SANTA CLARA – Their 1994 red-and-white throwback jerseys are coming out to play. Are there enough healthy players to wear them? That is the 49ers’ predicament.
The RSVP list is light for Sunday night’s home show against the Atlanta Falcons.
No Brock Purdy. No Ricky Pearsall. No Nick Bosa, of course, and, certainly not last nor least, no Fred Warner, who underwent season-ending ankle surgery Tuesday.
“Was it a punch in the gut? Yeah, 100% it was, but that defense was still flying around and there are a lot of opportunities out there for a lot of guys,” tight end George Kittle said. “Fred is pretty irreplaceable. But it’s not really a choice in the NFL. You have to continue to move on.”
Kittle, after a five-game absence, returns from a hamstring tear to, as he says, “bring the juice” to a 49ers outfit that listed 18 players on Wednesday’s injury report.
The 49ers, under Kyle Shanahan’s watch since 2017, traditionally have staggered through Oktoberfest, posting a 16-22 record and losing at least two October games every season except during the 2019 team’s 8-0 start.
Here is a five-step plan to prevent a second straight loss and third in four games:
1. PASSING OF TORCH?
No one’s gained more scrimmage yards this season than the Falcons’ Bijan Robinson (822, five games) and the 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey (780, six games). The mutual respect is high, even more so after training together this past offseason.
“I watch him move, make a lot of these plays, and it’s inspiring,” McCaffrey said. “When you watch him play, any chance you get, you try to emulate some of his stuff.”
McCaffrey, 29, is in his ninth season; Robinson, 23, in his third. If this is a passing-of-the-torch game, McCaffrey isn’t ready to go along with that storyline, all due respect to Robinson, who leads NFL running backs with an average of 5.8 yards per carry.
McCaffery, 29, has played 85 percent of the 49ers’ snaps, his most since arriving three Octobers ago. He’s rebounded from last season’s injuries to cover for a fluid receiving corps (46 catches, 444 yards, three touchdowns). But he’s running at a career-low 3.1 yards per carry behind a sketchy offensive line that’s missed Kittle’s blocking.
2. LINEBACKERS REBOOT
Warner started all but one game since 2018, so his absence will be glaring. Tatum Bethune and Dee Winters must not drift out of position and must stay true to their assignment to bring down Robinson, either as a rusher or receiver.
Bethune, just as he did after Warner’s exit last Sunday, will be relaying the play calls from defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.
“It’s Tatum’s opportunity to go run the defense and run the show. Tatum just needs to be Tatum,” Saleh said. “He doesn’t have to make any plays that are spectacular. He just needs to make his play. As he gets reps and he gets comfortable, a lot of people have got to remember, he’s only in his second year.”
Bethune finished with 10 tackles last game, after 11 tackles in his previous 16 games combined. He and Winters may be a new regular-season tandem, but they worked side by side through the offseason practices and preseason games while Warner observed. “Me and Dee are like brothers and have that chemistry,” Bethune said.
3. MAC-N-KITTLE
Kittle worked almost exclusively with Brock Purdy through the offseason program, but, as Kittle comes off a five-game hiatus, don’t expect a tough transition with Mac Jones, who’s slated to make his third straight start in place of Purdy.
“Obviously, haven’t gotten a lot of reps with him, but we have in a way too, just from me watching and being a fan from afar,” Jones said. “He’s just great energy in the huddle and he’s just George.”
Said Kittle: “My first observation of Mac is he’s absolutely hilarious. He has a personality of a tight end. … He’s just a goofball and I really appreciate that. But when you see him take reps or in a game, and you see how locked in and dialed he is, it’s really cool.”
Kittle, rather than overdo it his first game back, could platoon with Jake Tonges. Jones also will look to Kendrick Bourne, who could become the first 49er since Jerry Rice 30 years ago to post three consecutive 100-yard games; Bourne went for 142 in each of the past two. Also worth watching is Jauan Jennings, who practiced every day this past week after Sunday’s sideline shouting match with Shanahan, who shrugged off any worries about an instant Jones-Kittle combo.
“I always get thrown off with the chemistry question because George is good at getting open and Mac is good at throwing to the guy in progression who’s open,” Shanahan said. “So, it doesn’t matter really that they’re new or anything like that.”
4. ANY BALLHAWKS?
Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr., the No. 8 pick in last year’s draft, may be only 4-4 as a starter overall but he owns a Week 2 win at Minnesota and he’s passed for 563 yards in their past two victories over Washington and Buffalo.
Only three of his 157 passes this year have wound up in enemy hands, which is not very promising for a 49ers defense that’s gone an NFL-record 13 straight games without an interception.
Who can make a play? Perhaps it will be the revived 2024 starting safety tandem of Malik Mustapha and Ji’Ayir Brown. But it’s time a 49ers cornerback nabs a Penix pass, the top three candidates being:
— Deommodore Lenoir: Has allowed 15 completions on 25 targets (122 yards, one touchdown) with one pass breakup, per Sportsradar stats.
— Renardo Green: Has allowed nine catches on 22 targets (162 yards, no touchdowns) with five pass breakups.
— Upton Stout: Rookie nickel back has given up 16 catches on 24 targets (179 yards, no touchdowns) with two pass breakups.
“It’s been obviously frustrating because I feel like we’ve had our opportunities to get some hands on some footballs and get some interceptions. It feels like one of those years,” said Saleh, whose 2018 defense totaled just two interceptions (Antone Exum, Jaquiski Tartt).
5. LEADERSHIP VACCUM
The 49ers can’t afford to let Warner’s absence suck the inspiration out of a prime-time home game. Kittle’s return certainly is needed to help offset that, and as willing as he is to serve as their carnival barker, he’s being unselfish about it.
“I’m going to hopefully spread it around so it’s not the same person over and over again. We’ll spread it out,” Kittle said. “I might make Purdy get in at some point; that’d be funny. I’d love to hear a Mac Jones pump-up speech; that’d be pretty good.
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“It’s going to be a group effort. When you have somebody like Fred who can inspire the troops, that’s a fantastic thing,” Kittle continued. “But it’s also an opportunity for 53 other guys in the locker room to speak up and share their voice. The cool thing about football is you can learn something from Trent Williams, or from C.J. West, a rookie. As long as you keep your ears open and listen, you can learn something really cool.”
Kittle, by the way, caught all six passes targeted to him for 93 yards in a 31-13 home win over the Falcons in 2021, when the 49ers also wore their 1994 red-and-white throwbacks.