Last week, 49ers fans couldn’t have asked for a better week of football. The exact opposite happened this week. Not only did the San Francisco 49ers lose to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-19, but they also
lost arguably their best player (or last remaining elite player) in Fred Warner due to a dislocated and/or broken ankle.
At this point, the loss to the Buccaneers is the least of the 49ers’ concerns. They still remain in first place despite dropping one to the Buccaneers. Losing their best defensive player for the rest of the year is the backbreaker in a season they have been snakebit with injuries.
Can the 49ers make the playoffs? Maybe. Could the 49ers go all the way? The loss of Fred Warner makes it increasingly difficult.
As said, the 49ers remain in first place despite all of their opponents winning Sunday. They are in a three-way tie for first place, but hold the tiebreaker since they are 3-0 in the division. At least the divisional wins make this a bit better to stomach.
Los Angeles Rams (4-2)
The Baltimore Ravens scored three points in the first quarter of their away game against the Rams, making it 3-0. Those were the last points they would score all day.
The Rams proceeded to run the ball down the Ravens’ throat all game, handing them an embarrassing loss. The Ravens were missing Lamar Jackson, and it showed. The Rams had to play at 10:00 AM on the East Coast, and that didn’t seem to bother them one bit.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford had a pedestrian kind of day, going 17-26, 181 yards passing, and a touchdown. Running back Kyren Williams got the other Rams touchdown of the day, and then it was just watching the Ravens do…well, whatever it is the Ravens do without Jackson.
The Ravens also couldn’t figure out who to have on the field. First, it’s Cooper Rush, then it’s Tyler Huntley. Not like it mattered. The Rams were in full control of this game from the start, even if it was 17-3. Meanwhile, the Ravens are searching for that second win of the season, regardless of whether it’s with or without Jackson.
Seattle Seahawks (4-2)
Similar to the Rams/Ravens game, the Jaguars were the first team to score a touchdown with a minute to go in the first quarter. Unlike the Ravens, they got more points in the fourth quarter.
But they still had a long stretch of football where the Seahawks held—and added to—the lead. It didn’t help matters when the Jaguars missed the extra point of their first touchdown.
The Jaguars came back into it at the start of the fourth quarter, managing a touchdown to take the deficit down to eight points. The Seahawks even helped them on the two-point conversion with, like, 13 men on the field. The Jaguars still botched the two-point attempt to keep it within eight points, and they’d never see the endzone again.
Sam Darnold helped the Seahawks get out of trouble repeatedly, but then time ran out. This ends the Jaguars’ impressive three-game streak with wins over the Houston Texans, 49ers, and Kansas City Chiefs.
I said last week we’d learn a lot about both teams, and we’ve learned that the Jaguars are legit and the Seahawks, when not making mistakes, are a huge threat in the division.
Arizona Cardinals (2-4)
As much as we’d like to see more flubs from the Cardinals and evidence that their head coach may be going to pursue other interests at the close of the season, there isn’t much I can really show. The Cardinals still lost to the Indianapolis Colts, but it wasn’t due to some bad decisions like letting go of the ball before you go to the end zone or ball control issues.
No, the Cardinals lost this week due to events like picking off Colts quarterback Daniel Jones early in the second quarter…only to give it right back to the Colts thirty seconds later in a Jacoby Brissett interception. We have to think positive here: that’s not multiple turnovers in one play. It’s one play with a single turnover. That is progress.
Those were the only two interceptions, by the way.
The Cardinals still made a game out of it, managing to make it 27-24 in the fourth quarter. Unlike the 49ers, the Cardinals can’t finish games like these, and the Colts managed to take the lead with under five minutes left. Cue the back and forth, the clock ticks, 31-27, Colts.
The Cardinals now have two wins. One over the New Orleans Saints and one over the Carolina Panthers.
The thing to bring up in this game is the performance of quarterback Jacoby Brissett. Starting quarterback Kyler Murray was out this week due to injury, which meant the 49ers were not the only NFC West team playing a backup QB. Like Murray, Brissett threw it more than 30 times, going 27-44. Unlike Murray, he got more than 200 yards passing on his 27 completions and walked away with 320 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.
Onto Week 7
The 49ers get their second prime time game of the year this week as they will host the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football. The Falcons are 2-2 in the NFC South with losses coming from the Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers. Their two wins came over the Minnesota Vikings and Washington Commanders. If you don’t know what the Falcons are, get in line, because it’s hard to get a pulse on this team. They will play the Buffalo Bills tonight on Monday Night Football, which might give us an idea of what the 49ers are up against.
The Seahawks will be hosting the Houston Texans. This is another prime-time game. The Texans have wins over the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans. Two teams that have a combined two wins when combining records. The Texans have losses against the Rams, Buccaneers, and Jaguars. The Seahawks fall into the category of those three teams. Given the game is in Seattle, this could get ugly.
The Rams will be next to have a crack at the Jacksonville Jaguars. The 49ers lost, the Seahawks won, who knows what the Rams will do? Who knows what the Jaguars will do, for that matter? Of all the games, this could be the most fun one. Oh, and the game is going to be played on the other side of the pond in London. If you’re on the West Coast, enjoy the 6:30 AM start time.
And the Cardinals will host the Green Bay Packers. Don’t write the Cardinals off; they managed to stay in all of their games, regardless of whether the opponent is any good. The Packers tied with the Cowboys. That is all you need to know about that matchup.
1st: San Francisco 49ers; Next: vs. Atlanta Falcons (Sunday Night Football)
2nd: Seattle Seahawks; Next: vs Houston Texans (Monday Night Football)
3rd: Los Angeles Rams; Next: at Jacksonville Jaguars (NFL London Games)
4th: Arizona Cardinals; Next: vs Green Bay Packers
