The 49ers had several eye-popping plays in their win over the New England Patriots on Sunday at Levi's Stadium and NextGen Stats highlighted how some players defied the odds to make them.
The most memorable play of the game was George Kittle’s touchdown catch while covered by three Patriots defenders. The 12-yard touchdown reception had a completion probability of 14.2 percent, which is the fourth most improbable among all receivers and the most improbable by a tight end through four weeks.
Kittle jumps over EVERYONE for this TD grab 💪 pic.twitter.com/qRsCsCp8gI
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) September 29, 2024
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Kittle’s touchdown was possible because of quarterback Brock Purdy's 3.47 seconds to throw, which was the longest in Week 4. Purdy utilized this time to throw the ball deep with an average of 19.2 yards per completion.
Purdy's average intended air yards mark of 14.5 topped the NFL and his completed air yards mark of 13.4 was the highest and nearly double the distance of the second-highest mark of 7.7 yards by Minnesota Vikings signal-caller Sam Darnold.
Purdy posted a plus-5.6 percent completion percentage over expected which was the seventh highest of the week. Of his total throws, 29.6 percent were considered aggressive, which led the league.
Jordan Mason recorded 24 carries for 123 rushing yards and a touchdown while facing a stacked box on 54.17 percent of his carries, which was the second-highest in the league. The running back’s plus-37 rushing yards over expected ranked fifth with 54.2 percent of his carries going over the expected yardage.
San Francisco 49ers
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk might have only caught two of his five targets on Sunday, but the wideout was the only receiver to have an average cushion of under 3.0 yards in Week 4 (2.4 yards). The Arizona State product averaged 1.9 yards of separation (tied for 11th lowest) on his five targets, yet his 17.7 average targeted air yards mark was the fourth highest.
On the defensive side of the ball, Nick Bosa led the defensive line with nine pressures on Sunday, nearly matching his 10-pressure total from the previous three weeks combined. The All-Pro’s speed is what was most remarkable. Bosa averaged a 0.51-second pass rush get-off, the quickest by any defender in a game over the last 7 seasons (min. 20 pass rushes).
Bosa’s fourth quarter sack was completed in 2.60 seconds, which was the fastest in Week 4 and tied for fifth fastest on the season.
The 49ers return to the practice field on Wednesday to prepare for the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5 at Levi's Stadium.