The new kickoff formation introduces a factor that seems to be overlooked, by many. The Panthers seemed to completely disregard it last night.
After the 49ers took a 17-3 lead in the third quarter, the Carolina offense emerged from hibernation. The Panthers drove 68 yards in eight plays, capping it with an impressive 29-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Bryce Young to receiver Tetairoa McMillan.
With the score 17-9, the Panthers could have attempted the analytics-driven move that plenty of teams do after scoring a touchdown when down by 14 points: Go for two. Make it, and the lead is down to six. Miss it, and it’s still a one-score game.
The Panthers opted to kick. It was good. 17-10. But an unnecessary roughness foul on the defense for hitting the snapper in the head/neck area gave the Panthers two options: Move the ball from the two to the one for a two-point try, or kick off from the 50 instead of the 35.
The Panthers didn’t hesitate. They went for two, even though the play they called took no advantage of the shorter proximity to the goal line. They threw a pass into the end zone. If anything, snapping from the one instead of the two packed everyone together more tightly. Basically, the extra yard made no difference to the play. (And, as the attached photo shows, it failed.)
Consider what the Panthers could have done instead. Although a shift in the kickoff spot does not change the configuration of players at or around the landing zone, a kick from the 50 would have allowed the Panthers to kick the ball out of bounds.
By rule (and if the kick had gone out of bounds inside the San Francisco 25), the next 49ers drive would have started 25 yards from the spot of the kick. That would have put the 49ers at the 25, 10 yards behind the new touchback point.
It’s a loophole in the rules that teams should welcome. Put the offense at the 25. Force the 49ers, knowing their lead had been cut to seven, to move the ball — and to not cough up a fourth interception deep in their own end of the field.
The Panthers seemed to not even consider the alternative. It was a knee-jerk “go for two” decision, with the same play they would have run from the two. It’s fair to ask whether teams are even factoring into this decision the quick and easy ability to put the opponent at the 25 after the next kickoff.
It’s an important tweak to the rules that isn’t commonly known or discussed. It wasn’t mentioned during the broadcast. It needs to become mainstream thought if/when a 15-yard penalty happens after a successful one-point try.
Keep the point, and give the ball to the opposing offense at the 25.
Panthers safety Tre’von Moehrig took a punch to the head from 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings after Monday night’s game came to an end and video from earlier in the game showed that Jennings was getting some payback for a Moehrig punch.
Moehrig aimed a lot lower than Jennings and struck the wide receiver in the crotch in the aftermath of a run by 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey late in the fourth quarter. After the game, Moehrig said Jennings “wanted to do his little dirty stuff” throughout the game and that he delivered his blow as a response.
“He was doing some extra stuff after the play, and talking crazy like he was doing something,” Moehrig said, via Mike Kaye of the Charlotte Observer. “So, you know, didn’t think about it — it just happened. I’ll take that one, you what I’m saying? But the next play we got right, you know what I’m saying? So, it is what it is.”
Moehrig said that he expects to be fined by the league, but it doesn’t sound like writing the check is going to lead to much regret on his part.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced 26 modern era semifinalists for election to the Class of 2026 on Tuesday.
Quarterback Drew Brees and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald are two of the five players who have reached this point in the process in their first year of eligibility. Quarterback Philip Rivers, running back Frank Gore, and tight end Jason Witten are the other members of the group that played their final game in 2020.
Offensive tackle Lomas Brown, who retired after the 2002 season, and defensive lineman Kevin Williams, whose last season was 2015, are the other first-time semifinalists.
Four players who were among the seven finalists for election last year were automatically moved to the semifinalist stage this year. They are offensive tackle Willie Anderson, wide receiver Torry Holt, linebacker Luke Kuechly, and kicker Adam Vinatieri.
The other 15 semifinalists also return from last year. They are quarterback Eli Manning; running back Fred Taylor; wide receivers Steve Smith, Hines Ward, and Reggie Wayne; offensive linemen Jahri Evans, Richmond Webb, Steve Wisniewski, and Marshal Yanda; defensive backs Rodney Harrison, Earl Thomas, and Darren Woodson; edge rushers Terrell Suggs and Robert Mathis; and defensive lineman Vince Wilfork.
The Hall of Fame selection committee will pare the group of 25 down to 15 names that will be announced next month. Those 15 players will join three senior candidates, a coaching candidate and a contributor candidate in consideration for election at the selection committee’s meeting next year.
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy opened Monday night’s game by capping a 15-play drive with a touchdown pass to wide receiver Jauan Jennings, but the rest of the half did not go nearly as well for him.
Purdy threw interceptions on the next three 49ers possessions and two of them set the Panthers up in 49ers territory. The 49ers defense stepped up to limit the Panthers to three points off of the turnovers and the Niners won the game 20-9, but that kind of carelessness with the ball is usually a recipe for disaster.
After the game, Purdy said he was fine with “the decisions of going to those spots” on the interceptions but that he “needed to just drive the ball a little bit more” on the throws. Purdy was then asked if the toe injury that caused him to miss eight games factored into not driving the ball the way he wanted to on Monday.
“No, toe is fine,” Purdy said, via 49ersWebzone.com. “Feels good out there. It’s really just seeing the play develop, anticipating and letting it rip at the end of the day. So, it had nothing to do with my toe.”
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said that Purdy was “a hair late” throwing the ball on the interceptions. The 49ers will need to get their timing right in the coming days because Myles Garrett and a Browns defense coming off a 10-sack game will be waiting to try to force them into more mistakes in Cleveland.
In only his third NFL season, running back Christian McCaffrey became the third player in NFL history to run for 1,000 yards and gain 1,000 yards receiving. He may now become the second to do it twice.
Through 12 games, McCaffrey has 796 rushing yards and 785 receiving yards. With five games to play, that projects to 1,127 rushing yards and 1,112 receiving yards.
Former Rams running back Marshall Faulk did it in 1999, and former 49ers running back Roger Craig did it in 1985. McCaffrey’s 1,000/1,000 season games with the Panthers, in 2019.
And, yes, this would be the first time it happens in a 17-game regular season. That’s true of every single-season record. If the league expands the season (and it will again), it becomes easier to break existing mark based on what happens during a given season.
Regardless, McCaffrey is currently on pace to get there in 16 games. So relax, guy. Appreciate the greatness of McCaffrey, who’s still getting it done at a high level at 29.
