Inman: 10 things that caught my eye in 49ers’ 10th win of season

SANTA CLARA – Brock Purdy instantly regretted how he ended the longest run of his career and the 49ers’ longest of 404 carries this season.

Flaunting the football in Titans linebacker Cody Barton’s face didn’t fit Purdy’s Midwestern-nice mold. Or did it? Folks, his competitive drive is already in playoff mode for the 49ers (10-4).

“Absolutely just diabolical behavior by our QB1, but I love it,” tight end George Kittle said after Sunday’s 34-27 win over the Tennessee Titans.

Purdy’s three touchdown passes, his season-best 76.7% completion percentage, plus an over-the-middle missile to Ricky Pearsall, were all encouraging strides. Nothing was more entertaining than Purdy’s 26-yard run down the left sideline, which sparked a 95-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter.

Turf toe? Look at him tiptoe down the left sideline, once he faked a handoff to Christian McCaffrey, then pump-faked a linebacker in the open field, then baited Barton.

“Honestly, I thought it was dumb, the whole ball fake at the end,” Purdy said. “…I respect him and he’s a great player. So for me to do that, I was like, ‘Bro, I’m sorry that was stupid in the moment.’ I don’t know why I did that, but I did.”

“I’m looking downfield and trying to see where the ball should go,” Shanahan said. “And then I look back and he is running down the sidelines. … That was a huge explosive to get us going.”

Purdy ran seven times, including conversions on third-and-3 and fourth-and-1. “Honestly, I love seeing Brock run,” wide receiver Jauan Jennings said. “He gets kind of low and weaves.”

Here are 10 things that caught my eye as the 49ers beat the Titans:

1. PEARSALL’S PERFORMANCE

Ricky Pearsall limped off in the final minutes, after aggravating a months-long injury to his right knee’s posterior cruciate ligament. It was a fitting bookend to a game that opened with him injuring his ankle catching a Purdy pass.

Pearsall finished with 96 yards on six catches. He still has no touchdowns this season, and had he been at full health, he might have taken a perfect crossing route to the end zone on Purdy’s 38-yard, high-velocity throw to the 15-yard line.

“Ricky was upset he didn’t score. I told him he had the excuse of the hurt ankle and knee though, but he’ll get his speed back when he is feeling healthy,” Shanahan said.

2. JENNINGS’ RIBS

Jennings’ two touchdown catches at the goal line raised his career-high total to seven scores this season. Tempering that was pain from a fourth-quarter hit to the ribs – in the “same spot” as a Week 4 crunch.

Jennings told folks a day earlier how healthy those ribs finally felt. He’ll now soldier on, and Purdy will keep throwing him contested balls.

“I’ve learned over the years that I can give him a shot,” Purdy said. “So, he’s done a great job with that in one-on-one situations and he’s always aggressive and comes down with it. So, something that over the years having experience with that has been good.”

3. AIYUK, CASE CLOSED?

Belaboring the wide receiver unit even further, Brandon Aiyuk’s banishment Saturday to the “reserve/left squad” list came because …

“We haven’t seen him in forever, so I mean that’s just the decision they make,” Shanahan said. “It’s been pretty simple for me. I haven’t seen him in a month, and same with our team, so it hasn’t been an issue with our team at all.”

It hasn’t been an issue? The 49ers would have benefitted from a healthy Aiyuk the next month or two. Maybe he’s not healthy. No one, from team executives to fellow players, seem to know.

It’s odd, and it has been so since his 2024 contract hold-in.

“It’s extremely unfortunate that it’s gotten to this point, but when this year’s over, we’ll see where we’re at,” Shanahan said.

4. NEXT MAN UP: PHILIP!

Relax, this isn’t more about the 49ers’ reserves. This is about their next opposing quarterback, Philip Rivers, who came out of retirement and nearly delivered the Indianapolis Colts to a last-minute upset in Seattle. Rivers, on three days of practice, threw for 120 yards and a touchdown before a final-seconds interception.

“Those QBs scare me more than the mobile ones, because they’re smart,” defensive lineman Keion White said about facing Rivers next Monday night.

Tennessee’s nimble Cam Ward was not sacked Sunday, the first game that has happened his rookie season. Nor did he have a pass intercepted. What an indictment on the 49ers’ feeble pass defense that Rivers could prey on in his Indianapolis return.

5. D-LINE STARTER HURT

The 49ers lost another starting defensive lineman to injury, only this came in bizarre fashion. Defensive tackle Jordan Elliott “felt something in his knee” stretching in the locker room two hours before kickoff, Shanahan said.

That meant Kevin Givens would suit up after being told the night before he wouldn’t play; undrafted rookie Sebastian Valdez was elevated Saturday from the practice squad but, as happened earlier this season, he was deactivated and still has not debuted.

Alfred Collins made his starting debut in Elliott’s place but did not record a tackle or stat as the Titans ran for 136 yards on 20 carries; the 49ers ran 138 yards on 38 carries.

6. McCAFFREY SCORES, BUT …

Limited by illness Thursday and hit with a tight back Saturday, McCaffrey rallied up and scored his ninth rushing touchdown in as many games. But he failed to reach 10 yards on any run and thus averaged just 3.3 yards per carry (73 yards, 22 carries).

It was the 11th time in 14 games this season he’s averaged less than 4 yards per carry. He had 12 such outings in his previous 36 games with the 49ers, including playoffs.

As for his 1K/1K race, he is 78 rushing yards away from 1,000, and Sunday’s lone catch for 14 yards leaves him 180 receiving yards shy of 1,000.

His 345 touches are the fourth-most in a 49ers season, surpassing his 339 in 2023 and moving him within 41 touches of Roger Craig’s 1984 franchise-record mark.

7. PERFECTO PIÑEIRO

Eddy Piñeiro made all three of his field-goal attempts and is 25-for-25 since succeeding Jake Moody in Week 2. That perfection almost ended when he missed a 51-yard attempt in the fourth quarter, but that was nullified by Jeffrey Simmons’ unnecessary roughness penalty for impacting long snapper Jon Weeks.

Piñeiro would make a 37-yarder three snaps later, and Shanahan dispatched him for 40-yarder with 70 seconds remaining, to the fortune of those who bet on the 49ers to cover the 12 ½-point spread.

8. NO PUNTS

The 49ers did not require a punt from Thomas Morstead, who posed for a locker room picture with Purdy as they each hand-signaled “zero,” similar to  Morstead’s no-punt preseason visit to Las Vegas. He is Piñeiro’s holder, so he didn’t get the day off, mind you. Morestead’s 38 punts this season are tied for the 27th-most, and they’ve produced a 36.5-yard net average that ranks 29th.

9. THIRD-DOWN OFFENSE

The 49ers’ offense converted on its initial seven third-down plays: Purdy 3-yard run, Robinson 6-yard catch, Jennings 4-yard touchdown, Robinson 30-yard catch, Pearsall 14-yard catch, Purdy 5-yard run, Pearsall 10-yard catch.

The only game they’ve started better since 1978 was when they converted eight third-down plays in 1984 against Tampa Bay.

This season, the 49ers are converting on 49.2% of third-down situations (90-of-183). Only the Packers are better, at 50.3% (88-of-175).

On a related note, the 49ers scored on their first five drives (four touchdowns, field goal) for the first time since 2021 at Jacksonville.

10. SURPRISE SCORER

When the Titans ran onto the field before kickoff, Simmons kept chugging on his own to the midfield logo, where he wiped his feet; the 49ers were still in their locker room, although Weeks was there to witness it.

More outlandish sights from Simmons: He jawed at 49ers left tackle Trent Williams like few have; he strip-sacked on Purdy in the fourth quarter; and, two snaps later, Simmons reported eligible on offense to catch a 1-yard touchdown pass from Cam Ward.

“I’ve never seen that. We were in man coverage so I wasn’t looking at Jeffrey Simmons,” cornerback Deommodore Lenori said. “But I was thinking run because they put him in the backfield, only to run the ball. So, when they came out with the pass, it shocked me, honestly.”