San Francisco 49ers: A few observations from week two win over Lions

The San Francisco 49ers built a comfortable lead early in the fourth quarter, but ended up having to hold on to defeat the Detroit Lions, 30-27.

The San Francisco 49ers withstood a furious comeback by the Detroit Lions in the fourth quarter to come away with a 30-27 victory. The 49ers evened their record at 1-1 while the Lions fell to 0-2.

Niners quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo completed 18 passes out of 26 attempts for 206 yards and two touchdowns. He didn’t throw any interceptions, but was bailed out late in the fourth quarter by a defensive holding penalty away from the ball as his sideline pass was picked off.

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Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford (33 for 52, 343 yards, no interceptions) kept mistakes to a minimum after throwing four picks in last week’s blowout loss. However, he missed Marvin Jones Jr. twice and Kenny Golladay once on deep throws.

The 49ers were up 30-13 early in the fourth quarter and looked like they were cruising to an easy victory. But then Stafford started hitting his receivers, including a 67-yard pass to Golden Tate that set up a short touchdown pass to Jones, cutting the deficit to 30-20.

Three minutes later, Stafford took advantage of the 49ers suspect cornerback coverage to connect with tight end Michael Roberts in the end zone. The Niners were able to stop a last-second drive by the Lions to preserve the victory.

49ers offensive line solid

The 49ers offensive line was an area of concern following the injuries sustained against the Minnesota Vikings.

The 49ers right guard position was in question all week as both Mike Person and Joshua Garnett went down last week. But Person did indeed start the game.

Credit the San Francisco 49ers O-line for controlling the line of scrimmage, and allowing the 49ers running back committee of Matt Breida and Alfred Morris to gain a combined 186 yards.

And notably, Person created the gap that sprung Breida for a 66-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Garoppolo was sacked five times, but it’s hard to fault the offensive line for that. All of the sacks were either coverage sacks or Garoppolo simply holding the ball too long. He needs to listen to his internal clock that tells him when he’s out of time.

 Niners red zone performance

The 49ers red zone performance improved this week, as they scored on all five opportunities with two touchdowns and three field goals inside the 20.

In the first quarter, the Niners had a first and goal situation. Garoppolo then took two consecutive sacks even though he had ample time to get rid of the ball. On that drive, the Niners had to settle for a field goal.

In the second quarter, the Niners had second and goal at the four yard line. Garoppolo hit wideout Kendrick Bourne on the weak side for a walk-in touchdown.

Later in the second quarter, the Niners Elijah Lee forced a Matthew Stafford fumble that was recovered by the 49ers in the red zone. On third down Garoppolo once again took a sack, forcing the 49ers to settle for another Robbie Gould field goal.

On the second half opening kickoff, the Lions special teams broke down for the second week in a  row, allowing DJ Reed to return the ball 91 yards. This red zone possession ended in a Garoppolo touchdown pass to Garrett Celek.

In the fourth quarter, the 49ers once again settled for a red zone field goal, which turned out to be the margin of victory.

Looking forward

Things don’t get any easier for the San Francisco 49ers. Next week they travel to Kansas City to face the Kansas City Chiefs, who improved to 2-0 after Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes threw six touchdown passes in a 42-37 slugfest with the Pittsburgh Steelers.