SANTA CLARA — Last Sunday, the Vikings beat the 49ers, 24-16, in their season opener. Even with four turnovers and several miscues, San Francisco erased an 18-point second-half deficit to give itself a chance. As far as season openers go, that matchup was as tough as they come. The 49ers showed glimpses of a winning team despite the result.
That game yielded mostly optimism.
Fast forward a week, and the 49ers notched their first victory, 30-27, over the visiting Detroit Lions. Contrary to Week 1, Sunday’s win is somewhat discouraging, considering the avalanche of events that nearly pushed the 49ers to 0-2, despite a 17-point fourth-quarter lead.
The Lions scored touchdowns on consecutive drives in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to three points. When the 49ers got the ball back with 3:12 remaining, a massive momentum shift had taken full effect. Four plays into the 49ers’ offensive drive, Jimmy Garoppolo threw an interception that was returned to the five-yard line. But Lions defensive back Quandre Diggs was flagged for holding George Kittle across the field to wipe away the interception. The Lions got the ball back two minutes later, but time wasn’t on their side, and the 49ers clung to a three-point victory.
Richard Sherman summed up Sunday’s game best, as he typically does.
“A win is a win, but it feels like a loss to me,” Sherman said. “We played like crap down the stretch on defense.”
The expectation has changed in 49erland, and Sherman is a big reason.
In one year, the 49ers transformed from one of the league’s laughingstocks to one of its model rebuilds. Part of expecting success is thwarting troubling habits, like the near-collapse we saw Sunday afternoon, even if the desired result is achieved.
“Sherm has a great mindset,” Garoppolo said postgame. “It’s a good thing. I was just talking to some of the guys— it’s a different mindset than last year. Last year, if we got a win we were happy with it. You kind of progress as a team. I think our guys are growing and learning like that.”
There were some positives to extract from the 49ers’ first win of the season. After all, they didn’t have to wait 10 games to win like they did last year.
Sherman is one of those positives. He erased his side of the field almost entirely, while fellow cornerbacks Ahkello Witherspoon and Jimmie Ward got exposed. Matt Breida had a career day (11 carries for 138 yards), proving the Jerick McKinnon-less rushing attack is still a threatening one. The 49ers defense held the Lions to 13 points for nearly 52 minutes.
But you can’t ignore those final possessions. The Lions produced touchdown drives of 79 and 80 yards. The 49ers offense gained one first down on their final two drives, not including the kneel to end the game. Garoppolo took six sacks altogether, several of which should have been avoided by throwing the ball away or escaping the pocket. The 49ers consistently missed tackles to allow Detroit’s drives to linger. San Francisco committed nine penalties.
Ultimately, the 49ers needed a bout of timely fortune to avoid disaster. If that interception is withheld, and the Lions go on to win, the trajectory of the 49ers’ season changes dramatically. This was one of the most winnable games in a daunting seven-game stretch to open the season. The 49ers travel to Kansas City and Los Angeles (Chargers) in Weeks 3 and 4 before visiting Green Bay in Week 6. Then the Los Angeles Rams come to town Week 7.
There are no must-wins in Week 2, but this wasn’t far from it.
Last week, the 49ers started slow and ended strong. This week was the opposite. If the 49ers expect to win these upcoming games, and take strides toward becoming the championship team to which they aspire, they’ll need to play 60 full minutes.
“I think it’s a good lesson for a young team that we needed,” Sherman said. “It was a humbling lesson. Thank goodness we got the win out of it.”