After deciding to move on from kicker Jake Moody, the San Francisco 49ers brought in Eddy Piñeiro for week two, a move that has payed dividends already as he played a huge role in their 26-23 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night.
49ers’ head coach Kyle Shanahan expressed his confidence in Piñeiro after Thursday’s game.
“We were pretty close on that line,” Shanahan said of Piñeiro’s 59-yard field goal at the end of the fourth quarter. “We debated it for a little bit but we said screw it, let’s see what he’s got. He showed us that he could have probably done it from the 45.”
Piñeiro has quickly quelled any concerns about his play after coming from Carolina heading into this season. He seems to have gained all of Shanahan’s trust quickly which will allow San Francisco’s special teams unit to operate at a full-go moving forward.
Injury Riddled 49ers Upend Rams On The Road
Mac Jones and Kendrick Bourne highlighted a masterclass in the importance of depth on Thursday night as their connection led the injury plagued 49ers to victory over the Rams. With QB Brock Purdy slipping back to the injury report while Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall and George Kittle also missed week five, San Francisco shocked the NFL after heading into the game as seven point underdogs.
Jones was outstanding, passing for 342 yards and two touchdowns. He connected with Bourne 10 times for 142 yards. The two were together in New England from 2021-2023 where Bourne established himself as one of Jones’ favorite targets, a connection that seems to have stuck in San Francisco.
RB Christian McCaffrey was also back in his peak form on Thursday night, with 30 touches between the run and pass game for 139 all-purpose yards and a touchdown.
Jones found seven different receivers, with seven of his 33 completions coming to backup tight end Jake Tonges. Tonges set season highs in targets and receptions while snagging a touchdown.
If this is what Kyle Shanahan can do with a depleted roster, the NFL might be in trouble once the 49ers get all of their starters back from injury.
San Francisco To Take On Tampa Bay In Week Six
The 49ers will take on Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week six when they look to improve to 5-1. After that tough road matchup, their schedule lightens up as they’ll take on the Atlanta Falcons and Houston Texans the following two weeks. They also have remaining games against Carolina, Cleveland and Tennessee, so you can almost pencil in San Francisco for at least five more wins this season.
In an NFC West division with the best parity in the NFL, San Francisco has emerged from the pack as early favorites to win the division for the third time in the last four years. Los Angeles is likely the closest team to the 49ers, but now that San Francisco has proven that they can beat the Rams even with their injury plagued roster, it looks like it’s their division to lose after five weeks.
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