49ers notebook: Verrett emerges as a critical player, Mostert gets injured
49ers safety Jimmie Ward thought he was beat by Rams receiver Josh Reynolds for a touchdown that could have swung Sunday night’s game.
But cornerback Jason Verrett peeled off his man to make the biggest defensive play of the night. And it might have been bigger than that for the 49ers defense.
“(It) was probably the biggest play of the year,” defensive lineman Arik Armstead said.
On fourth-and-goal from San Francisco’s 2-yard line and the Rams threatening to seize momentum, Verrett left his man, Robert Woods, to leap and intercept Jared Goff’s pass to Reynolds, who beat Ward toward the outside.
“Oh I was the happiest person in the world. I had inside leverage,” Ward said. “So I owe that guy a steak dinner.”
It was the highlight of a remarkable turnaround season for Verrett, who should be in the running for NFL Comeback Player of the Year based on his campaign with San Francisco through six weeks. Verrett was arguably San Francisco’s best defender Sunday night in the 24-16 win over the Rams, in a game the defending NFC champions had to have.
The 49ers limited Rams quarterback Jared Goff to a season-low 198 yards and 72.0 passer rating. It came a week after surrendering 350 yards to journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick in the blowout loss to the Dolphins.
Coming in, Goff and Co. had the league’s fourth-ranked offense, scoring on 65 percent of red zone trips.
The Rams went 1-of-3 in the red zone against San Francisco, in large part because of Verrett’s interception, which came after receiver Cooper Kupp dropped a would-be touchdown as he fell out of bounds.
Verrett had two pass breakups and an interception while tasked with covering Woods, the Rams most dangerous receiver, throughout the game. Woods had just four catches on 10 targets.
“Jason’s been great,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “And not just how he covers, but Jason’s a man out there. The way he carries himself, the way he likes to mix it up. He loves playing football.”
Verrett is emerging as one of Shanahan’s favorites. And why wouldn’t he? He’s been the team’s best and most consistent cornerback since Richard Sherman landed on injured reserve following a Week 1 calf issue.
San Francisco’s cornerbacks have been decimated by injuries. Last week, Verrett was the team’s only cornerback to make the Week 1 roster that wasn’t nicked. Which is even more remarkable given the laundry list of significant injuries he’s had throughout his career.
This season is the first since 2016 in which he’s started in back-to-back games due to tearing his ACL twice and before 2018 started, an Achilles. He appeared in one game last year before going on season-ending injured reserve, only to come back and become one of the few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing 49ers season before Sunday night.
“I’m so pumped to have him on our team and I’m just happy for him that he’s been able to get out there again,” Shanahan said.
“Man, words can’t even describe the feeling,” said Verrett. “I’m just happy to be out there. I love the game. And this is just what I work for. I work to get back to this stage right here and I’m just trying to leave it all out there on the field every chance I get.”
It was pointed out on the NBC broadcast how Verrett had gone through rough times while dealing with his injuries as many wrote him off. The 49ers had maintained hope Verrett could regain his Pro Bowl form if he could ever stay healthy and, for now, the team is being rewarded.
“Just being in those dark moments, your mind can take you to places you don’t want to go,” Verrett said. “Unfortunately that happened to me, just the grind that I have, the fight that I got, the family that I come from, I’m always built for moments like those.”
The 49ers got usual starter Emmanuel Moseley back on the other side after he missed two games with a concussion. Moseley also played well, leading the team with three pass breakups. More importantly, he provided a major upgrade of Brian Allen, the practice squad player turned starter the Dolphins wouldn’t stop picking the previous game.
For the first time all season, the 49ers didn’t have a new combination of cornerback starting. Verrett and Moseley also started the Week 3 game against the New York Giants. The secondary play was strong throughout, limiting the Rams to a highlight-reel touchdown from Woods that came against good coverage from safety Jaquiski Tartt, and a deep touchdown late as the game was out of reach. Moseley was flagged for pass interference on the play.
“I think the guys fed off it,” Shanahan said of getting Moseley back to pair with Verrett. “We went against a very good offense, a very good team… would love to have us not have given that touchdown on that real deep play, but besides that, I thought the guys were pretty flawless.”
More injuries, including Mostert
The 49ers didn’t come out of the game injury-free.
Running back Raheem Mostert left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury, two weeks after returning from a knee sprain.
Tartt exited with a groin injury leading to more playing time for Marcell Harris. Center Ben Garland, the team’s backup behind Weston Richburg, left the game in the fourth quarter with a calf injury and did not return.
Left tackle Trent Williams exited for a few plays to get checked for a concussion but returned on the following possession.
▪ Nick Mullens resumed his duties as the 49ers’ backup quarterback after one game as the third-stringer. C.J. Beathard is now back to that spot following last week’s game against the Miami Dolphins.
▪ Running back Jeff Wilson Jr. was inactive after suffering a calf injury during the week of practice. Undrafted rookie JaMycal Hasty served as the No. 3 running back Sunday behind Raheem Mostert and Jerick McKinnon.
▪ Receiver and return man Richie James Jr. was back in action for the first time since Week 1 when he sustained a hamstring injury. For the second straight game, San Francisco opted to have receiver Kevin White up instead of 2018 second-round pick Dante Pettis. There were six receivers active: Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Kendrick Bourne, Trent Taylor, James and White.
▪ The 49ers on Saturday elevated undrafted rookie defensive tackle Darrion Daniels from the practice squad, but he wasn’t active against the Rams.
▪ The 49ers wore decals on their helmet to honor former defensive lineman Fred Dean, who passed away this week after a bout with the coronavirus. He was 68. The Bee’s Joe Davidson wrote about what Dean meant to the team.
This story was originally published October 19, 2020 at 6:04 AM.