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“We’ve won a lot of different ways, been in a lot of different types of games,” third-year coach Kyle Shanahan said. “The more you do that, the more you can reassure yourself that you can pull out certain types of wins.”
The rolling Niners are where we start the Week 8 review:
■ There’s no question that a healthy Garoppolo is the difference this year. The 49ers went 1-10 without Garoppolo in 2017 and 3-10 last year. He is completing 70 percent of his passes, has taken only 11 sacks in seven games, and has directed an offense that ranks third in points (29.6 per game).
But Garoppolo is thriving arguably because the 49ers aren’t asking him to do much in his first season back from a torn ACL. The Niners are running the ball on a league-high 57.5 percent of snaps, and throwing a league-low 42.5 percent. They lead the NFL in rushes per game (38.9) and are 31st in passes per game (27.1). And this run-pass imbalance is working, as they have won six of their seven games by at least two scores.
The 49ers can run the ball with any of their backs. Matt Breida has 446 yards on 5.3 yards per carry. Raheem Mostert has 309 yards and a 5.7 average. Jeff Wilson has four touchdown runs. And Sunday, Tevin Coleman rushed for 105 yards and three touchdowns on just 11 carries as the Niners racked up 232 yards on the ground. Most impressively, they did it without one of their starting offensive tackles and their fullback (sound familiar?).
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And while the Patriots’ dominant defense has garnered many headlines, the 49ers’ defense has been nearly as impressive. The Niners have allowed just seven touchdowns in seven games, and have allowed 300 total yards just once. The Niners sacked Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen seven times Sunday and now are second in the NFL with 3.9 sacks per game. They have former first-round picks all over the defense, and their newest one, No. 2 overall pick Nick Bosa, already has seven sacks.
The Niners have played an easy schedule so far — just a .314 strength of schedule, second-lowest in the NFL behind the Patriots (.250). They still have two games against the Seahawks, plus matchups against the Packers, Ravens, Saints, and Rams.
But the Niners are definitely for real, and not just because of Jimmy G.
■ The NFC is shaping up to be quite a battle. The AFC, not so much.
At the midway point in the season, the 8-0 Patriots have a 2.5-game lead on the entire conference. The 5-2 Colts and Ravens are next, the Bills are also 5-2, and the Chiefs and Texans are 5-3. No one else is above .500.
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Even if the Patriots drop a few games in the second half, they still have a comfortable lead for the No. 1 seed. The Chiefs are sliding with Patrick Mahomes injured, and the Texans just lost J.J. Watt for the season.
Meanwhile, the NFC is stacked. The Packers are 7-1, and would have to play on Wild Card Weekend if the season ended today, as the Niners and 7-1 Saints currently have the top two seeds. But those teams can’t rest, either. The Seahawks and Vikings are both lurking at 6-2, while the 5-3 Rams are just outside the playoff picture. The only outlier is 4-3 Dallas, leading a horrible NFC East.
The NFC champion this year will be either (a) battle-tested from all of the tough teams it had to get through, or (b) beaten up by the time it reaches the Super Bowl.
■ Grab some popcorn, because things might start getting interesting for the 2-6 Broncos. Joe Flacco indirectly called out his coaching staff after Sunday’s 15-13 loss to the Colts. Denver was leading, 13-12, at the two-minute warning, but coach Vic Fangio and offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello conservatively ran the ball and punted rather than go for a first down on a third-and-5 play.
“I just look at it like we’re now a 2-6 football team, and we’re afraid to go for it in a two-minute drill, you know?’’ Flacco said. “Who cares if you give the ball back with a minute 40 seconds left?”
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Flacco has been playing poorly all year, but he’s right about that. Fangio has not been impressive in his first stint as a head coach.
■ On the other side of the field, you have to feel great for Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri, who was on the brink of retirement earlier this season after missing several important kicks.
Vinatieri, 46, had quite an adventure Sunday. First he made a 55-yard field goal, tied for the second-longest kick of his career (57 yards, 2002). Then he missed an extra point in the third quarter that kept the score at 13-12, Broncos, and almost cost the Colts a win. But Vinatieri redeemed himself by nailing a 51-yard field goal with 22 seconds left, the third-longest game-winning field goal of his eventual Hall of Fame career.
“We all knew it was going in,” Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton said. “He’s made countless kicks like that throughout his career. That’s why he’s the GOAT.”
■ Drew Brees looks just fine, thank you. Making his first start in six games following a thumb injury, Brees was back to his old self, completing 34 of 43 passes for 373 yards and three touchdowns with one interception in a 31-9 win over Arizona.
This was the perfect opponent for Brees to knock off the rust heading into the Saints’ bye week.
“As soon as I was able to grip it and rip it, I wanted to play,” Brees said.
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■ The Bears were last year’s surprise playoff team, but they have come crashing down this year, falling to 3-4 after a disappointing 17-16 home loss to the Chargers. They lost despite the Chargers running only 42 offensive plays and possessing the ball for 22:00. And they lost because of a poor coaching decision and, of course, poor kicking.
Trailing by 1 point with 43 seconds left, coach Matt Nagy took a knee instead of trying to get the ball closer for kicker Eddy Pineiro, who of course missed the subsequent 41-yard field goal attempt. Pineiro also missed a 33-yarder in the first quarter, making Nagy’s decision not to move closer more curious.
“I have zero thought of running the ball and taking the chance of fumbling the football,” he said. “They know you’re running the football, so you lose 3-4 yards, so that wasn’t even in our process as coaches to think about that.”
Way to show confidence in your players.
Ex-Patriots players
■ Titans CB Logan Ryan: Had eight tackles, an interception, a sack, a forced fumble, and two passes defended in 27-23 win over the Bucs. Ryan has 7.5 sacks the last two years after recording 2.5 in his first five seasons.
■ Seahawks TE Jacob Hollister: Played 22 snaps in the win over the Falcons, catching two passes for 18 yards. Hollister has only five catches for 38 yards this season, but he’s getting more of an opportunity with Will Dissly and Ed Dickson on injured reserve.
■ Lions WR Danny Amendola: Had 8 catches on eight targets for 95 yards in a 31-26 win over the Giants and now has 16 catches for 200 yards over the last two weeks.
■ Lions DE Trey Flowers: Had two sacks and a forced fumble in the win, and now has a team-high three sacks this season.
■ Rams WR Brandin Cooks: Left the 24-10 win over the Bengals after three plays to go into concussion protocol.
Ex-Patriots coaches
■ Mike Vrabel, Titans: Back in the playoff hunt at 4-4 following two straight wins with Ryan Tannehill at quarterback.
■ Bill O’Brien, Texans: Saved the team’s AFC South hopes with a big fourth-quarter win over the Raiders, but lost J.J. Watt.
■ Matt Patricia, Lions: Improved to 3-3-1 and saved the season with a 31-26 win over the Giants.
■ Brian Flores, Dolphins: Miami, which had the Monday night game vs. Pittsburgh, has the worst point differential after six games in the Super Bowl era (minus-148).
Stats of the week
■ Via ESPN: Joey and Nick Bosa set a record for most sacks by a pair of brothers in one day (5).
■ Via NFL Research: Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton is the only quarterback since 1950 to record both an 0-8 start and an 8-0 start.
■ Matt Schaub, 38 years old and making his first start since 2015, had 460 passing yards in Atlanta’s loss to Seattle, the most against the Seahawks in franchise history.
■ One stat that makes you do a double-take: The Patriots are 42-0 at home against AFC teams in the regular season when Tom Brady and Julian Edelman are both in the lineup.
■ Aaron Jones became the first Packers running back to have 150 receiving yards in a game since the 1970 merger (via ESPN).
■ Brees threw for 300 yards for the 117th time in his career, extending his own NFL record.
Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @BenVolin
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October 28, 2019 at 07:58AM
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