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49ers Minutia Minute: Nick Bosa finishes the game with the best pressure of his career, but fails to sack it
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49ers Minutia Minute: Nick Bosa finishes the game with the best pressure of his career, but fails to sack it

Kyle Shanahan won but received no apology.

The league admitted it was wrong when it found that the Seattle Seahawks return man did not touch the ball on a fourth-quarter punt in the San Francisco 49ers’ 36-24 win on Thursday night. A replay angle showed it had hit his hand, but the referees couldn’t see that view before rejecting Shanahan’s challenge. Not only did the decision allow Seattle to retain possession, it also took away a timeout from the 49ers in what was shaping up to be a close battle.

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“You don’t get a lot of apologies, but apologies aren’t that big of a deal,” Shanahan said Friday. “Once it happens, you have to move on with your life. I mean, sorry, don’t make it any better. (I’m) just happy that everything worked out.”

Shanahan’s defense had its busiest game of the season – 78 snaps compared to 65 on offense. Still, the 49ers won the possession battle 33:03 to 26:57 in a game that was dragged 3:10 in part due to replay review.

This is how the individual snaps were divided:

quarterback: Brock Purdy 65

The 49ers used more play actions than this season, including the 76-yard touchdown pass to Deebo Samuel Sr. in the first quarter. According to Pro Football Focus, Purdy used play action on just 17.6 percent of his dropbacks heading into Seattle. On Thursday it was 29 percent. Purdy has completed 72.2 percent of his passes for 453 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a play-action passer rating of 132.9 this season. Without game action, he completed 63.8 percent for 1,176 yards, seven touchdowns, four interceptions and a 92.6 rating.

The midfield, which has been taken away from some opponents this season, was also available. Purdy was 4 of 6 for 59 yards on medium-deep passes over the middle and 5 of 8 for 48 yards on short throws over the middle.

The idea that Purdy’s passing numbers are increased by his receivers after the catch? This season it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. According to Fantasy Points Data, Purdy ranks 31st in passing yards percentage coming after the catch at 33.7 percent. No. 1 in this category: Purdy’s Week 7 counterpart, Patrick Mahomes, who shot 65.7 percent of his total after the catch.

Running back: Kyle Juszczyk (fullback) 42, Jordan Mason 18, Isaac Guerendo 17, Patrick Taylor Jr. 16, Samuel 6

Mason suffered an AC joint sprain while running in the second quarter. Shanahan said Mason expects to start in Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Meanwhile, Guerendo had the busiest outing of his career — 10 carries, 99 yards — while Taylor not only got his first runs of 2024 but also his first offensive snaps. During his 76-yard run, Guerendo said he heard calls from the 49ers sideline to go downfield, causing him to slip at the Seattle 5-yard line. Those calls didn’t come from Shanahan wanting him to score in the game.

Wide receiver: Brandon Aiyuk 62, Samuel 47, Jauan Jennings 34, Chris Conley 6, Jacob Cowing 1

After the game, tackle Trent Williams joked that he was worried Samuel would get caught by edge rusher Boye Mafe on his long touchdown catch-and-run. Mafe has great wheels, after all, and the speed he reached on this play was the fastest for a front-seven defenseman in the past two seasons, at 21.74 mph, according to Next Gen Stats.

However, Samuel had too much of a lead and reached a speed of 20.90 miles per hour in the game. That was his fastest pace since Week 14 of 2019 and confirmed what Samuel said over the summer: He’s in his best shape since his rookie season. He led all pass catchers with 102 receiving yards on Thursday.

Tight end: George Kittle 57, Eric Saubert 18, Jake Tonges 1

Kittle has become Purdy’s primary target in the red zone. He threw five touchdowns to him near the goal line and two to Jennings. Every other 49ers receiver has zero. According to Fantasy Points Data, Purdy has a passer rating of 140.9 when targeting Kittle. In contrast, his rating is 80 when targeting Aiyuk.

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Offensive line: Jake Brendel 65, Dominick Puni 65, Colton McKivitz 65, Williams 64, Aaron Banks 51, Spencer Burford 14, Jaylon Moore 1

Puni and Brendel combined to provide the crease that Guerendo used on his long run, and Puni emerged with an excellent run-blocking grade of 90.5 from PFF. To put that in perspective, the next best mark was Saubert’s 75 mark.

Passport block? The rookie wasn’t as sharp as two pressures were allowed. However, the offensive line did not give up any sacks on Thursday.

Allowed QB pressure:

  • Banks 4
  • Brendel 2
  • Puni 2
  • McKivitz 1
  • Williams 1
  • Clean 1

Defense line: Nick Bosa 68, Maliek Collins 59, Leonard Floyd 51, Kevin Givens 43, Sam Okuayinonu 32, Kalia Davis 31, Robert Beal Jr. 16, Evan Anderson 13

Bosa finished the game with 14 quarterback pressures, tying the career high he set against the Los Angeles Rams in 2022. The difference was that he had two sacks in that game but none on Thursday.

“It’s a finishing business,” Bosa said when asked about the near-sacks. “Especially when you’re me and you’re expected to finish. There were a few close games where the ball was almost out, the game was over and I just had to keep going. It’s a long year. Just watch the tape and try to finish it because that’s what players like me have to do.”

Meanwhile, Okuayinonu and Anderson, who appeared in Week 4 against the New England Patriots, had another modest snap with a big impact. The 49ers used Anderson in goal-line situations and he came out with two quarterback pressures.

QB pressure

  • Bosa 14
  • Floyd 6
  • Collins 4
  • Okuayinonu 3
  • Anderson 2
  • Circumstances 2

Linebackers: Fred Warner 78, De’Vondre Campbell Sr. 73, Dee Winters 12

Most of Winters’ snaps came as a third or strong side linebacker. There were five of them in the second half when he replaced Campbell at weakside linebacker, a reprise of the follow-up play the 49ers started with in Week 2. Neither thrived on Thursday, with Campbell finishing the game with two missed tackles.

Cornerback: Isaac Yiadom 77, Deommodore Lenoir 75, Renardo Green 71, Darrell Luter Jr. 3

Yiadom, Lenoir and Green stood out in Charvarius Ward’s absence, especially Green. The Seahawks targeted him 11 times and he allowed five catches for 57 yards, along with his game-winning interception in the fourth quarter. Geno Smith’s rookie quarterback rating: 57.

It was notable that Luter, who was a healthy player until Thursday, came into the game ahead of Rock Ya-Sin, who has only played on special teams so far this season.

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Security: Ji’Ayir Brown 78, George Odum 58, Malik Mustapha 20

It was a catch-up game for the 49ers’ safeties, who had struggled in run defense four days earlier against the Arizona Cardinals. Odum was particularly effective in relieving pressure on Mustapha (ankle) in the second half, finishing with five tackles and two pass breakups.

Special teams: Odum 20, Tatum Bethune 19, Beal 19, Jalen Graham 19, Eric Saubert 17, Tongs 17, Jaylen Mahoney 15, Matthew Wright 14, Taylor 14, Conley 13, Winters 13, Luter 12, Mitch Wishnowsky 10, Taybor Pepper 10, Rock Ya-Sin 10, Guerendo 10, Okuayinonu 7, McKivitz 6, Puni 6, Moore 6, Nick Zakelj 6, Spencer Burford 6, Banks 5, Brown 5, Warner 5, Yiadom 5, Lenoir 5, Campbell 5, Collins 5, Givens 5, Green 4, Samuel 4, Cowing 4, Anderson 3, Bell 2, Bosa 1, Brendel 1, Floyd 1, Davis 1

Not every rookie came out of the game well. Mahoney appeared to have a chance to hit Laviska Shenault early on the returner’s long touchdown, but stalled on his approach. Worse, Graham fired at Shenault, but barely deterred him.

Wright made 3 of 3 field goals in his 49ers debut. But his kickoffs fell far short of the mark. Only one of his attempts went into the end zone. The rest ended up either at the goal line or just short of the end zone, including the one where Shenault returned it 97 yards. It landed at the 3-yard line.

Wright also suffered a shoulder injury while making a tackle in the fourth quarter. A league source said that while an MRI scan of Wright wasn’t completely clear, they were optimistic it wasn’t a long-term problem.

Good to know: Luter’s knee caused a Shenault fumble in the second quarter. Wishnowsky, meanwhile, had three punts inside the 20-yard line, including one at the 6 and another at the 3 in the second half.

(Photo of Nick Bosa pressuring Geno Smith: Joe Nicholson / Imagn Images)

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