The San Francisco 49ers fell short 29-17 to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday afternoon. The loss drops the red and gold to 6-9 on the year, and with several other NFC teams earning wins in Week 16, San Francisco has been eliminated from playoff contention from the 2024 season.
Here are five takeaways from the 49ers-Dolphins game:
Hyena Presence
Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir showed off his elite coverage abilities early on Sunday, spoiling would-be touchdown connection between Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receiver Tyreek Hill on their second offensive series. On third-and-nine, Tagovailoa took a deep shot to the left side of the end zone before getting taken down by defensive lineman Maliek Collins, and on the receiving end, Lenoir was able to get a hand on the well placed pass intended for Hill. The Dolphins had to settle for the field goal to take the 3-0 lead. He recorded four tackles in addition to his pass breakup.
Samuel Sr. Fights His Way to the End Zone
Wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. racked up the yards after catch on his 16-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. From inside the red zone, San Francisco's QB1 Brock Purdy sent a dart down the middle to Samuel Sr. who made the grab near the 10-yard line and barreled his way through three Dolphins defenders to find pay dirt. The 16-yard score is the wideback's third of the season and put the 49ers ahead 7-3 with 14:14 left in the first half. He closed out the game with seven catches for 96 receiving yards and a touchdown in addition to five carries for 25 yards on the ground.
George Kittle Extends His Lead as Receiving Yards Leader
"The People's Tight End" entered Week 16 as the 49ers receiving yards leader (861 receiving yards) and continued to solidify himself as the stat leader in this category against Miami. Kittle caught eight passes for 106 yards including two second half 20-plus yard receptions. His most critical catch of the night was 11-yard third-down conversion in the red zone to help set up the touchdown for fellow tight end Eric Saubert. Saubert's two-yard touchdown catch was his first of the season and pulled the 49ers within two-points with 12:02 left in the game.
Kittle is now just 33 yards shy of hitting the 1,000-receiving yard mark for the fourth time in his eight-season career.
LB Fred Warner Hits Historic Milestone
The 49ers All-Pro linebacker now finds himself in elite company following his 10-tackle performance on Sunday afternoon. Warner needed nine-or-more tackles versus Miami to join Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith as the only two players to register 115-or-more tackles in each of their first seven NFL seasons since at least 2000.
Injuries of the Game
- LB Dre Greenlaw was listed as questionable to return with a right calf injury following the team's first defensive series.
- DL Leonard Floyd was listed as questionable to return with a shoulder injury late in the first quarter. He returned to action midway through the second quarter.
- T Jaylon Moore exited the game midway through the third quarter with an quad injury. He was replaced by offensive lineman Spencer Burford for the remainder of the game.
- OL Aaron Banks suffered a knee injury in the fourth quarter and was ruled out with a knee injury.
