49ers Survive Season-Opening Trip With 2 Straight Wins

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers’ season-opening roadworthy travel featured a fewer cardinal injuries, a adjacent fourth-quarter illness and an disfigured violative performance.

Perhaps astir importantly for the 49ers, it included 2 wins aft they overcame a shaky commencement successful a 17-11 triumph implicit the Philadelphia Eagles connected Sunday.

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“It’s games similar this wherever you find a mode and you get a triumph earlier you caput backmost location connected an distant trip,” antiaircraft extremity Nick Bosa said. “That’s what propels you to a large play I think. Hopefully that’s the case, and we’re going to support connected working.”

For the 2nd clip successful 3 years the 49ers (2-0) opened the play with back-to-back roadworthy wins successful the Eastern Time Zone. That accelerated commencement successful 2019 helped propel San Francisco to the Super Bowl, and the Niners are hoping for a akin show this season.

Just similar successful 2019, the 49ers stayed backmost East betwixt games, practicing past week astatine The Greenbrier edifice successful West Virginia arsenic they recovered from losing cornerback Jason Verrett and running backmost Raheem Mostert to season-ending genu injuries and linebacker Dre Greenlaw (groin) for astatine slightest a month.

After astir collapsing precocious successful a 41-33 triumph astatine Detroit in the opener, the Niners started dilatory successful Philadelphia with three-and-outs connected the archetypal 3 possessions for the archetypal clip successful 5 seasons nether Kyle Shanahan.

But a blocked tract extremity and a goal-line basal kept it close, and Jimmy Garoppolo led a brace of TD drives that both were longer than 90 yards — the archetypal clip San Francisco did that successful a crippled since 1992.

“That is the NFL for you man,” Garoppolo said. “It is ne'er going to beryllium easy. Some weeks easier than others, but adjacent past week it came down to the ligament astatine 1 point. When you tin triumph antithetic ways similar that, it makes for a bully team. I person been astir this league for a small portion now, and teams that tin triumph antithetic ways, whether it’s offense, defense, peculiar teams stepping up, that makes for a bully team.”

WHAT’S WORKING

Bosa. Any questions astir however Bosa would instrumentality from ACL country person been answered successful the archetypal 2 games. Bosa had two sacks against Jalen Hurts and forced a fumble, giving him 3 sacks connected the play arsenic helium erstwhile again looks similar the subordinate who won Defensive Rookie of the Year successful 2019.

WHAT NEEDS HELP

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Downfield passing. Garoppolo had a career-low mean extent of walk with his mean effort traveling conscionable 3.8 yards downfield. Garoppolo was 19 for 23 for 117 yards and a TD connected throws little than 10 yards downfield and 3 for 7 for 72 yards connected throws that traveled astatine slightest 11 yards.

STOCK UP

Deebo Samuel. Samuel had six catches for 93 yards and intelligibly looks similar Garoppolo’s apical people aboriginal this season. His 282 yards receiving are the second-most successful the Super Bowl epoch done 2 games for the 49ers, trailing lone Jerry Rice’s 285 successful 1989.

STOCK DOWN

Day 1 and 2 draught picks. The Niners got astir thing retired of their 4 picks from the apical 3 rounds successful this year’s draft. No. 3 wide prime Trey Lance didn’t get successful astatine each aft getting 4 snaps successful the opener. Second-round prime Aaron Banks was a steadfast scratch for a 2nd consecutive week, portion third-rounder Ambry Thomas was besides scratched. Third-round moving backmost Trey Sermon was progressive aft being scratched past week, but helium had lone 1 transportation for 8 yards connected his lone drawback earlier leaving with a concussion.

INJURED

The Niners are banged up astatine moving backmost with Sermon successful concussion protocol, Elijah Mitchell time to time with a enarthrosis inury and JaMycal Hasty retired for a portion with an ankle injury. San Francisco has Kerryon Johnson connected the signifier squad and is bringing successful Lamar Miller, Duke Johnson and T.J. Yeldon successful for a workout. … Defensive tackle Kevin Givens besides volition miss clip with an ankle injury.

KEY NUMBER

8. For the eighth consecutive game, the 49ers failed to people connected the opening drive. They person 4 three-and-outs, 2 different punts, a fourth-down halt and a fumble successful that span. That’s their longest opening-drive drought since an 11-gamer successful 2007-08.

NEXT STEPS

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The 49ers big the Packers successful their location opener connected Sunday night. San Francisco has mislaid its past 2 location games aft returning from a two-game travel East.