Christian McCaffrey fuels 49ers’ sloppy ‘Monday Night football’ win vs. Panthers | NBC Sports BA

Christian McCaffrey fuels 49ers’ sloppy ‘Monday Night football’ win vs. Panthers | NBC Sports BA

All right, let’s put it this way. There’s no style points in the NFL. A win is a win is a win. This one counts. 20-9. It’s a massive win for the 49ers. Pretty no counts. Yes. Now they have a 2 and 1 half technical advantage over the Panthers in the playoff race. This is 49ers postgame live brought to you by Toyota, Matt Mayoko, the great Tom Wrathman, Rod Brooks, and Carlos Ramirez. Uh, again, not eye candy, Matt, but it counts. They win two games over the Panthers plus the half game would be the um matchup over the advantage, the tiebreaker. So, what did you see? Well, Brock Pury really struggled in the first half, three interceptions. However, the bright side for the 49ers was that Bryce Young decided that his favorite receiver on this day was Jier Brown. And so, that’s how the 49ers win this game is that the 49ers gave it to the Panthers. the Panthers uh couldn’t make hay because of the 49ers defense really stepped up big time. That was a big story, Tom. You both talked about it on pre the defense needs to step it up because the offense is good, but maybe sometimes they just can’t. Well, they did step it up today. And uh the thing that really disappointed me was the turnovers. You know, it was a real sloppy game. They had five interception on with both teams and two fumbles, one by each team. Uh, but it’s so hard to win NFL football games that if you can get them, take them. Take them when you can get them. Everything you guys are saying is absolutely correct. But let’s keep it a buck. When people talk about the Niners having an advantage this year because of a softer schedule, this game is what we’re talking about, right? Because if they play a better team than the Carolina Panthers, they lose this game. Or at least the Panthers get more than three points off of the three first half picks by Brock Pury. All credit to the defense. They did an excellent job and with KD and Jennings and uh and McCaffrey settling things down, helping Brock Pury settle things down in the second half, that’s huge. But if it’s a better team than the Carolina Panthers, Niners lose this game. Uh let’s talk about the turnovers and specifically Brock Pury. You brought it up, Matt. Uh this is the overreactions of the show brought to you by Toyota role. Go to you first. Is there a problem with Brock Party? Because look at this. most interceptions in the NFL since Christmas of two years ago. It’s a big sample size. It’s Gino Smith. It’s Tua. And here’s Brock Birdie. Well, I mean, you don’t want to be on that list with with those dudes. All right. Um and and the numbers don’t lie. What what what I found concerning about it is I I understand wanting to do that, but you never go broke taking a profit. Like you you got green grass in front of you. You got to you got to take advantage of that. Like Kyle Shan Han said at the at the break that and he’s right that those passes sailed on Brock Perie. This is just a great play. I mean Horn is just playing basically free safety there. But the first two they they they were passes where they were behind the receiver. Um and that’s true but to me the bigger issue was the decision-m you got KD in front of you. You got Green Grass in front of you. You got uh you got uh McCaffrey at one point if I’m remembering correctly out to your left. Man, you you got to take that. But that’s Brock Pury. That’s who he is. Um just tonight, the accuracy was not there. The zip on the ball was not there. And fortunately, it didn’t hurt the ners. But to your point, I mean, Tom, the things we saw from Pertie back in 2023 was he wasn’t that guy. He was careful with the football, read the progressions. He wasn’t doing this. And now he is. I mean, Rod and I were talking about it during the game. It didn’t look like he was able to push off his back foot, and that affects his accuracy. So, I don’t know if he’s 100% right now, but uh obviously he let the ball hang. Do you expect people to bring up the hey, M. Jones didn’t do that conversation again, Matt? I I don’t I don’t care what people say because No, I mean, there’s no question. I mean, I’m sure people will. Um, but I mean it doesn’t it doesn’t matter what people think because Brock Party’s their guy and this gives Kyle Shanahan an opportunity to sit down with Brock Party and go over the film and and figure out what was what were the good reads that were just bad throws and what were the bad reads that were also bad throws. So, I mean, there’s plenty to clean up and I think this is the best case scenario in a lot of ways for the 49ers. I mean, you want your quarterback to get on a roll. want him to gain confidence, but I feel like the 49ers have been in this one game down, one game up mode since they won the first three games. Last week was an up week. This week was a down week and they still won it. So, they’re in in essence, I mean, they got very fortunate that they played a not great game at all and still come out of it with an eight and four record. All right, let’s go out to Levi Stadium with our ladies, Laura Britt and Jennifer Leechan reacting after the game. Ladies, thanks, Carlos. Coming into tonight’s game, one would think that the 49ers offense would be the big storyline tonight. Early in the first quarter, it did appear that way, that touchdown pass that Brock Party had to Joan Jennings. But then things stalled with the three interceptions from Brock Brock Party. Some things seemed a little bit off with him. But the story of the night turned out to be the defense. And that’s with a defense that’s missing Nick Bosa, that’s missing Fred Warner, that’s missing Tatum Bthun, and the list goes on. But Gyier Brown with two interceptions tonight, picking off Bryce Young both in the first quarter and the fourth quarter. A very impressive night for Gier Brown. I mean, that really is the story, right? We both talked about how the offense really needed to carry it. George KD has been saying that for weeks, and it really was this young defense. Malik Mustafa flying around, Jaier Brown flying around and they really made a difference in this game. Yeah, that big tackle from Malik Mustafa to prevent the Panthers from scoring a touchdown. He forced the field goal. That was a huge play in this game. And then of course there’s Christian McCaffrey as well. He ends up getting in the end zone facing his former team for the first time. Yeah, it was the Christian McAffrey show running the ball, catching balls, making touchdowns, making plays. It was a little bit of a struggle here and there with the offensive line and trying to get through, but really it was a huge day for Christian McCaffrey. I think some of the questions moving forward as they get ready to face the Browns on a short week. Of course, they’re going to face them on Sunday. Is Brock Party fully healthy? That was the question that popped in my mind. I’m sure many of you watching at home were thinking the same thing. A lot of questionable decisions tonight from Brock Party. We’re not typically used to seeing some of those types of decisions from Perie. But it’s also Kyle Shanahan doesn’t want to limit him. He wants to make sure he’s able and comfortable to sling it around. It just didn’t go in his favor tonight. There are a few that were behind Jawan Jennings. a little bit high for George KD. They ended up being picks, but Kyle Shannon doesn’t want him to lose that ability to really see the play and go for it. Last week it worked out. It was Christian McCaffrey running to the left side for a touchdown. A win for the 49ers as they get ready to head into week 13 on this short week for them. But the big takeaway from tonight, guys, was there anyone more excited than Robert Salah? I don’t think so. Uh, no. Except for Tom Wrathman who was just fistbumping. The right decision brought to you by Bernardi Zerata. You were in the green room. Uh, it’s always the right decision, Rod, to give it to 23. Where would you be without him? No, nowhere. Uh, rush attempts. There you go. This is just touches in the first quarter. Uh Tom, did you see a was it more a function of force feeding McAffrey or was it a function of taking what the Panthers were giving and that happened to be Christian McCaffrey? Well, I think it was a maybe the factor that uh he was playing his old team, you know, that’s why they were trying to get the ball ball to him, but uh you know, it was good that they stayed with the run game because it wasn’t very efficient early. uh they did not have the big plays that we’re looking for, but uh and he’s always going to be a factor in the pass game. So, uh those three things right there uh make him an elite player. Yeah. I think, you know, also the offensive line, I think the offensive line has been playing very well and this is one of those games where, you know, the the run blocking has constantly gotten better as the season’s gone on. The pass protection was was pretty good. I don’t think any of the interceptions that Brock Pretty threw was on account of poor pass protection. So I, you know, you could tell what they were trying to do. They wanted to be balanced. They wanted to take some shots down the field. It just turned out that, you know, the shots down the field, at least in the first half, uh, ended up in the the hands of the Panthers. Check this out. Christian McCaffrey showing his versatility out of the back field. Recorded his 38th career game with at least 50 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards. And the only player with more such games is Marsh Fall. You could you start the game by giving the ball to your p your best player and Christian McAffrey setting the tone. He’s the tip of the spear. Things start to get goofy with the three interceptions. What do you do in the second half? You give the ball to your best player. Christian McAffrey in the run game or you give it to him in the pass game and those are just extended handoffs. He’s your best player. He’s an allp pro running back and he’s an allpro uh slot receiver. Christian McAffrey is is one of one, man. And let’s get specific now with the run game. It’s time to have some more field vision here on the show. This is presented by Zeni Eyewear, the official eyewear of the San Francisco 49ers. Rushing tonight against Carolina. It was all Maccaffrey, but here comes Brian Robinson Jr. with some Brock Pury sprinkled in. Tom, this is your wheelhouse. How did you like the splits? What did you see from both McAffrey and specifically Brock Jr. on the run game and the usage of the outside zone game we saw later in the game? I mean, they got a good balance there using Brian Robinson, uh, helping out McCaffrey, but, uh, I think they’re most effective running to the outside, trying to trying to circle the defense. I don’t know what the problem is with the interior line, but we’re not getting the holes that we usually got. Uh, the outside zone is what they’re doing. They’re just tossing the ball some, and they’re running that outside zone, trying to circle the defense, and they’re very effective with it. How how would you separate both Maccaffer and Robinson’s running styles when you just see them? Well, they’re two different backs. I mean, Robinson is a power back. You want to run him in short yardage and goal line. That’s where I’d play him. And then McCaffrey, I mean, he’s an every down player. So, uh, you got two elite guys and you got to try to utilize both of them. What’ you see from both? Yeah, they do make a good compliment. We started to see that. I think it was in the New York Giants game where up until that point, Brian Robinson had basically been in mothballs through the first part of the season. And now you’re starting to see, you know, not up to the the level of carries that Christian McAffrey has, but he’s making the most of his situations. You know, he’s getting about what you say about half or a little bit less than half of the carries that McAffrey, but it seems like every time Brian Robinson comes in, it’s it’s a positive play. You know, even if he’s stopped at the line of scrimmage, he’s gonna fall forward. He’s gonna take the pile with him and get a couple of yards. So, I think Brian Robinson, as this season has gone on, has gotten more and more involved in the offense and made quite a difference to keep drives alive. I would think Niner fans have to be pleased. They’ve been asking for someone to take less of the workload or to take the workload from Christian McCaffrey to lessen his workload. You’re getting it now with Brian Robinson, and it’s not a negative at all. And your point, Matt, is the best one. Even when he gets hit at the line of scrimmage, you’re still going to get positive yardage out of him. Yeah, I I think the run game is going in the right direction. You talked about the offensive line. Do you see that trend continuing? Yeah, I I think so. I mean, next week is going to be a grind. You know, this coming week, Sunday, is about as difficult of a defense as the 49ers will face all season in the Cleveland Browns. So, you know, they’re going to have to mix things up. They’re going to have to have Brock Pretty make good decisions and not throw to the ball to the team in the other color uniforms. All right, this was a huge game. We talked about this on pregame, what it means for the playoff race for both teams. Now the 49ers are looking good. Why? Forget about the Panthers. Look at the hunt. It’s Detroit. Someone will come out of the North between the Bears, the Packers, and the Lions. Maybe the three of them. We don’t know. But look at the NFC West. It’s the Rams 9-2. It’s the Seahawks 8-3. Here comes San Francisco. But if you focus, Tom, on the Panthers, the Niners now have two games over them and the tiebreaker. That’s a two and a half game lead over Carolina. Well, I’ve been saying it all along is they just have to take it one game at a time and they just have to win the next game. That’s their sight right now is getting ready for Cleveland. Uh it’s good to get this win versus Carolina, but next week we got a big one. The the team to keep an eye on when you see those standings, the Chicago Bears, because they have a difficult schedule coming up facing all the top teams in the NFC North. So when you look at if can the 49ers falter a little bit, maybe a little bit with an 8 and4 record, they have a little bit of room for margin or error uh error room for error. But yeah, there we go. But you know, I I see the the Lions behind them being a threat obviously, but maybe the Bears can fall back. Here’s the thing, Rod. I think the NFC North will cannibalize itself because they have so many games between each other. The NFC West doesn’t have I mean, they’ve played so Niners only have one game left. That’s a Seahawks week 18 season, right? Right. Um that Bears Niner game, that’s going to be a very pivotal contest between the two. I know we’re still a few weeks away from that and Cleveland staring the Niners down the barrel is uh is the most important thing, but that Bears game that that’s going to tell you a lot about the the the playoffs and where the Niners fit. Yeah, I’m Yeah, go ahead. No, I was going to say this coming game, it’s a tough matchup for the 49ers. Now they’ll be facing Sheidor Sanders making his second start, but if they can go there on a short week and win that game, it really sets up well for them because they play the Titans after the by-week. And so if they get to that 10 win mark, there’s a really good chance they’re making a difference. And there will be rain on the forecast this Sunday for Cleveland. So we’ll see why that happens. Um yeah, we’ll see what happens. Quick break here on the show. When we come back here, Kyle Shanahan, his reaction from Levi Stadium. What does the head coach think? Plus Dwinners also more. We’re just getting started. It’s 49ers postgame live brought to you by Toyota. [Music]

The “49ers Postgame Live” crew break down San Francisco’s 20-9 win over the Carolina Panthers on Monday night at Levi’s Stadium.

#BrockPurdy #BrianRobinsonJr #ChristianMcCaffrey #SanFrancisco #49ers #SanFrancisco49ers #Carolina #Panthers #NFL #Week12 #Like #Comment #Subscribe #NBCSportsBayArea #CarlosRamirez #RodBrooks #MattMaiocco #TomRathman #Highlights #JenniferLeeChan #LauraBritt

CONNECT:
✔️ Subscribe to NBC Sports Bay Area & California: bit.ly/3AQknYc
✔️ Subscribe to our podcasts: https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/pod…
✔️ Stream the games at:
➡️ https://nbcsports.app.link/san_franci…
➡️ https://nbcsports.app.link/oakland_at…
➡️ https://nbcsports.app.link/golden_sta…
➡️ https://nbcsports.app.link/sacramento…
➡️ https://nbcsports.app.link/san_jose_s…
➡️ https://nbcsports.app.link/san_franci…

NBC Sports Bay Area & California on social media:
► Our website: https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/
► Instagram: / nbcsauthentic
► Like us on Facebook: / nbcsauthentic
► Follow us on Twitter: / nbcsauthentic
► Follow us on Tik Tok: / nbcsportsauth. .

The official YouTube page of NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports California. Home of the Warriors, Kings, Giants, A’s, 49ers, Sharks, Valkyries and Bay FC. We connect fans with the teams they love.

Christian McCaffrey fuels 49ers’ sloppy ‘Monday Night football’ win vs. Panthers | NBC Sports BA