49ers vs. Colts snap counts: Garoppolo had three turnover worthy plays

There have been complaints about the weather, and some of that is fair as both quarterbacks botched snaps and the receivers had drops on both sides of the ball. Still, as Kyle Shanahan said after the game, “I think we struggled to throw and catch a lot more than they did.”

Offense - 56 possible plays

Graroppolo was sacked twice and hit on three other plays, while the backs averaged 4.6 yards per carry on 24 rushes.

We didn’t hear Jaylon Moore’s name called much, if at all, which is generally a sign that he played well. Moore allowed two pressures on 29 snaps but didn’t allow a sack or a QB hit.

Woerner out snapping Dwelley wasn’t something I envisioned happening. Woerner looks more like your traditional tight end, and the difference in size shows up when the two are asked to block. PFF gave Woerner a 91.6 grade compared to Dwelley’s 39.2

Aiyuk playing 71% of the snaps is great until you realize he had two touches all game. Shanahan tried to dial up a deep play-action pass to Aiyuk, and he got behind the safety, but the pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage.

Player A: 16 targets, 10/87/1
Player B: 16 targets, 9/96/1

Player B is Aiyuk. Player A? Dante Pettis. Gulp.

With Hasty active, Trey Sermon did not see the field. Hasty had three carries for one yard had only caught three of his six targets, including one drop. Hasty had three carries for one yard had only caught three of his six targets, including one drop.

As for Jimmy, he had his first big-time throw of the season, which, yay?

Garoppolo added three turnover-worthy throws to his resume Sunday night and was fortunate not to throw another interception. Look at the difference in quarterback production this game:

It’s impossible to coach around a quarterback that you know is going to turn the ball over once a game. Here’s a look at Jimmy’s numbers with and without play-action:

With play-action: 8-of-11, 126 yards, 1 TD, 140.7 rating

Without play-action: 8-of-16, 55 yards, 2 INTs, 18.5 rating

Joe Staley said after the game that third downs are when you truly evaluate a quarterback.

Well, the offense went 1-for-11 on third downs.

Defense - 68 possible plays

I say this every week, but I continue to be impressed by Azeez Al-Shaair. He’s been one of the best players on this defense since he filled in for Dre Greenlaw as a starter. PFF had Al-Shaair as the highest-graded 49ers defender against the Colts.

Al-Shaair has a knack for being around the football. His “fumble recovery,” aka interception, is a prime example, as were Azeez’s nine tackles, including one for loss. He always seems to make timely tackles.

When you see Bosa and Armstead playing 80% of the snaps and even nose tackle D.J. Jones playing 74%, the alarms go off as that seems like they’re on the field too often. If they’re playing fewer than 60 snaps, I don’t view it as a big deal.

Josh Norman played about as well as you can ask a cornerback to play...in the running game. He had three tackles for loss. Norman had a would-be interception go through his hands and was also flagged for a pass interference. The cherry on top for that drive was Norman giving up a touchdown after chasing a play he had no business running after.

Emmanuel Moseley had two passes go through his hands and broke up two other passes. I thought he played well, despite the defensive pass interference.

Dre Kirkpatrick played three snaps. I’ve still yet to figure out how he didn’t jump on the touchdown he gave up. Kirkpatrick was in a perfect position to come up and make a play, but for whatever reason, Kirkpatrick didn’t leave his feet.

The Niners’ defense finished with nine tackles for loss. Nick Bosa finished with three quarterback hits. You’d have no idea the defense lived in the backfield as they found ways to shoot themselves in the foot by committing penalties or missing tackles to allow the Colts to pick up first downs.