49ers notebook: McKinnon back, Kittle deals with injury, Sherman calls out officials
Sunday was a bittersweet day for Jerick McKinnon.
The 49ers running back said he awoke Sunday morning, hours before the opener against the Arizona Cardinals, and had tears in his eyes knowing he was about to play his first game since Dec. 2017, 966 days ago.
McKinnon made his mark on the game, scoring one of San Francisco’s two touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough as the team lost 24-20.
“It was really just a blessing to wake up this morning know that I was going to get to play in a game, finally,” McKinnon said. “A lot of emotions. Woke up and just shed a couple tears and just took it all in. But God is good and I’m back.”
McKinnon finished with three carries for 24 yards and three catches for 20 more, including a fourth-quarter touchdown that momentarily gave San Francisco a lead. McKinnon leaked out of the back field and was wide open to Jimmy Garoppolo’s left for the easy score. His five targets tied four others for the most of the day.
McKinnon signed a four-year, $30 million contract with the 49ers in 2018. Kyle Shanahan at the time said McKinnon was the best free agent running back available as the team let Carlos Hyde walk in free agency. McKinnon in training camp was lining up all over the field and looked like a potential centerpiece for the offense despite being predominately a backup with the Vikings.
But he tore his ACL a week before the season opener against his old team. And when he tried to come back last summer, the knee wasn’t quite right. The initial graft didn’t take, so he went on injured reserve to have another surgery to add bone marrow from his hip. It cost him his second straight season. His contract last spring was reworked, giving him one year and minimal money, forcing him to play this season on a prove-it contract.
The 49ers said McKinnon has been fully healthy since November, giving him enough time to get in shape in time for the 2020 season. He had one of the team’s best plays of the game, making multiple defenders miss on a third-and-goal run from the 17-yard line in the first half.
It led to coach Kyle Shanahan trying to cram it into the end zone on fourth and short with a run to Raheem Mostert, but he was stuffed. It was one of the many mistakes San Francisco made on the day.
McKinnon finished second among 49ers running backs in snaps behind Mostert and ahead of Tevin Coleman, who played sparingly likely due to his preexisting sickle cell trait that makes it tough when there’s low amounts of oxygen in the air. The air quality index Sunday hovered in the 170s due to the fires up and down the West Coast and there was some question coming in if the game would be played on time or relocated.
But even with McKinnon back, San Francisco’s offense didn’t have a good day, getting outgained by Arizona, 404-366, while converting just 2-of-11 third downs and failing on both fourth-down attempts.
“We just didn’t execute today,” McKinnon said. “We’ve been in camp, practicing, executing, and bottom line we just didn’t execute enough today to come out and get the win.”
Kittle to get examined Monday
Tight end George Kittle left Sunday’s game momentarily at the end of the first half to have his left leg looked at. It was the same leg in which he chipped a bone from his right ankle against the Cardinals last Halloween.
But Kittle returned after halftime and indicated he doesn’t plan on missing any time because of it. He’s expected to get have the leg tested further Monday.
“I feel fantastic. Fantastic,” Kittle said. “Not an issue at all.”
Kittle plays through just about any injury and hates talking about them. He had four catches for 44 yards Sunday, which all came before the injury.
Said Shanahan: “I’m not exactly sure (about the injury). I know he went out with the leg, a lower leg injury. They don’t get into specifics with me and at halftime he told me he was good to go, so he returned. I’m sure we’ll find out a little bit more tomorrow morning when he comes in.”
Sherman calls out officiating
There were undoubtedly some tough whistles that went against the 49ers defense Sunday. Quarterback Kyler Murray, one of the most dynamic running quarterbacks in the NFL, was hit lightly by linebacker Dre Greenlaw and rolled over by defensive end Kerry Hyder on a pair of second-half scrambles. Both hits were both ruled personal fouls.
Murray had 100 yards rushing before finishing with 91, thanks to last-second kneel-downs. He added 230 passing yards, a passing touchdown and rushing touchdown.
49ers cornerback Richard Sherman said the officiating was more frustrating than Murray’s ability to eat up yardage with his legs after the San Francisco initially defended plays well. The defense struggled to contain Murray when he made off-schedule runs.
“It don’t make a difference to us, we just got to get him down,” Sherman said. “It’s the frustrating thing when refs make the calls when he’s running the football and guys are trying to go over him and halfway tackle him and you don’t, whether to take the chance to tackle him and let him run. So that was the tough thing today.
“Once you commit to tackling a guy and he’s making a move, you don’t know whether he’s going to the ground or he’s staying up.”
Sherman lined up on the right side of the field far more than he had previously in his 49ers career. He normally lines up on the left side exclusively, but said he played the open side of the field, as directed by defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.
Did it work? It’s hard to tell, but DeAndre Hopkins managed 14 catches on 16 targets for 151 yards in his Arizona debut.
Rookies offer little in debuts
Defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw was not in the starting lineup. The 14th overall pick was used as a rotational player while the starting defensive line consisted of Arik Armstead, Solomon Thomas, D.J. Jones and Nick Bosa.
Kinlaw was credited for half a tackle, coming on a run play in which he used a nice move to get past the right guard. But on the next play, a pass, he was pancaked to the ground. It was similar to the way training camp went for the South Carolina alum.
Otherwise, no other drafted rookie offered up much to the 49ers. Fellow first-round pick Brandon Aiyuk was out with a hamstring injury, fifth-round pick Colton McKivitz and sixth-round pick Charlie Woerner, the team’s fourth tight end, didn’t play on offense. Receiver Jauan Jennings, the seventh-round pick, is on the practice squad.
▪ With Aiyuk out, the 49ers only had four receivers active: Kendrick Bourne, Dante Pettis, Trent Taylor, and Richie James Jr. The team typically used five receivers on game days last season, with the exception of the Super Bowl, when they used just four. The receivers on Sunday combined for four catches and 41 yards.
▪ Roughly half hour before the game, every 49ers player and coach lined up linked arm in arm on the south goal line while “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was played in the stadium. The Cardinals were not on the field for that or the national anthem.
▪ There were no fans in attendance while the press box was filled at roughly 25 percent capacity with plexiglass spacers installed between each reporter. Photographers were forced into the stands and were not allowed on the field unless they were NFL personnel in the league’s COVID-19 testing protocol.
This story was originally published September 13, 2020 at 8:12 PM.