SANTA CLARA — So much for Monday night’s game not meaning anything.
The standings might not have been affected, but the 49ers and Lions delivered one of the season’s most entertaining games.
Of course, it ended the way so many Niners games have ended — San Francisco fading in the fourth quarter and losing.
Here are the studs and duds from the contest.
Ricky Pearsall – WR
This was the game the 49ers needed to see. This was the game that Pearsall had been building towards all season. Against man-to-man coverage, Pearsall feasted, not only throwing strong blocks but catching a tough 3-yard touchdown, a beautiful 14-yard one-handed catch, and two 40-yard deep routes, ending with eight catches for 141 yards (with two carries, to boot). His first 100-yard NFL game of many, I predict.
Jauan Jennings – WR
That’s how you set a tone. Jennings didn’t catch a pass on the game’s first drive, but he delivered two huge blocks that let the Lions know that the 49ers weren’t here for show. His driving of Terrion Arnold into the wall behind the end-zone might have been penalized, but it proved more than worth the trouble, as the Niners scored a play later with Ricky Pearsall’s first touchdown catch at Levi’s Stadium.
Nick Bosa – DE
He worked over arguably the best right tackle in football, Penei Sewell all game. And for good measure, he put left tackle Taylor Decker on his butt for his ninth sack of the season. Imagine what this man could do fully healthy.
George Kittle – TE
What’s new? Kittle remains the best tight end in football and the 49ers’ MVP of 2024.
Brock Purdy – QB
He was nearly perfect.
Until he wasn’t.
Purdy threw three balls to Detroit safety Kirby Joseph Monday, with the latter two interceptions counting in the box score. It’s unforgivable — Purdy made a game-changing mistake that was wiped away by penalty. Then he made the same mistake twice more, including on the very next play. You can’t win like that, even if you do so much else during the game.
Maliek Collins – DT
The Lions attacked him all game, and there was next to no reason to stop doing it — it kept working. Collins is wrapping up a terribly disappointing first season for the 49ers. For all the talk about ensuring Brock Purdy has great players around him, Fred Warner and Bosa both deserve better than the defensive tackles the 49ers rostered this season. The lack of quality play at that position made both stars’ jobs much more difficult.
Talanoa Hufanga – SS
He was easy pickins for this Lions offense, a step (or five) behind on nearly every play.
Dee Winters – LB
See Hufanga, Talanoa. Add in a slew of missed tackles and undisciplined plays. He was running around with no plan for the entire game.
Isaac Yiadim – CB
See Winters, Dee, and Hufanga, Talanoa, but you can cut him some slack because expectations were low.
Deebo Samuel – WR
Let me know when he can break away from man-to-man coverage. I’ll wait. Joseph, the Lions safety, ended the game with more catches.
Nick Sorensen – DC
Who calls a zone coverage look on a fourth-and-goal play? The Lions carved up this defense, and it wasn’t just the Niners’ diminished talent that led to that — Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson worked over Sorensen tactically, too.
Jacob Cowing – WR
If you’re wondering why we haven’t seen the rookie, his unnecessary pick play to negate a goal-to-go situation to end the first half is why. It’s a big penalty that took at least three points off the board (Jake Moody is perfect from inside 40 yards this season).
Jake Moody – K
This was likely his last home game as a Niner. Moody’s two misses were his seventh and eighth to only 10 makes since his return from injury. He was also horrendous on kickoffs. But hey, at least he missed his first extra point Monday and totally botched an onside kick, too. The Niners have a long list of offseason needs, but adding a viable kicker is high on the list. This experiment is over.
