It wasn't pretty, but the San Francisco 49ers are now 1-1 after a 30-27 win against the Detroit Lions at Levi's® Stadium. The 49ers held on in the final moments as Detroit had the ball near midfield needing just a field goal to send it to overtime. Matthew Stafford's fourth-down pass intended for Theo Riddick fell incomplete to seal San Francisco's first win of the season. Here's what you need to know from Week 2.
1. Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers caught a massive break on their final drive of the game. Leading by three and trying to ice the game, Garoppolo threw an interception that was returned all the way to the 49ers 7-yard line. Fortunately for San Francisco, the Lions were called for a defensive holding penalty to give the 49ers a fresh set of downs.
Garoppolo threw for just 206 yards, but he did toss two touchdowns. The first went to Kendrick Bourne and the second went to Garrett Celek. Bourne's touchdown was the first of his career. The entire passing game went quiet for the most part in the second half, though.
2. Matt Breida carried the 49ers offense with 138 yards on just 11 carries including a 66-yard touchdown run. He added three receptions for 21 yards. Breida's career long touchdown run put the 49ers up 27-13, and it appeared that San Francisco was going to run away with it. Even with the big game, Breida still split touches with Alfred Morris. Breida saw 14 touches to Morris' 16. That timeshare will likely continue in the weeks to come.
3. Detroit's pass rush racked up six sacks against Garoppolo. Several of those sacks were coverage sacks as 49ers wide receivers had a tough time getting open downfield. Pierre Garçon led 49ers receivers with four receptions for 57 yards. Dante Pettis caught a 35-yard pass on San Francisco's opening drive but was shutout from there on out.
4. The defense couldn't establish a consistent pass rush. The 49ers sacked Matthew Stafford just twice and logged just four quarterback hits. Buckner did record a sack, giving him 3.5 on the season. That tops his total from all of 2017. However, Detroit was able to convert on a massive 3rd-and-17 with a 67-yard pass to Golden Tate. The Lions later scored a touchdown on 3rd-and-15 with a 15-yard throw from Stafford to Michael Roberts. Those are plays where putting pressure on the quarterback is imperative.
5. D.J. Reed ignited the 49ers with a 90-yard kickoff return to open the third quarter. The rookie ran it all the way back for a 101-yard return touchdown but was called for a facemask penalty near the Lions goal line. Garoppolo and the offense still took advantage with a short drive that culminated in Celek's 11-yard touchdown. Reed's 90-yard return was the 49ers longest since 2012 (Kyle Williams, 94 yards).
6. Robbie Gould made all three of his field-goal attempts from 45, 42 and 36 yards, respectively. That gives him 29 consecutive made field goals to set a new 49ers franchise record.
7. Elijah Lee and Cassius Marsh combined for the 49ers lone takeaway. Lee sacked Stafford and knocked the ball loose. Marsh jumped on the fumble. The play was Lee's first career sack and forced fumble. Lee finished the game with a team-high 12 tackles in what was also his first career start.
