In the NFC, six of 16 teams have more losses than wins – and the San Francisco 49ers are one of them after the surprising 23:24 defeat against the Arizona Cardinals. The second loss in their own division against a team that should be beaten (the first was against the Los Angeles Rams) is a little worrying. Especially because the games against the top teams like Chiefs, Packers, Bills and Lions are all still to come.
The run defense was problematic against Arizona, especially in the second half. Cardinals running back James Conner was hard to stop and the 49ers missed a bunch of tackles. The Cardinals also had a bit of luck, like the pass from quarterback Kyler Murray to Marvin Harrison Jr. in the ultimately decisive drive on the fourth attempt, which he threw more or less blindly under immense pressure and still made it.
Both interceptions by 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy were a bit lucky from Arizona’s perspective. Both were deflected and then caught. Purdy was on board with the first one because he could have thrown to tight end George Kittle much earlier. However, he couldn’t help it with the second one.
In general, Purdy continues to perform well. Sometimes one or two shorter and faster passes when a teammate is open might make more sense. But his style of play, which prefers long passes, provides a lot of entertainment and it often works. The way he continually anticipates where his pass receivers will be is impressive. And when in doubt, he is athletic enough to run himself or keep plays alive by evading defenders. He holds the ball for an average of 3.15 seconds – the highest in the NFL.
Still, the 49ers offense sputters a bit. Last year, their great strength was being able to score in the redzone (i.e. the last 20 yards before the opponent’s end zone). No NFL team scored a higher percentage of touchdowns after entering the redzone in 2023. So far this year, the 49ers are ranked 30th.
In the second half, San Francisco couldn’t even shoot a field goal because kicker Jake Moody was injured. This resulted in a turnover on downs in the Cardinals half. And in addition to the two Purdy interceptions, running back Jordan Mason also had a fumble in the redzone. “We had every chance to win the game and didn’t,” said tight end George Kittle. That’s why the 49ers are 2-3 instead of 4-1, which was entirely possible. The defeat against the Rams was similar. The 49ers need to improve in some areas, but there is currently no reason to panic.
In the end it was no use because the Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Dallas Cowboys. But you have to see this Superman play by Steelers linebacker Elandon Roberts in the following video:
Why not every interception is good
In itself, an interception is one of the best things a defense can achieve. That’s why intercepted passes are always a reason to celebrate. Not so for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Thursday at Atlantaa Falcons. Lavonte David’s interception ensured that it wasn’t enough to win in the end. Because it cost important yards.
With less than two minutes to play and three points behind, the Falcons were under pressure and had to play on fourth down in their own half at the 20-yard line. David intercepted that pass attempt – but only returned it to the 28-yard line. If he had simply knocked the ball down, Tampa would have gotten the ball at the 20. So the interception cost eight yards that should still be valuable.
The Buccaneers offense subsequently incurred a penalty and suffered further loss of space due to poor running play. She lost a total of 14 more yards. This meant the distance was too far for a field goal and the Buccaneers had to punt instead of extending the lead. It remained a narrow three-point lead, which Atlanta was able to erase and then win in overtime.
Of course, Lavonte David can’t be blamed for the offensive’s loss of space. But the eight yards that were lost due to his interception would have been enough for a field goal attempt in the end and significantly increased the chances of victory. It’s a good example of why it’s better to forego the interception in certain situations.
Zuerlein kicks between the cheerleaders
Kickers in the NFL don’t always have it easy. Greg Zuerlein of the New York Jets was just trying to get some shots in London when the Minnesota Vikings cheerleaders stormed the field to perform. Zuerlein was unimpressed and just kicked anyway, as seen in the following video:
Bills throw away chance to win
Josh Allen had an outstanding start to the season, but the Buffalo Bills quarterback didn’t have his best day against the Houston Texans. He was missing his most important receiving station in Khalil Shakir, and so he ultimately only completed nine of 30 passes for 131 yards. But because there were a few really good ones there, Allen gained 54 yards on runs and the Bills’ running game generally looked pretty good, Buffalo had a chance of winning in this big game until the end.
With 32 seconds left to play and Buffalo possession deep in their own half, it smelled like overtime. The Bills could have scored three runs to ensure Houston used up all three timeouts and at least made it more difficult for the Texans to win. But Buffalo threw three passes, even though the passing game was weak that dayThe one you mentioned wasn’t good. All three passes were incomplete, meaning Houston was able to keep its timeouts. After the punt return in the Bills’ half, seven seconds were enough to get into field goal range and win before overtime. Three runs by the Bills and using up the timeouts wouldn’t necessarily have changed anything – but it would have made things much more difficult and would have been the better decision by Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott.
Bengals offense delivers – until overtime
The Cincinnati Bengals’ offense around their top stars Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins is finally looking like it should. She scored 442 yards against the Baltimore Ravens, along with 38 points. Chase and Higgins each caught two touchdown passes from Burrow. It is one of the best offensive lines in the league. And yet there was the fourth defeat in the fifth game – 38:41 after overtime. This was due to a defense that is on a completely different level (way down in the NFL), but also to quarterback Lamar Jackson on the Ravens side, who decided the game for his team with some incredible actions.
But the Bengals also carelessly missed a chance to win in overtime. The Ravens offense made a mistake when Jackson lost the ball with a fumble. Cincinnati recovered it in the opposing half at the 38-yard line. A field goal was enough to win. But instead of putting the ball in the hands of the stars Burrow, Chase and Higgins to make the field goal easier with a few yards or to win with a touchdown, the Bengals ran three times to gain just three yards of space. Time was not a factor at that moment. Why the Bengals for Heto Coach Zac Taylor It is questionable whether they gave up the passing game.
Kicker Evan McPherson had to run from 53 yards. Certainly doable for an NFL kicker, but it’s a distance from which a hit is by no means guaranteed. And things immediately went wrong – McPherson didn’t score, the Ravens got the ball back and went on to win the game. Admittedly, the failed kick had less to do with the distance and more to do with problems with the holder setting up the ball. Nevertheless, it would certainly have been better to rely on your stars in this crucial phase instead of a field goal from over 50 yards away.
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