The 49ers saved the sharp stuff for Thursday night.
After a flat-looking joint practice with the Chargers earlier in the week had people uneasy, San Francisco went into SoFi Stadium and handled business the way a team with real depth is supposed to, rolling past Los Angeles 41-17. The starters were on the field for one series, flashed enough to make their point, and then turned the night over to the backups, who kept the pressure on all the way through.
For a roster dealing with plenty of injury issues, it was the kind of August blowout that at least gives you something to work with. And if nothing else, it produced a long list of players who helped themselves - and a few who didn’t.
De’Zhaun Stribling kept making the same impression he made the last time out. The rookie wideout did drop a touchdown on a perfectly run sluggo route, but that wasn’t the headline.
What stood out was how easy he looked again, with strong hands and clean routes against the Chargers’ first-string defense while catching passes from both Brock Purdy and Mac Jones. He looked like a player who could matter right away.
Kaelon Black brought a different kind of juice. The third-round running back out of Indiana ran with force and showed real pop, the kind that makes you picture what he could look like next to Christian McCaffrey. The idea of that pairing is obvious enough: one elite back, maybe two.
On the defensive front, Osa Odighizuwa was disruptive from the opening snap and looked like the kind of three-tech the 49ers have wanted for years. James Thompson was right there in the conversation too. The undrafted rookie has been the best defensive tackle on the roster in camp not named Odighizuwa, and at some point the “undrafted” part stops mattering if he keeps performing.
Mac Jones had one of the cleaner nights of the preseason. His practices had been underwhelming, but Thursday looked different.
He was on point, decisive, and throwing with confidence. The Bang 8 route seemed to be his favorite lane all night.
Sincere McCormick also kept building his case. Signed off the street because of the early camp attrition at running back, he’s shown enough as both a ball carrier and on special teams to make life difficult for John Lynch. With Patrick Taylor now on season-long injured reserve, McCormick has effectively taken hold of the fourth running back spot, if that’s a thing.
Austen Pleasants had a mixed night, but there was value in what he showed. He’s not exactly locking down left tackle, and he’s spent some time getting reps at left guard in a competition that hasn’t gone anywhere yet.
Still, against the Chargers’ backups, he looked like the best option at guard. Then came the third quarter miss that led to a pick-six, a reminder that he doesn’t get many chances there in practice.
Even so, if San Francisco isn’t adding anyone else, a swing tackle who can also play guard has real utility. The catch: Pleasants left with what looked like a knee injury.
Special teams gave the 49ers another bright spot in Jacob Cowing. One 83-yard punt return touchdown can change a lot, and it sure seemed to change his night. He entered the game fighting for a roster spot, and that play gave him a serious jolt.
Garrett Wallow also helped himself. He looks like a lock to make the team; the only real question now is which player gets squeezed out.
Not everyone came away smiling.
Luke Farrell opened with a drop and a false start, which is a rough start for anybody and especially ugly for a veteran. Jordan Watkins had a better night as a blocker than he’s had in that role all preseason, but his drop on what should have been Mac Jones’ second touchdown was a costly mistake.
He did catch a touchdown later in the fourth quarter, though that came on a basic post-seam concept against a soft Cover-4 look, and the fact that it happened in the fourth quarter of a preseason game says plenty. Christian Kirk’s injury may still keep Watkins around, but he’s clearly on thin ice.
Cowing’s night was a split-screen. He delivered the biggest play of the game as a punt returner, but as a receiver he struggled badly, with one drop and two other plays that should have been catches. His special teams value gives him an edge, but the wideout work wasn’t pretty.
Deebo Samuel got a look as a punt returner to start the game, and it did not look natural. He handled two returns after barely practicing the job and with only four punt returns since high school, all at South Carolina. He can probably handle a fair-catch-only role, but Thursday didn’t look like the beginning of anything more.
Jaden Dugger spent the first half bouncing between strong-side and weak-side linebacker, and the learning curve showed. The 49ers want him to become a coverage answer against tight ends, and that part may come.
But away from coverage, he looked lost at times, sometimes late to the play and sometimes colliding with teammates. The athletic tools are there, and the special teams upside is real, but he remains a major project.
In Other News...
49ers Suddenly Have A Quiet Strength That Could Swing Close Games
Special teams rarely grab the spotlight in August, but the 49ers have spent this offseason making sure the phase is no longer an afterthought. Replacing Thomas Morstead with Corliss Waitman gave the punting job a new look, and the club also locked in Eddy Pieiro with an extension, signaling real confidence in the kicking game as the roster takes shape.
The early returns have been encouraging in preseason play, with Pieiro knocking through multiple field goals and Jacob Cowing flashing game-changing juice on an 83-yard punt return touchdown. The coverage unit has turned in its own strong moments, too, and under Brant Boyer the group has looked more reliable and more disruptive, the kind of quiet edge that can end up mattering most when games tighten in the fourth quarter. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Running Back Battle Just Got More Complicated Behind McCaffrey
Kaelon Black kept making a case for himself in the 49ers preseason work against the Chargers, finishing with 33 yards on eight carries and adding another layer to a backfield that already has plenty of moving parts behind Christian McCaffrey. For a team that always has to sort through the margins at running back, every clean rep matters in August, and Blacks showing gave San Francisco another rookie to evaluate as the roster picture starts to come into focus.
The broader rookie class has been part of that conversation too, with Jaden Dugger and Romello Height drawing notice as the 49ers continue to sort out who can stick. Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris also weighed in on the defensive side of the rookie growth curve, while the latest injury notes were more encouraging overall, with Deommodore Lenoir and DeZhaun Stribling listed day-to-day and CJ West and Dominick Puni back after concussion issues. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Veteran Core Makes This Feel Like A Win-Now Season
The 49ers keep building around the same familiar backbone, and it is a veteran-heavy one. Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa, Deebo Samuel and Fred Warner are still the names that make this roster feel dangerous, the kind of core that can carry a team deep into the season if it stays healthy and aligned.
But the age on that group also changes the conversation in a hurry. With so many of San Franciscos best players already on the other side of 30, the urgency is obvious, because championship windows do not stay open forever and the 49ers know the margin for error is shrinking. The talent is still there, but the pressure to turn it into a title feels more immediate now than it did even a year ago. [Read more 🡒]