49ers minutia minute: Kyle Juszczyk, defensive rookies took charge vs. Eagles (paywall)
“Training camp was rough on 49ers receivers, with nearly every one of them going down with an injury at some point. An exception was Robinson, who was on hand for every session and built a strong rapport with Purdy and Mac Jones as a result. Once he returned from a three-game suspension to begin the season, it seemed like he’d have a big role and plenty of production.
Instead, he had a quiet season … that is, until
Sunday. His first catch went for 61 yards, which was the 49ers’ longest play of the season and more yards than Robinson had in any single game this season….[Trent] Williams acknowledged Friday that his right hamstring was not fully healed, and his outing reflected that. He gave up a team-high six pressures, including five quarterback hurries. Still, he didn’t miss a snap, and the 49ers are hoping the short week of rest — plus a plane flight to and from the East Coast — won’t be too much for him to play in Saturday’s divisional road playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Meanwhile, all 52 of Eagles pass rusher Jaelan Phillips’ snaps — the 49ers considered trading for Phillips at midseason — came on the left side of the defense, which meant he was mostly matched against McKivitz. Phillips finished with three quarterback pressures and no tackles….Lenoir failed to contain the left edge of the 49ers defense on Barkley’s 29-yard run. Still, he finished with eight tackles and was matched against A.J. Brown for most of the contest. Brown finished with three catches for 25 yards on seven targets. His total of 25 receiving yards was his lowest output in the second half of the season.“
49ers open practice window for All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner. When might he play? (paywall)
“We’re opening his window so he can do some stuff,” Shanahan said. “But we’re not doing much. So he’ll walk through out there with us today, hoping he can be ready for next week.”….After two missed games, sophomore standout receiver Ricky Pearsall is expected to return to practice in a limited capacity Tuesday. But because the 49ers are holding a walkthrough at the start of a short week, his participation level, as noted by Shanahan, is merely an estimation of what it would be if the team held a full practice.
Pearsall did not practice last week. The week before, ahead of the regular-season finale against the Seahawks, he was listed as limited for light practices; Shanahan said the 49ers did not work through a single full-speed rep in what was their second short week in a row….“We usually bring them in for about seven hours today,” Shanahan said. “They’re only in for about three-and-a-half. We’ll do all walkthrough, nothing full speed. We won’t go against each other at all. And then we’ll see how it goes, see how guys feel and decide what we want to do tomorrow.”
49ers practice and media schedule ahead of Divisional Round playoff matchup vs. Seahawks
“Tuesday, January 13
12:00 p.m. – Kyle Shanahan press conference
Wednesday, January 14
9:30 a.m. – Robert Saleh press conference
Following Saleh – Klay Kubiak press conference
11:05 a.m. – Brock Purdy press conference
12:40 p.m. – Practice
Thursday, January 15
12:35 p.m. – Practice
After practice (approx. 1:40 p.m.) – Kyle Shanahan press conference”
Kyle Shanahan previews 49ers-Seahawks Divisional Round matchup
“I feel great. I feel showered, fresh. That’s why I’m wearing my Crocs. I’m going to brush my teeth here in a second and get going (laughter). I’m just joking. I did that early. I’m not like that, but no, it is what it is. You’re like that this time of year. We’ve kind of been in a hole for about seven months and once you get to the playoffs, it really doesn’t matter. Everyone’s into it. So, whether they gave us three days, one day, eight days, you always have your preferences for common sense reasons, but whenever you get dealt your hand, you’re ready to roll.”
How does it affect the game planning when you’re playing a team twice within almost back-to-back games?
“You’ll see when you get to the game. You definitely can’t overthink it, but it’s also at the same time, kind of hard to overthink. Not anything has gone down since the last game. Well, they got to watch 70 or so plays of whatever we did versus Philly. But you know, we get in late whatever and there’s one game for us to watch and that’s the one that we all watched last week. So, you only can watch that so much. We know each other very well. We’ve played against each other a ton. The schemes even the last time we played didn’t change much on both sides as opposed to Week 1. So, I think both teams got an idea of exactly what to expect. There are always wrinkles and timing and a situation when you’re going to see that stuff, but it kind of simplifies everything which usually the playoffs as a whole are kind of that way too.”“
49ers overreactions: Is Jauan Jennings a must-sign player this offseason?
“If Warner gets back on the field, the 49ers would have a decision to make whether to reinsert Winters or shift Kendricks to the weakside linebacker spot.”
49ers game review: Brock Purdy’s ‘gangster’ second-quarter throw shouldn’t be forgotten (paywall)
“With 5:38 in the second quarter, when Purdy took a shotgun snap, they were down 13-7 because the Eagles had just ripped off 13 straight points, scoring their second touchdown 30 seconds earlier on a 16-play, 94-yard drive against an injury-ravaged defense.
And then the 49ers’ offense, already missing its top receiver, lost its heart and soul on the first snap following Philadelphia’s score when All-Pro tight end and eight-time team captain George Kittle suffered a torn Achilles.
As Kittle disappeared on a cart into the locker-room tunnel, it was 2nd-and-4 from the 49ers’ 29-yard line, and the Linc was ear-splittingly loud, the fans sensing blood in the water against a wounded visitor.
And then Purdy made a trademark cold-blooded throw.
After taking the snap, Purdy stared down Jennings, who was running an intermediate crossing route from the left slot and had a step on cornerback Cooper DeJean. However, Purdy had to loft the ball over dropping linebacker Zack Baun, but not give it too much air: He also had to ensure it reached Jennings before safety Reed Blankenship arrived.
The result: Purdy’s pass hit Jennings in stride at the 49ers’ 46, allowing him to keep running on a 45-yard reception.
The play led only to a field goal, cutting the deficit to 13-10, but it quieted the crowd and, most importantly, it changed the game’s tenor by letting everybody know: Settle in, these guys aren’t going anywhere.
“They needed that,” Fox analyst Tom Brady said.
And it’s possible Purdy is among the few QBs who could have provided it.“
