A wet and sloppy field led to a sloppy first quarter in Washington. Washington dominated the time of possession, holding onto the ball for just under 10 minutes, but a couple of Nick Bosa tackles for loss halted both of their drives.
The teams head into the second quarter tied at zero. Here’s what stood out in the first 15 minutes:
The weather
It’s wet and cold at FedEx Field in Washington DC. The field conditions don’t seem great with Washington still using a natural turf field. It’ll be interesting to see if the teams adjust their gameplay to play along with the weather.
Defense gashed on the run again
On the Rams first drive last week, they ran the ball seven times on a 7-play drive for a touchdown. Washington tried the same strategy to open the game today, running the ball 11 times on 12 plays. Adrian Peterson led the way with eight carries for 49 yards. Fortunately for the 49ers, Dustin Hopkins missed a 39-yard field goal to end the drive.
Good special teams play from the 49ers
While the offense and defense had slow starts, the coverage unit on special teams looked like they were ready to play. On the opening kickoff, Marcell Harris made a good tackle to keep Steven Sims inside the Washington 20-yard-line. After the 49ers first offensive drive, Mitch Wishnowsky punted the ball inside the Washington 10-yard-line. Return man Trey Quinn opted not to call for a fair catch, and Raheem Mostert made a good tackle to hold the return to no gain.
