Things are looking good in terms of injuries for the 49ers coming out of a 37-24 win over the Tennessee Titans, but the status of wide receiver Ricky Pearsall Jr. won’t be known until later in the week when they begin preparation in earnest for a Monday night road assignment in Indianapolis.
Pearsall caught six passes for 96 yards including a key 39-yard strike from Brock Purdy that helped the 49ers to a three-score lead.
He played through an early ankle injury but later aggravated a PCL strain which cost him six games earlier this season.
“We’ll see how this week goes for him, not sure if he’s ready to practice,” coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday in a conference call with local reporters.
There’s definitely concern, and it showed postgame in the locker room as both Shanahan and offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak pulled Pearsall aside for private conversations. Pearsall’s ability to make big plays contrasts nicely with Jauan Jennings’ more physical style and that of tight end George Kittle in the receiving game. Sort of like Brandon Aiyuk, who is on the “reserve/left team” list and has probably played his final game with the 49ers.
With rookie Jordan Watkins faced with beating out existing receivers and second-year receiver Jacob Cowing slated to spend another week on injured reserve without opening his practice window, depth behind Pearsall is an issue.
“It wasn’t a high ankle sprain and it checked out, which is somewhat encouraging,” Shanahan said. “But the PCL, he landed on his knee, something that happened to Mac (Jones), and when it happens it’s real painful for a while, but it can go away. It takes time for the pain to go away and hopefully that’ll be sooner than later.”
The good news for the 49ers is that middle linebacker Tatum Bethune, who last played on Nov. 16 before being sidelined with a high ankle sprain, is expected to practice this week. So is practice squad linebacker Eric Kendricks (calf), which would give the 49ers options other than Curtis Robinson at middle linebacker.
Guard Spencer Burford, who left for nine snaps with knee and ankle injuries, is expected to practice this week. Same goes for defensive tackle Jordan Elliott, who injured his knee before the game in what was described as an “irritation.”
Rookie linebacker Nick Martin remains in concussion protocol.
Shanahan talked with Philip Rivers
Indianapolis quarterback Philip Rivers started Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks nearly five years after retiring. Rivers, 44, had a phone call last week with Gus Bradley, a 49ers assistant and head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers from 2017-2020, when Rivers played there.
Bradley handed his phone to Shanahan, who explored a Rivers comeback in 2022 before eventually going in a different direction.
“He’s got a good relationship with Gus, being together with the Chargers,” Shanahan said. “I was telling him how cool it would be (for Rivers to come back and play). And then about 10 seconds into it, I realized we were playing against him in 10 days, so I tried to tell him to stay away and how dumb it would be. It didn’t work.”
Tight end George Kittle catches a 1-yard jump pass from Brock Purdy for a touchdown for the 49ers against Tennessee. Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group
Run defense issues
Tennessee came into Sunday’s game ranked 31st in rushing offense but gashed the 49ers for 136 yards on 20 carries, averaging 6.8 per attempt. Running back Tony Pollard had 104 yards on 14 carries with a long of 22 and Tyjae Spears added a 20-yard run.
“We had some missed tackles, too many of them. Less than we did with Cleveland, but not to be confused with good enough,” Shanahan said. “I thought in the second half, it got away from us a little bit.”
Shanahan said the 49ers expected more of a two-minute passing offense and instead the Titans hit them with some run-pass option plays for some late yards.
“They got some explosives on us,” Shanahan said.
Purdy’s jump pass
The three touchdown passes by Purdy included a 1-yard pass to Kittle on a jump pass over the middle, something that goes against Shanahan’s teachings, although he’s willing to live with the result when it works.
“We’ll give him crap for it a lot, but when it works, we call him Michael Jordan so it was a hell of a deal today,” Shanahan said. “We like cleats in the ground and being able to drive the ball, but sometimes somebody’s got to use another club and it’s cool that he’s got one.”
Uncle Sherm weighs in
The 49ers had no interceptions of rookie quarterback Cam Ward, but weren’t without chances, as former 49er Richard Sherman noted on his podcast.
“It could have been three, maybe four interceptions and that’s just inexcusable,” Sherman said. “When you’re put in position to make the play you’ve got to make them. Even in a win like this, you’ve got to be critical. Malik Mustapha had one right before the half and Ji’Ayir Brown had an opportunity when balls were hitting them right in the face. The football is hitting them right in the chest. You’ve got to have them.”
Said Shanahan: “We come down with those we had a chance to make the game look a little different.”
Practice squad reward
Why did the 49ers promote defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez as a practice squad gameday elevation and then make him inactive? The elevation also brings with it an increase in pay over the practice squad rate even if inactive.
“Sometimes it’s showing guys we have an appreciation for what they’ve been doing in practice,” Shanahan said.
SNAP JUDGEMENTS
A look at who played and how much in the 49ers’ win over Tennessee:
74: Purdy, guard Dominick Puni and tackles Colton McKivitz and Trent Williams played every offensive snap.
71: With eight receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown, Kittle has 45 receptions for 484 yards and six touchdowns despite missing five games and not catching a pass in his return game after a hamstring tear.
62: Christian McCaffrey was targeted just once in the passing game, good for 14 yards. His previous low was 14 against Cleveland before the bye. His high this season is 15 in Week 3 and he’s been in double figures in terms of targets four times.
60: Jennings’ snap count was his second-highest total of the season behind only 62 against New Orleans in Week 2. He caught three passes for 37 yards and two touchdowns. He wasn’t included among the injured Monday despite taking a late shot to the ribs.
53: Those who played every defensive snap were safeties Brown and Mustapha, cornerback Deommodore Lenoir and Dee Winters and linebacker Curtis Robinson.
39: Clelin Ferrell played on 73.6 percent of the defensive snaps, a season high. His total of 39 equaled the number he had in the 49ers’ previous game against Cleveland. He had one more snap than Keion White to lead the defensive linemen.
18: Kevin Givens was told Saturday he wouldn’t be active but found out differently when Elliott injured his knee in the locker room before the game started.
“He was just hanging out in the locker room and then all of a sudden he’s got to put on his pads and get ready for an NFL game,” Shanahan said. “It was huge by him to step up.”
9: Connor Colby got his first work at left guard since Week 8 against Houston when Burford left temporarily with an ankle injury.