49ers notebook: Emmanuel Sanders, Ronald Blair join injury list in epic loss to Seahawks

The 49ers were expecting a boost from the return of their two starting tackles and fullback for Monday night’s game against the Seattle Seahawks.

But getting Joe Staley, Mike McGlinchey and Kyle Juszczyk back didn’t provide a meaningful enough upgrade. And the injuries continued to pile up in the thrilling overtime loss, 27-24, giving San Francisco its first defeat of the season.

Receiver Emmanuel Sanders left the game midway through the second quarter with a rib injury and didn’t return. The severity is unknown and he’s expected to have an MRI on Tuesday. Without Sanders and tight end George Kittle, the 49ers had one of their roughest offensive showings of the season.

“Those are our two No. 1 weapons out there in the pass game,” McGlinchey said. “That’s not an excuse for what happened.”

Sanders last week in Arizona had the most productive game for a San Francisco wideout — and he had touchdown catches in each of his first two contests since being acquired in the trade from the Broncos.

He made a first-down catch to the Seahawks’ 12-yard line that set up the 49ers’ first touchdown late in the first quarter before his exit. He was hit hard over the middle and his helmet popped off, but still got up to fire up the emotionally-charged crowd.

Jimmy Garoppolo had season lows in completion rate (52 percent) and yards per attempt (5.4). He threw for 248 yards with a touchdown and interception. His 66.2 passer rating was his worst since the rain-soaked game in Washington on Oct. 20.

Not having Sanders and Kittle was clearly felt as the team’s pass catchers struggled.

“They’re our two best play makers, so it definitely takes a toll,” Kyle Shanahan said of the absences. “We knew that coming in with George. We kind of realized that was going to happen today. Emmanuel was out there battling. ... He tried to go a few more series longer, but he had to go out. Other guys came in, some guys stepped it up at times. We just didn’t have the consistency out there.”

San Francisco turned the ball over three times, including one Garoppolo fumble that was returned for a touchdown. Garoppolo was sacked a season-worst five times and threw an interception that bounced off the hands of receiver Kendrick Bourne, who had another drop that would have set up a first-and-goal at the end of the fourth quarter before kicker Chase McLaughlin tied it with a 47-yard field goal.

Dante Pettis had a drop late in the game. Deebo Samuel, who had the first 100-yard game of his career, also had a costly drop. Juszczyk had a drop on a touch back-shoulder catch in traffic that would have gone for a sizable gain in the first half.

“I think we just had too many self-imposed mistakes and I think that’s what hurt us,” Garoppolo said. “When you put yourself behind like that, it’s hard to catch up, so just little things we’ve got to clean up.”

The 49ers also lost defensive lineman Ronald Blair when his right leg bent awkwardly while corralling Russell Wilson for a one-yard loss on a run in overtime. Blair was on crutches after the game and had his leg in a heavy brace. He said he doesn’t know the severity of the injury, but he couldn’t put weight on his right foot.

Blair has been a key reserve along the team’s talented defensive line. He recorded three sacks in limited playing time during the first eight games and is poised for free agency in the offseason. A serious injury would likely cost him a significant chunk of change on the free agent market in the spring.

Linebacker Aziz Al-Shaair was checked for a head injury after a collision on the second-half kickoff and didn’t re-enter the game. He will likely begin the week in the concussion protocol.

Nose tackle D.J. Jones left the game in the first half with a groin injury and didn’t return. Jones recorded a third-down sack of Wilson, his second in as many games, and pressured Wilson on a roll out before exiting. He was replaced by a combination of Sheldon Day and Solomon Thomas.

Center Weston Richburg left the game with 8:44 left in the second quarter with an apparent left hand injury. He was replaced by Ben Garland. The Seahawks took advantage of Richburg’s momentary absence late the second quarter when defensive tackle Jarran Reed beat Garland and right guard Mike Person to force Garoppolo’s fumble, which Jadeveon Clowney scooped for a 10-yard score giving the Seahawks their only points in a first half the 49ers dominated.

Richburg returned to the game after halftime after getting his hand re-wrapped. It doesn’t appear his injury is going to cost him any more time. Running back Matt Breida also left the game as he aggravated his troublesome ankle injury. His status was unknown, though he was seen in the locker room without a noticeable limp afterwards.

Garrett Celek activated off PUP list

The 49ers before the game activated tight end Garrett Celek off the reserve/physically unable to perform list following offseason back surgery to repair a herniated disk. He was added to make up for the absence of Kittle, who missed just the second game of his three-year career because of knee and ankle injuries.

Celek said on Saturday he wasn’t expecting to be activated after getting just one week of practice and no preseason. But the team decided it needed three tight ends against the Seahawks. Celek’s playing time was scant. He was the team’s third active tight end, with Shanahan electing to deactivate running back Jeff Wilson Jr.

Kittle watched the game from a luxury suite at press level and was regularly shown on the ESPN broadcast.

Cornerback Dontae Johnson was released to make room for Celek. Ahkello Witherspoon, who returned to practice this week for the first time since injuring his foot Week 3, was also inactive, which made the 49ers thinner at cornerback than usual, leaving D.J. Reed as a reserve and making Tarvarius Moore a backup at both corner and safety. Moore had been at safety since offseason OTAs.

This story was originally published November 11, 2019 at 11:16 PM.