for 44 yards.
score: B+
charge defense
While the 49ers had success on the ground, the Seahawks onslaught came to a complete stop.
Seattle attempted just 14 runs and only gained 36 yards on the ground.
Seahawks lead rusher Rashaad Penny had just 15 yards on six attempts.
Linebacker Dre Greenlaw recovered from a poor Game 1 with eight tackles against the Chicago Bears.
Seattle’s longest run was Kenneth Walker’s 8-yard run in the first quarter.
score: One
pass defense
Life was a lot easier for the 49ers when they faced the Seahawks without Russell Wilson.
The 49ers held Seattle to two of seven in Game 3, and the crunch came when Nick Bosa made a breakthrough in Game 3 midway through the fourth quarter.
Bosa recorded two sacks in the game and the 49ers also came up with two interceptions.
Charvarius “Mooney” Ward gave the 49ers a huge boost by intercepting DeeJay Dallas’ centerback pass late in the second quarter.
Tashaun Gipson also intercepted a pass from safety Talanoa Hufanga.
Seattle quarterback Gino Smith completed 24 of 30 passes for 197 yards but was kept out of the end zone.
score: B+
special group
Basically, the 49ers scored a touchdown on special teams. Then, they gave up a touchdown against the special team.
Call it shampooing.
Tarvarius Moore did an excellent job preventing Seattle gunner Xavier Crawford from going into Mitch Wishnowsky’s punt. Dwelley recovered the live ball to build a touchdown that gave the 49ers a 20-0 lead by the end of the first half.
However, Dwelley missed a block on Tariq Woods, which led to Mike Jackson’s 86-yard touchdown return for a blocked field goal.
score: B minus
counseling
DeMeco Ryans’ defensive planning and execution are flawless.
But things got more complicated for Kyle Shanahan and the offense.
Clearly, the 49ers want to have the ball on the floor and control the game. The offense ran 45 balls, which is a ridiculous number.
Shanahan will always be questioned because the offensive design requires quarterback movement.
But, after all, that’s why the 49ers were so drawn to Lance in the first place.
There’s no question that Lance can run the ball. There is no doubt that Shanahan will be open to hindsight as long as Lance is injured.
It’s part of the deal.
On another note, the 49ers corrected the discipline issues that plagued them in Week 1.
The 49ers committed just one penalty from 26 yards and didn’t have any giveaways.
score: C
comprehensive
Of course, it doesn’t have to be a win, but after completely forgetting the Week 1 loss to the Chicago Bears, the 49ers can’t go 0-2 this season.
RELATED: Shanahan strongly defends Lance’s injured game call
The 49ers dominated from start to finish, even with Lance’s season-ending injury in the first quarter, his gut feeling.
The 49ers have been dominant on the defensive end. They played enough offensively and on special teams (while also giving up important performances on special teams) to deliver decisive victories against opponents they had been virtually impossible to beat for years.
score: B+
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