San Francisco 49ers Win Third Straight Against Tennessee

(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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The San Francisco 49ers won their third straight game against the Tennessee Titans, winning in the final seconds at home. Full recap below!

The San Francisco 49ers came into this game winning their previous two games on the road against the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans, respectively. They played against the Tennessee Titans, who entered the game with a record of 8-5 and as a team capable of making the playoffs. However, none of that mattered to the 49ers as they pulled off a win with a final score of 25-23, thanks to a game-winning drive led by Jimmy Garoppolo capped off with a Robbie Gould field-goal in the final seconds.

The 49ers have now won three straight and this one may be the sweetest because they beat a playoff team. Let’s go into the recap!

Quarterback Battle

Both quarterbacks, Marcus Mariota and Garoppolo had great games, but Garoppolo clearly outplayed Mariota. No bias here, but check out their stats:

Mariota: 23-33 for 241 yards and two touchdowns

Garoppolo: 31/43 for 381 yards and one touchdowns

To see Garoppolo play so well with a depleted receiving group gives 49er fans so much optimism heading into next season. It’s clearly evident that the 49ers have found their quarterback for the future and it was sure a steal to only get him for one second round pick.

Garoppolo does face a much bigger test next week against the great Jacksonville Jaguar defense, but let’s not focus on that yet.

Wide Receiver Play

Garoppolo doesn’t have star receivers like it may seem considering his stats are so good, but he is making his receivers play like stars.

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Marquise Goodwin has come off games with 99 receiving yards against the Bears and 106 against the Texans. Against the Titans, Goodwin had a career high of 10 catches for 114 yards on 13 targets. Goodwin isn’t getting the attention he deserves but Garoppolo is making him play like an absolute star.

Garrett Celek had #CelekTime trending with another solid performance, having three catches for 63 yards and one touchdown. He had another long reception that gained 41 yards. Rookie tight end George Kittle had four catches for 52 yards as he was able to stay healthy for this game.

Trent Taylor was quiet last week but had a four-catch, 40-yard day.

However, one receiver had a career high day and that was rookie Kendrick Bourne. He was targeted six times for four catches and 83 yards. He had a huge 54-yard catch and run that had many 49er fans jumping out of their seats. He and Goodwin make a pretty solid speedster duo that hopefully evolves next week against a tough Jaguar secondary.

Struggling Running Game

The 49ers came into the game with 22nd best rushing attack in the league ,averaging 100.8 yards per game. They faced a Tennessee defense who ranked fifth in the league in rushing defense, allowing only 90.0 yards per game.

That defensive strength continued for the Titans as they stuffed the Niners running game time and time again.

Carlos Hyde had 16 carries for 25 yards while Matt Breida had five carries for 16 yards.

Marquise Goodwin added one sweep rush for 10 yards, which was the longest run play of the game for the 49ers.

Underrated, Inconsistent Defense

The 49ers rank 25th in the league in total defense allowing 351.8 yards per game, but this group is still very underrated. If rested, they play very well and with an offense that can actually stay on the field and dominate the time of possession, the defense should look to improve even more.

DeForest Buckner continued his Pro Bowl-caliber season as he had seven total tackles including half a sack, the other half going to Tank Carradine. Reuben Foster had another solid game with seven tackles as well, including some big-time hits.

Brock Coyle forced a fumble on former 49er tight end Delanie Walker and it was recovered by talented rookie Adrian Colbert. Last week Colbert forced a fumble, this week he recovered one.

The defense could’ve played more aggressive, especially when the Titans scored at the end of the first half but all that matters is that the 49ers won.

Next: 3 WR'S 49ers Should Target

Next Game

As the 49ers continue to impress even with the most injured players in the league, they will host the Jaguars on December 24th at 1:05 PST on CBS.