The San Francisco 49ers are at a point in the season where winning is more important than the quality of the win, and Monday night proved that.
The 49ers withstood three Brock Purdy interceptions in an ugly 20-9 win over the Carolina Panthers. While it was believed that the 49ers’ offense would need to carry the defense the rest of the way, it was the defense that put San Francisco in position to win.
Carolina finished 1-for-7 on third downs, and the defense did a great job keeping the Panthers’ offense
off the field. And even when Carolina was gifted great field position, the defense did its part to keep Bryce Young and company out of the end zone.
While the defense was the key, we start with two stars on the offense, before moving to the standout of the defense:
Third star: WR Jauan Jennings
Jauan Jennings has earned the reputation of being the 49ers’ most physical receiver, and he upheld that reputation on Monday night.
Jennings finished the night with five receptions for 41 yards, while opening the scoring for the 49ers with his fourth touchdown of the season and third in four weeks. His physicality came in handy on that score, perhaps making the play of the night for the 49ers’ lackluster offense on Monday night.
The 49ers offense started off promising enough, opening the night with a 15-play touchdown-scoring drive. Christian McCaffrey had plenty of touches on that drive, but it would be Jennings who would finish it off. After McCaffrey did the heavy lifting to get the 49ers into the red zone, Brock Purdy would finally target Jennings with a good result.
Jennings would find a soft spot in the Carolina secondary and settle in right in front of Jaycee Horn. After withstanding Horn’s initial hit, Carolina safety Nick Scott would come flying in for the killshot, but his big hit attempt would result in him bouncing off the 49ers’ big-bodied receiver with no effect. Then, linebacker Krys Barnes would get his chance to finish off the play, but his hit ended up freeing Jennings of Horn’s and giving Jennings an open path to the end zone to give the 49ers an early 7-0 lead.
In a game where Purdy turned the ball over three times, every point mattered. Jennings’ hard work to get into the end zone was significant in the moment, and proved to be pivotal in the grand scheme of the game on Monday night.
Second star: RB Christian McCaffrey
The game might not have been as explosive as some would have thought for McCaffrey’s revenge game against his former team, but it was another ho-hum 100-yard game for the focal point of the 49ers’ offense.
The offense started McCaffrey-heavy, and that trend would continue throughout the game, with McCaffrey collecting 31 touches, just two off of his season-high. He started with nine touches on the opening drive, with six carries and three receptions, totalling 40 yards on what would end up being a 72-yard drive.
What McCaffrey has struggled with all season is the big runs, but like against Arizona last week, the running back was finding space for some chunk plays on the ground. On that opening drive, McCaffrey had back-to-back rushes for eight yards, setting up Jennings’ touchdown. His lone rushing touchdown of the game was a 12-yard rush set up with some excellent blocking from Jake Brendel. A few plays later, he would rip a game-long 17-yard run, helping set up a Matt Gay field goal to extend the 49ers’ lead to two possessions in the fourth quarter.
While he was consistently collecting big gains on the ground, matching his season average of 3.7 yards per attempt, the amount of touches he received helped his yardage, and paired with his 53 receiving yards, McCaffrey finished with 142 total yards, his sixth game of the season with more than 140 yards from scrimmage.
Still with some issues in the run game, McCaffrey continues to prove his worth as the workhorse of the 49ers offense.
First star: S Ji’Ayir Brown
The 49ers’ defense as a whole was deserving of the top spot this week, but Brown’s game was just too good not to single out.
In what was his best game with the 49ers, Brown finished Monday night with five tackles and two crucial interceptions, one in the first quarter and one in the fourth, helping the 49ers hold Carolina to nine points.
In what was the most crucial play of the game for either side of the ball, Brown’s first interception set the tone for the Panthers’ offense on Monday. After being gifted prime field position following Purdy’s first interception, Carolina started with the ball inside the red zone. Three plays later, they would find themselves at the one-yard line when Brown introduced himself.
Bryce Young rolled to his right and seemed to have a path to the end zone, but pulled up to try to hit Mitchell Evans for the touchdown. Brown read the play well and backed off of his spot to get himself between Young and Evans, pulling down the poorly telegraphed pass for interception No. 1 on the night.
Interception No. 2 would have to wait until the fourth quarter, but the wait was well worth it. With the 49ers taking an 11-point lead on McCaffrey’s rushing touchdown, Carolina had plenty of time to chip away at the two-score lead. They would move the ball into 49ers territory, but when facing a second-and-8, Young would look for Tetairoa McMillan with a disastrous result. While Renardo Green might have gotten away with a hold, the grab of McMillan worked out, as it allowed Brown to step in front of the rookie receiver for the interception, and essentially put the game on ice.
The San Francisco defense has struggled mightily forcing interceptions this season, but with Brown’s duo of picks, the 49ers defense now has four interceptions over their last two games. An unlikely game from Brown, but a sight for sore eyes for a defense that needs to improve in forcing takeaways.
Throughout the season, I will track the three stars of the season, tallying points for each star award using a complex scoring system: three points for being the first star, two for the second, and one for the third. Through Week 12, the standings are:
- RB Christian McCaffrey – 14 points
- LB Fred Warner – 11 points
- QB Mac Jones – 8 points
