The 49ers came up with a huge win to open their 2019 season. They’re 1-0 for the first time under Kyle Shanahan, and rode their defense to a 31-17 victory.
Here are our takeaways from Sunday’s game:
Road win!
The 49ers won on the road for the first time since Week 17 of the 2017 season, and earned a win on the East Coast for the first time since they topped the Giants 16-10 in Week 11 of the 2014 campaign. Getting several monkeys off their back is a heck of a way to start a crucial 2019 season for San Francisco.
49ers defensive athleticism is much improved
San Francisco needed to get faster on defense. They showed improved athleticism right away against the Bucs. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but there were constantly around the football and came up with multiple turnovers because of it. The defense needs polish, but they’re undoubtedly more talented than they were a season ago.
Mitch Wishnowsky is good
The 49ers needed their fourth-round punter to be dominant, and he was very good in his first game. He launched two punts for 91 yards, and dropped one inside the 20. He also crushed most of his kickoffs out of the end zone for touchbacks. That’s the kind of showing they need from their punter.
Flags a killer
Flags were bad all day for the 49ers. They were flagged 11 times for 87 yards, but several of their penalties were killers. They negated big gains, touchdowns and extended drives for the Bucs offense. San Francisco was bailed out by a couple bad flags on Tampa Bay, but they have to clean up their own laundry if they’re going to beat good teams. They also had three touchdowns negated by flags.
Jimmy G’s annual Week 1 pick-six
Garoppolo threw a pick-six for the second time in as many years. It was very similar to his play from Minnesota last year. It was a floating out route that was an easy pick and return for the cornerback. This time he was looking for cornerback Tevin Coleman, but Vernon Hargreaves jumped it for an easy score.
Takeaways!
San Francisco needed to change their turnover trend from last year, and they did it in Week 1. They grabbed three interceptions, more than their entire total from last year, and returned two for touchdowns, which is as many interceptions as they had all last year. They also recovered a fumble for a fourth takeaway after notching seven all last year.
Dante Pettis non-existent
Pettis was supposed to be the 49ers’ top receiver this year. He barely got on the field in their season opener. Marquise Goodwin and Deebo Samuel were the primary receivers in two-receiver sets, which are the bread and butter of Shanahan’s offense. Pettis earned on target and caught it for seven yards. He’s got an uphill climb if he’s going to play more outside of three-plus receiver sets.
Red zone woes continue
The 49ers were among the worst red zone teams in the league on offense last year. It didn’t start much better in 2019. They did score a couple times in the red zone, but got flagged on two of them. They wound up settling for three field goals on three red zone trips. Shanahan has to figure out how to get his team in the end zone in the red area.
