The second quarter was just as dominant as the first for the 49ers. They’ve sacked Kyle Allen six times after getting to him three times in the second quarter. Tevin Coleman has three touchdowns on the game after a 10-yard screen pass from Jimmy Garoppolo and a 48-yard TD run.
As San Francisco takes a 27-3 lead into the half, here’s what stood out in the latter part of the first 30 minutes:
A couple of firsts on one play
Emmanuel Moseley has been a nice surprise since replacing Ahkello Witherspoon, and was rewarded for his strong play Sunday. Kyle Allen hasn’t thrown an interception in his career, but forced a pass to receiver Curtis Samuel that Moseley jumped for his first career interception. Moseley made a nice, physical play on the ball to force the turnover. He’s been physical all season and has been impressive in his time as a starter.
A microcosm of the 49ers defense
There’s no doubt the 49ers defense has been the most impressive aspect of the team. Carolina’s offense had the ball in 49ers’ territory off a kickoff, aided by an unnecessary roughness from Mitch Wishnowsky. Their first-and-10 quickly turned into a third-and-30 thanks to a couple of penalties, but also because of DJ Jones’ first-career sack to push the Pantheres back 10 yards. The 49ers’ defense has had a couple tough situations, but they’ve done a great job holding Carolina to just three points.
Two different third down strategies, two different results
Carolina had a third-and-4 at their own 13-yard-line when Nick Bosa dropped back into coverage onto Christian McCaffrey, who promptly caught a pass for 24 yards – Carolina’s longest play of the game. Three plays later, the Panthers had another third down, but Bosa rushed and forced Allen to step up in the pocket into Arik Armstead for his second sack. The different strategies with Bosa is what helps the 49ers be successful on defense. They consistently rush four but which four is always a question an opposing offense needs to deal with.
