49ers find valuable lessons in epic showdown versus Ravens
It felt like a playoff-level slugfest.
Two of the best teams in the NFL, the Ravens and 49ers, entered Sunday’s game with three losses in their 22 games, combined.
Yet for the second time in under a month, as it did against the Seahawks Nov. 11, San Francisco felt defeat by way of a game-winning field goal on the final snap.
The 49ers dropped to 10-2 in a hard-fought showdown between two of the best teams in their respective conferences, 20-17, as Justin Tucker hit a 49-yard field goal as time expired.
It was raining, it was cold and it was dramatic.
The second loss of the year also offered San Francisco a few things to learn as Kyle Shanahan’s club wades into the last month of the regular season and a likely playoff run.
“We definitely played against a real good team,” Shanahan said. “But I was real happy with how the guys played. We had every chance to win the game, and we came up a little bit short at the end.
“Hopefully, we’ll earn an opportunity to get a chance to play them some other time.”
Some other time, of course, would be the Super Bowl in early February. Both teams consider themselves championship contenders and showed why throughout portions of Sunday’s contest.
The 49ers outgained the Ravens 331-283, and their defense limited the NFL’s top scoring offense, averaging 35.1 points, to 20, and just 3 after halftime.
“It was all 11 (defenders) at the ball at all times every play,” Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson said. “So you’ve got to give them credit. They were flying.”
Added Baltimore running back Mark Ingram: “We went toe to toe in a heavyweight battle and we were able to somehow pull it out.”
Mistakes define 49ers’ loss
The difference in the outcome came down to a handful of plays – including a handful of mistakes from the road team.
Jimmy Garoppolo (15 of 21, 165 yards, one touchdown pass, 110.2 rating) in the first quarter was stripped of the ball, leading to a Ravens touchdown two plays later. Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair was flagged for a late hit on Jackson that negated a third-down incompletion leading to a Jackson touchdown in the second quarter.
Jackson, the MVP front-runner, was limited in the air game against San Francisco’s stout defense that came in ranked No. 1 versus the pass. He threw for just 105 yards a week after the 49ers limited Packers star Aaron Rodgers to 104.
But Jackson remained one of the league’s most potent offensive threats with his legs, finishing with 101 yards on 16 carries, good for a 6.3-yard average. The 49ers held the rest of Baltimore’s rushers to just 3.5 yards per run.
The 49ers also had a field goal blocked as the first half expired. It was a 51-yard try for Robbie Gould in his first game back from a three-week absence due to a quadriceps strain in his kicking leg.
Leading up to it, the 49ers allowed 41 seconds off the clock between plays. It was an effort to ensure Jackson wouldn’t get the ball back with a chance to score before halftime. But an incompletion to Emmanuel Sanders and a 3-yard pass to Raheem Mostert forced the long try.
The 49ers could have used more time to get closer in the harsh kicking conditions. Instead, they went into the locker room having a timeout in their pocket.
“We would love to score, but we’re going to make sure we work that clock,” Shanahan said. “I wish we had gotten closer so we’re not short on the field goal.”
The 49ers’ last chance at breaking the tie came midway through the fourth quarter, on a fourth-and-1 from Baltimore’s 35, which was outside of Gould’s range at 53 yards, particularly after what happened before halftime.
Garoppolo, from shotgun, tried to find tight end George Kittle on a short throw over the middle. But the pass was batted by defensive lineman Chris Wormley at the line of scrimmage, and the 49ers never got the ball again as the Ravens drove for the final 6:28 and scored a 49-yard game-winner.
Garoppolo has strong outing
Garoppolo was mostly solid throughout the day, but failing to convert that fourth down will stick with him ahead of Sunday’s tilt against New Orleans.
“They had tight coverage. I thought we had a chance with George,” he said. “It was just a good play by the D-linemen.”
The 49ers scored on their first drive when rookie wideout Deebo Samuel caught a 33-yard pass over cornerback Marcus Peters on fourth down. It capped an impressive 7-play, 74-yard drive that included a 30-yard third-down conversion to receiver Kendrick Bourne.
San Francisco’s defense followed that up by forcing a punt thanks largely to linebacker Fred Warner’s impressive pass breakup on Jackson’s throw to fleet-footed receiver Marquise Brown.
The Ravens’ touchdown after Garoppolo coughed up the fumble went to tight end Mark Andrews for a 20-yard score.
The 49ers tied it at 14 in the second quarter with a 40-yard touchdown from Mostert, who received an excellent block from Kittle along the right edge. Mostert, breaking a pair of tackles, finished the run by making a cut-back move to the inside on All-Pro free safety Earl Thomas.
Mostert finished with a career-best 146 yards, setting a new career high by the second quarter. His previous best was 87 yards in an October loss to the Packers in 2018.
Shanahan indicated Mostert wasn’t expected to be the team’s featured tailback, but he earned that designation throughout the game. Mostert has been the team’s No. 3 option at tailback behind Tevin Coleman and Matt Breida, who missed his third-straight game with an ankle injury.
“He has a burst to him like no one I have seen,” Garoppolo said.
Mostert said it was long-time position coach Bobby Turner was the one who made the decision to keep him in the game and not Coleman, who finished with just 6 yards on five carries.
“He said, ‘I’m going to keep you going, but I’m also going to keep you fresh,” said Mostert.
Ravens’ response
Baltimore responded with a field goal drive that was aided by a penalty on defensive tackle Sheldon Day for tackling Jackson low after he released a pass.
The 49ers got their first big defensive play on the first possession of the second half with Marcell Harris – in for Jaquiski Tartt after he sustained a rib injury two plays earlier – ripped the ball from Jackson and recovered the fumble at San Francisco’s 17-yard line.
It led to a game-tying field goal drive that included another fourth-down gamble from Shanahan, who dialed up a pass play downfield to Sanders, who was interfered with by Humphrey.
As far as lessons go, the 49ers have learned in their defeats to the Seahawks and Ravens that they’re a few mistakes away from being undefeated, and they have time to clean up their missteps with four games remaining before the playoffs.
Said Warner, the reigning NFC defensive player of the week who had another 11-tackle game with a pair of pass breakups: “Once we got in the groove, I think you saw us settle down, but we’ve got to be better. We’re not going to hang our heads.”
The 49ers will spend the next week practicing at IMG Academy, just south of Tampa, before their trip to play New Orleans. It will mark their second week away from their Santa Clara headquarters this season. They practice in Youngstown, Ohio, before the Week 2 victory in Cincinnati after beating the Buccaneers in their opener.
Veteran guard Mike Person said he thinks the team will benefit from a training camp-like atmosphere away from California following the loss.
“I think we are a resilient team. I think this one’s going to hurt — for 24 hours,” Person said. “But we may be young in parts, but the maturity, the leaders of this team, help us move on to the next game, to what we need to focus on so we don’t dwell. Don’t let this bad game stack up three days from now and we go out and have a bad practice. We watch the film, learn from it, flush it.”
This story was originally published December 1, 2019 at 3:40 PM.
