Winners, Losers As 49ers Stump Panthers 20-9 On Monday Night Football

Winners, losers as 49ers stump Panthers 20-9 on Monday Night Football originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The San Francisco 49ers earned a key win to close out Week 12.

San Francisco beat the Carolina Panthers 20-9 on Monday Night Football, leaving Bryce Young and Co. stumped for the majority of the game.

With both teams in the hunt in the NFC and Carolina entering the game trailing San Francisco by a game, whoever won would’ve benefitted significantly. And it’s the 49ers who benefit, as they are now 8-4 with the Cleveland Browns, a bye and the Tennessee Titans up next prior to a brutal three-game stretch to close.

On the other hand, Carolina is now 6-6. The Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks are still on deck, as well as two matchups against the NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Young has done well to lead the Panthers back to a competitive state, but they still feel a tier or two below being a legitimate playoff squad.

The 49ers should’ve won this game by much more, but Brock Purdy could not catch a break throughout the first half. Carolina had chances, but just failed to capitalize as Robert Saleh’s defense returned to vintage levels despite the continuous injuries.

Let’s analyze the game further with winners and losers:

WINNER: Christian McCaffrey, 49ers

It just had to be him. Playing against his former team, McCaffrey continued to be a reliable dual threat on the ground and through the air.

He rushed for 89 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown to go with seven catches on seven targets for 53 yards.

It wasn’t the perfect game as he had some fumble scares, but McCaffrey proved he can still carry the load and help deliver a win when called upon. The race to 1,000 rushing and receiving yards persists…

LOSER: Bryce Young, Panthers

Last week, Young threw for 448 yards, three touchdowns and no picks in an important win against the Atlanta Falcons. This was not the same Young from last week.

The former No. 1 overall pick struggled mightily, completing 18 of 29 passes for 169 yards, one touchdown and two picks. He mostly relied on checkdowns to Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard for yards-after-catch gains, which predictably limited their ceiling.

The growing pains for the young prospect was on display against a well-coached D.

WINNER: Ji’Ayir Brown, 49ers

On the other hand, it was a fun night for 49ers safety Ji’Ayir Brown. His production hasn’t been the same since standing out as a rookie two years ago, but this game provided a reminder of what he can do with some confidence.

Brown had the aforementioned pick in the end zone to respond to Purdy’s first interception on the night. He then picked off Young at a key point in the fourth quarter when Carolina sought to close the gap late on.

Brown also had two passes defended and ranked third on the team with five tackles (second-best four solo).

LOSER: Brock Purdy, 49ers

After a quiet but solid clean three-touchdown outing last time out in his return from turf toe in Arizona, Purdy looked like a different shell under the lights — some parallels to Young. All of Purdy’s picks came in the first half. At one point, every throw made had fans holding their breath.

All picks stemmed from forcing the issue and unnecessarily pivoting from the easy play. Sometimes the short reads are the best ones. Purdy finished with 193 yards and a touchdown on 23 of 32 completions, but will want all of those picks back.

With the Browns on the road up next, Cleveland defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz will hope to continue wreaking havoc on Kyle Shanahan. Purdy will need to be much better to avoid a trap loss.

WINNER/LOSER: Jaycee Horn, Panthers

Before there was Brown, there was Horn. Panthers rising defensive back Jaycee Horn picked off Purdy twice in the first half and was a prime reason his team remained in the ball game.

The 2021 first-round selection now has five picks on the year after also nabbing two against the New York Jets earlier in the season. But he’ll slot into the loser category at the same time as he couldn’t finish the game due to a concussion.

Had that not been the case, this could’ve been a totally different ball game. Nonetheless, San Francisco is now in a solid position among the tight NFC crowd. In their division, the Rams are leading the conference at 9-2, while the Seahawks are 8-3.

The 49ers get a Week 14 bye after Cleveland. If they’re 9-4 at that point and some players return, they could be a fun postseason team to watch with nothing to lose given the stars missing.