Week Three

49ers 30, Giants 12

It was the home opener, and the better team won. Watching the two quarterbacks, it's clear that Daniel Jones is a real talent, and there's just no way to tell how good he might be if he had a good, consistent offensive line in front of him. Not having Saquon Barkley also had to hurt. As for Brock Purdy, it's clear he is absolutely imperturbable and doesn't let mistakes bother him. Not having Brandon Aiyuk had to hurt, especially in the first half, when Purdy missed several downfield throws. But he adjusted, getting the ball to George Kittle and Deebo Samuel in the second half, and both showed their "beast mode" moves as the 49ers put the game away with their trademark physicality.

Now comes another home game, against the Cardinals, who until last week were widely considered one of the league's weakest teams. This has all the earmarks of a "trap" game, as Arizona is coming off an almost embarrassingly  dominant win over previously-unbeaten Dallas and now faces another undefeated team rated among the NFL's best. With those same Cowboys lurking in a prime-time showdown a week from Sunday, this one could be cause for a little worry-- among us fans, that is. We doubt the team will worry half as much, or overlook this one.

In the interconference battles, the AFC won all four last week (Bengals over the Rams, Bills crushing Washington, the Chargers' last-minute win over the snakebit Minnesota Vikings, and KC pounding woeful Chicago). ). The NFC now holds a two-game advantage after three weeks. 

 Week Two

49ers 30, LA Rams 23

The 49ers are still undefeated in the regular season when Brock Purdy is their starting quarterback. That's going to come to an end eventually, and the Rams gave their best effort to make it happen yesterday, but in the end the better team won. 

We were right about this year's Rams, though; this team is tough to beat. It's easy to forget how good a coach Sean McVay is, and how adept he and GM Les Snead are at recognizing coachable talent.

The Rams won the first half of the game, but when coach Shanahan went for the TD with one second remaining before halftime and got it, we had  feeling the second half would belong to the 49ers, and it did. Deommodore Lenoir intercepted Matthew Stafford twice, Christian McCaffrey was brilliant again, and Brandon Aiyuk's first-quarter injury was not as serious as we feared. 

Now a short week, and the New York Giants in town without Saquon Barkley. Daniel Jones put on a terrific show yesterday in the big comeback, but how will he and his offense fare against this defense without their most explosive player? 

The NFC continues to dominate the interconference games. The Washington Commanders turned back Denver in a thriller and the Dallas Cowboys won another blowout, over the Rodgers-less New York Jets.  That's 6-0, NFC, after two weeks.

Week One

49ers 30, Pittsburgh 7

This one was over quickly.  Any concerns about Brock Purdy being tentative, easily fatigued, or even ineffective after offseason shoulder surgery and a quick recovery were put to rest on the first series, which set off a 7-play drive to the young QB's first touchdown pass of the season. It was all 49ers, on both sides of the ball, from that point on, as they rolled up a 20-0 lead in the first 25 minutes. At that point the Steelers had a total of minus-4 yards. Kenny Pickett then led a long, 12-play, 95-yard drive to make it 20-7 at the half, but any Pittsburgh fan's hopes of a turnaround died a quick death in first minute of the third quarter.

If you can only see one highlight reel from this game, it's got to be Christian McCaffrey's 65-yard broken-field explosion, with Brandon Aiyuk and Ray-Ray McCloud leading the way with downfield blocking reminiscent of Jerry Rice and John Taylor. Beautiful! And that play settled it. Pickett padded his stats in garbage time but never did Pittsburgh threaten to score again. Nick Bosa, he of the mega-contract, was such a force you rarely saw him; double- and triple-teamed throughout, he left lanes wide open for his teammates to pick up five sacks.

And remember all the preseason concern about rookie kicker Jake Moody? 6-for-6, with three field goals and three PATs.  After all, in the preseason the Steelers looked like potential champions and the 49ers like actual chumps, too. 

The NFC won all four of the interconference matchups this weekend, starting with Detroit's sensational upset of defending champions Kansas City on Thursday night. Sunday saw the Saints edge the Tennessee Titans in Derek Carr's New Orleans debut, Philadelphia slugging out a 25-20 win at New England, and the 49er victory.  .

We were pleased to see the Los Angeles Rams shred the Seattle Seahawks, of course; nobody expected the 2021 champions to do anything but compete for last place considering their massive roster turnover. Now the 49ers head down south to SoFi Stadium for their first matchup, and we expect the Rams to provide an exciting game-- but not too exciting, if you know what we mean.