49ers lack closing effort in rout over Lions
San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw (57) returns an interception for a 39-yard touchdown against the Detroit Lions in the first half of an NFL football game in Detroit, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Lon Horwedel)
2021.09.12 – Dre Greenlaw returned an interception for a touchdown to help San Francisco score 17 points over two-plus minutes late in the first half, as the 49ers lack closing effort in rout over Lions for a 41-33 win in Detroit on Sunday.
Nick Bosa was ready to kick back and relax while the 49ers coasted to a season-opening victory. The Lions made Bosa get back to work.
“I took my tape off and everything,” Bosa recalled. “I was expecting to be done.”
That was not an unrealistic expectation when San Francisco led 38-10 early in the fourth.
For most of the afternoon, the 49ers performed more like the Super Bowl-contending team they were two years ago than the 10-loss squad they had last season when injuries took a major toll.
“We got into a pretty good groove and we were rolling pretty good, but you want to finish better than that,” quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said. “There was a relaxation on the sideline.
“At the end of the day, it’s a win and we’re happy with that.”
San Francisco welcomed back Garoppolo and George Kittle on offense and Bosa on defense after each missed much of last season with injuries.
Garoppolo, who helped San Francisco win the 2019 NFC championship, is 23-8 in the regular season since being acquired from New England.
Kittle had four receptions for 78 yards. Bosa had four tackles, including a drive-ending sack early in the fourth quarter.
Garoppolo, who lost a fumble on his first snap, was 17 of 25 for 314 yards. He threw a 79-yard touchdown pass to Deebo Samuel, who took advantage of cornerback Jeff Okudah falling. That gave the Niners a 28-point cushion midway through the third quarter. They needed it.
Samuel had nine catches for a career-high 189 yards and lost the fumble in the final moments at the Lions 30. Rookie Elijah Mitchell, filling in for injured Raheem Mostert, had a tie-breaking, 38-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter and finished with 104 yards rushing.
QUARTERBACK SHUFFLE
Garoppolo and Trey Lance didn’t swap places as often as they did in the preseason finale two weeks ago, and Garoppolo thought the duet’s debut went “pretty smooth,” with Lance playing only four snaps.
Lance entered for two snaps on the opening touchdown drive and didn’t get in again until a third and-20 run for a 2-yard gain in the third quarter. Lance’s fourth snap was a predictable third-and-1 keeper that was stopped for a 1-yard loss late in the third quarter.
This was more Garoppolo’s show, and he combined with Samuel for the play of the day: a 79-yard touchdown catch-and-run on a third-down heave. As Samuel raced toward the goal line, Garoppolo was helping up one of several Lions defenders who drilled him on the throw, and it was Garoppolo who comforted the defender with a pat on the helmet.
Garoppolo kept alive the 49ers’ first touchdown drive of the season, and Lance finished it off with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Sherfield. Lance is believed to be the first quarterback since Tim Tebow (2010) to throw a touchdown on his first career pass.
2021.09.18 – (Maiocco’s & Shanahan Video-Podcast) 49ers beat Lions
2021.09.18 – (Maiocco’s & Shanahan Video-Podcast) 49ers beat Lions
2021.09.12 – (SF 49ers @ Detroit Lions) (NFL Video Highlights)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, right throws to Deebo Samuels, center against the Detroit Lions in the second half of an NFL football game in Detroit, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
2021.09.12 – (SF 49ers @ Detroit Lions) (NFL Video Highlights)
In coach Dan Campbell’s debut, Detroit scored 23 points in three-plus minutes to pull within eight points. The Lions, though, came up short by turning the ball over on downs at the San Francisco 24 with 12 seconds left after getting the ball back on Samuel’s fumble on what could have been a clinching gain.
“We dug ourselves into a really big ditch early against a very good team,” Campbell said. “We were better in the second half, but that wasn’t good enough.”
In his Detroit debut, Jared Goff was 38 of 57 for 338 three touchdowns and a costly interception. T.J. Hockenson had a career-high eight receptions for 97 yards and scored in the season-opening game for the third time in three years.
Goff, the former Los Angeles Rams quarterback acquired along with first-round draft picks for Matthew Stafford, was picked off late in the second quarter by Greenlaw. The linebacker returned the interception 39 yards to give San Francisco a 28-10 lead. The Niners led 31-10 at halftime, their highest total after two quarters since 2008.
Goff, and his teammates, bounced back enough to potentially push the game into overtime.
“The end of the game showed us what kind of guys we have on this team,” he said. “I learned a lot about them and I hope they learned a lot about me.”
2021.09.12 – (Lombardi’s post-game Video-Podcast) 49ers beat Lions
San Francisco 49ers running back Elijah Mitchell runs for a 38-yard touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers in the first half of an NFL football game in Detroit, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Lon Horwedel)
2021.09.12 – (Lombardi’s post-game Video-Podcast) 49ers beat Lions
2021.09.12 – (Lombardi’s post-game Video-Podcast) 49ers beat Lions
NOTABLE
San Francisco quarterback Trey Lance connected with receiver Trent Sherfield on a 5-yard, play-action pass to help the 49ers take a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.
The former North Dakota State star is the first rookie to throw a touchdown on his first pass attempt in Week 1 since Atlanta’s Matt Ryan against Detroit in 2008. Lance also became the first 49ers rookie to throw for a score in a season-opening game since they joined the NFL in 1950.
MITCHELL’S NFL DEBUT
San Francisco’s 49ers NFL debut of Elijah Mitchell, who ran for 104 yards on 19 carries, becoming the 34th back in league history to go over 100 yards in his NFL debut.
Raise your hand if you had Mitchell scoring the 49ers’ first rushing touchdown. After Mostert hurt his knee on the preceding drive, and with Sermon a surprise scratch, Mitchell made the most of his opportunity and set a 49ers rookie debut record.
Mitchell scored on a 38 yard run in the second quarter by bursting through a huge lane on the right side and breaking a tackle that left two defenders in his dust for a 14-7 lead.
VERRETT INJURY
There’s no way to sugarcoat the loss of cornerback Jason Verrett. The Niners’ cornerback exited the game in the fourth quarter with a knee injury that left him in tears as he hobbled back into the locker room. ESPN reported after the game that the 49ers suspect Verrett tore his right ACL. If true, that injury would knock him out for the rest of the season and test the Niners’ super thin depth at defensive back.
INJURY REPORT
49ers: Mostert (knee), Greenlaw (groin) and CB Verrett (right knee) were hurt. While Mostert may be able to play next week, Verrett appears to have a long-term injury.
Without Verrett, the Niners may sign 33-year-old defensive back Richard Sherman, who had off-field problems in the offseason.
“It’s always a possibility,” Shanahan said.
Lions: WR Kalif Raymond limped off the field, favoring his left leg in the third quarter. On a play in the fourth quarter, both Okudah (foot) and DT Kevin Strong were injured. Campbell said Okudah, the No. 3 pick overall last year, might have injured his Achilles tendon.
UP NEXT
49ers: at Philadelphia on Sept. 19.
Lions: at Green Bay on Sept. 20.
Related – See below: Mostert’s Epic Dash to Super Bowl!
Related: 49ers’ Garoppolo and Lance rout Raiders
Read more at: San Francisco 49ers Media Services / More AP NFL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
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Mostert’s Epic Dash to Super Bowl!