There was no jet lag for the San Francisco 49ers coming home from Australia.
San Francisco was rewarded for their travels with a Week 2 matchup against the Miami Dolphins, and the 49ers took advantage with a 35-13 blowout win at Levi’s Stadium.
Before we look ahead to the 49ers Week 3 meeting with the Arizona Cardinals, let’s look in the rearview one last time at the Dolphins. Here is Week 2’s game in review:
The players returning from injury came up big…
Two of the biggest offseason storylines for the 49ers
were how long they would be without the likes of Nick Bosa and George Kittle after both suffered season-ending injuries in 2025.
The answer to that question was Week 1, as both returned for San Francisco’s season opener in Australia. Week 2 gave us the answer when we could expect them back to their normal form.
If you had to pick a player of the game for both sides of the ball for the 49ers in the Week 2 win, there’s a good argument for Kittle to be that player for the offense and Bosa for the defense.
Kittle had the more recent injury, tearing his Achilles back in January, but did he look like the Kittle of old on Sunday? His 80 yards led all pass-catchers, and it only took four receptions to get there. His big catch looked every part of the Kittle we got used to, hauling in the Purdy pass and bouncing off of a few tackles en route to his 40-yard gain.
Bosa didn’t have the numbers Kittle had (just three tackles), but his impact was certainly felt. He led the 49ers with five pressures, with at least two directly leading to 49ers sacks. While the pressures against Miami were less than what they had against the Rams, the 49ers were able to sack Malik Willis four times, and Bosa’s presence was a huge part of that.
It’s good to see the bigger names on the 49ers perform, but it feels just that much better when they are returning from devastating injuries like Kittle and Bosa.
…but the Demarcus Robinson injury might be just as big
When the 49ers lost Ricky Pearsall to injury, De’Zhaun Stribling was starting his rise, sliding in as Pearsall’s replacement. When Stribling went down in Australia, the veteran Robinson was the obvious solution to slide into that WR2 spot.
But now with Robinson out for a bit with the high ankle sprain, where do the 49ers go from here?
Deebo Samuel is the next obvious answer, but we have seen what Samuel looks as a WR2 and it leaves a bit to be desired. Samuel feels better as a luxury to this San Francisco offense, a player you can use out of want instead of need, instead of having a defined role like the second-most important receiver on the team.
So where do the 49ers look to replace Robinson for the next few weeks while he recovers? Well, the 49ers added Brandin Cooks to the practice squad, so that’s a veteran presence. But that doesn’t exactly solve the issue. The 49ers will likely enter Week 3 with a receiver depth chart of Mike Evans, Samuel, Jacob Cowing, and Jordan Watkins, leaving a pretty heavy gap between Samuel and Cowing in terms of talent and experience.
Wide receiver injuries were a recurring thing in 2025, and it seems to have returned for 2026. Let’s see how the 49ers handle it this season and try to fix the issue by making some sort of addition, or if they try to ride it out.
Can I be honest for a second?
This is my corner of the internet so I am sure I can overreact to a Week 2 game against the Dolphins without people getting angry about it.
But I wasn’t exactly thrilled with what I saw from the 49ers defense on Sunday. I know, I know, they only allowed 13 points and fewer than 300 yards, but it didn’t feel as dominating a performance as it should have been.
Now, I will say, they cleaned up in the second half, but the first half certainly had its share of issues; the biggest was not being able to get off the field. The 49ers offense only had two possessions in the first half, and that’s because the defense couldn’t get off the field. Miami’s first-half drives were:
- 9 plays, 34 yards
- 17 plays, 63 yards
- 12 plays, 58 yards
Miami converted five-of-seven third- and fourth-down conversions in the first half, including an extra conversion when a Keion White roughing the passer wiped out a Willis incomplete pass on a third down.
The subpar Dolphins offense was moving the ball at will against the 49ers, a week removed from San Francisco shutting down the Rams. It wasn’t exactly how you’d want the defense to follow up the Week 1 performance.
The two things I will say is that the defense only allowed field goals in the first half and played a much better second half. Maybe it was just an off half for the defense, but it was something to note and something to watch going forward.
Rookie of the Week
After Kaelon Black would have won the award in Week 1, we will go to the defense to crown Week 2’s winner. And the first official winner of the inaugural Rookie of the Week is defensive tackle, Gracen Halton.
The 49ers defensive tackle situation is kind of a black hole, with it led by Osa Odighizuwa, but beyond him, it’s a cluster of prove-it players. Halton got 32 snaps (the most from a 49ers defensive tackle not named Osa Odighizuwa) on Sunday and put together a solid performance.
The rookie finished with five tackles (the most by a 49ers defensive lineman on Sunday), with three being solo and another going for a loss. The tackle for a loss came late in the 49ers blowout, but Halton stopped De’Von Achane for a loss of three to force a third down early in the fourth quarter.
But Halton was quality in the run game as well. He finished with three run stops, adding an Achane stop for a gain of one yard in the second quarter and holding another Achane run to three yards in addition to the tackle for loss. And the 49ers’ run defense looked better against Miami than it did against Los Angeles (although Miami still rushed for more than 100 yards).
With as much help as defensive tackle needs, any positive performance is helpful. Halton was the one to offer that performance on Sunday, and it was a good one to see come from a rookie.
