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The 49ers won on Sunday, but they couldn’t escape the a victory without bad news. An MRI on Monday revealed that cornerback Jamar Taylor tore his ACL.
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16. San Francisco 49ers: Jaycee Horn, CB, South CarolinaSan Francisco has several cornerbacks in the final year of their deals, pushing the position to the top of the offseason needs list. Horn, who is the son of former NFL pro Joe Horn, needs to refine his discipline, but his instincts and competitive mentality are why he is NFL-ready.
49ers to travel 700 miles for home games as Covid-19 continues to hit NFL
As for the 49ers, they will host the Buffalo Bills next Monday and Washington on 13 December at State Farm Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals, 700 miles from their base in Santa Clara county. The team said it will have information on practice arrangements later.
The AFC East-leading Bills will be returning to Arizona for the second time in a little over three weeks, following a 32-30 loss to the Cardinals on 15 November.
“The Cardinals organization, State Farm Stadium and League officials have been supportive and accommodating as we work through the many logistical issues involved in relocating NFL games,” the 49ers said in a statement.
Santa Clara county announced new rules on Saturday that include a three-week ban on practices and games for contact sports. The Niners were on a plane getting ready to travel to Los Angeles, where they beat the Rams 23-20 on Sunday, when the players and coaches heard about the rules.
Bad: Giveaways
The 49ers on Sunday gave the Rams three extra possessions with turnovers. Mullens threw one interception off a batted ball by Aaron Donald, Mostert fumbled and Jeff Wilson Jr. fumbled. Kyle Juszczyk also had a fumble that went out of bounds. Those giveaways nearly cost them in a three-point victory. They have to take care of the ball better if they’re going to rip off a few wins in a row.
The Niners were also playing without Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle, their top two players in receiving yards this year, but they did get back receiver Deebo Samuel, who had 11 catches for 133 yards, including a key 24-yard gain on the game-winning drive.
Despite forcing three turnovers — two fumbles, one interception — the Rams defense couldn’t do enough when it mattered.
Of course, the real issues for the LA Rams on Sunday and this season exist on offense. Goff has 11 turnovers in his last four games and his Week 6 performance against these same 49ers (19 of 38, 198 yards, two touchdowns and one interception but most of his success came late in the game and trailing by 15 points) has set him back into the dark ages of the 2019 season.
Goff has eight touchdowns and seven interceptions with five fumbles over his last six starts. The Rams are 3-3 and have fallen from potentially grabbing the NFC’s top seed to swimming with the wild card teams for now. A group that may get more crowded now that the 49ers have ended their three-game losing streak with another victory against LA.
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Verrett and Sherman both had strong outings. According to Sportradar, Goff threw three completions against Sherman for 22 yards. Sherman also had an interception and led the team with seven tackles. Verrett, meanwhile, allowed five catches for 40 yards. Neither cornerback was beaten deep.
Verrett also ran down Cam Akers after the Rams’ rookie running back broke loose on a long run at the end of the third quarter. Akers ran his 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds at the Scouting Combine and the Rams drafted him in the second round two months later. It wasn’t quite Darrell Green running down Tony Dorsett in 1983, but the fact that Verrett caught up with Akers fairly easily is the clearest indication yet that the cornerback’s speed has returned after he dealt with injuries for the past three years.
49ers would win Super Bowl with Stafford, one coach believes
“They would win a Super Bowl,” an offensive coach said to The Athletic’s Mike Sando. “Stafford would be in a real organization finally. He would bend to Shanahan and that offense because there is such a history of success with that system.
“And Stafford would know he’s not going to get hit in the head all the time like in Detroit.”
The 49ers might not be in position to draft one of the top three or four quarterbacks next year in the draft. But they might be ready to move on from Garoppolo. That puts them in a tough position. Is Stafford the answer?
We’ll see just how much Shanahan and general manager John Lynch really believe in Jimmy G if a veteran like Stafford becomes available this offseason.