The San Francisco 49ers offensive line has had some troubles this season, but Sunday’s loss did bring some positives. Tackles Trent Brown and Erik Magnuson had solid games, but one of the best games of the day for the 49ers went to right guard Brandon Fusco.
Pro Football Focus announced their Week 9 team of the week, and Fusco got the nod at guard. They marked him down as giving up one pressure in 59 pass blocking snaps. They had this to say about Fusco:
The 49ers offense didn’t have a good outing, and their offensive line struggled overall, but Brandon Fusco was the lone bright spot on that unit. Fusco allowed just one hurry across a monstrous workload of 59 pass-blocking snaps, but also made a few key blocks on the 15 running plays he was out there for.
Fusco has been a little all over the place this season. Over the first eight weeks, he had two games with PFF grades above 80.0, and four games under 50.0. We take the grades with a grain of salt, but even from the eye test, the inconsistent is there. He can clearly make some plays, but there are limitations.
This week, the 49ers host the New York Giants, and this is an opportunity for the 49ers offensive line to put together a more complete effort. The Giants front seven ranks poorly in both run defense and in the pass rush. Football Outsiders ranks them No. 22 in adjusted line yards, and No. 25 in adjusted sack rate. Maybe it will be a rare opportunity to string together a little more success than we’ve seen most of this season.