Tag: third and long

49ers CB Charvarius Ward’s favorite NFL CBs

Here are CB Charvarius Ward’s favorite NFL cornerbacks (via Third and Long/@tidalleague):

49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward put himself in some elite company while listing his top/favorite cornerbacks in the NFL.

Ward was asked about this in an appearance on Arik Armstead’s podcast ‘Third and Long‘ and he wasn’t shy about divulging an answer. His own name wasn’t the first to come up, and he wasn’t the only 49er on the list.

It was clear the list wasn’t prepared so it’s easy to believe he might’ve left off some worthy players, and it also led to some of his explanations for players being a little short.

Nevertheless, here’s Ward’s list and what he had to say about each player:

CB Charvarius Ward reveals Chiefs game plan vs. 49ers in Super Bowl

49ers CB Charvarius Ward, who was on the Chiefs team that beat San Francisco in the Super Bowl, revealed via @tidalleague what KC’s game plan was:

While several 49ers are on a quest to avenge their Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs after the 2019 season, cornerback Charvarius Ward finds himself in a different boat. Ward was part of that Kansas City team that came back from a 20-10 deficit to defeat the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV.

In an appearance on ‘Third and Long,’ Ward revealed that the 49ers played right into the Chiefs’ defense’s hands when they abandoned their run game in the fourth quarter.

“The game plan was to put the ball in Jimmy (Garoppolo)’s hands, man,” Ward told Third and Long host, 49ers defensive tackle Arik Armstead. “I hate to say this. Our game plan was to put the ball in Jimmy’s hands, but Kyle Shanahan, he was just calling run after run. For some reason in the fourth quarter they stopped running the ball, and we kinda took over a little bit.

“I don’t want to say too much about it because I’m part of the organization now. Going into the game we were extremely confident, but once y’all came out doing all that y’all were doing, we were like ‘(expletive) these boys are kinda good. We gotta like man up and thud up.’ And that’s kinda like what we did in the fourth quarter.”

It was clear in the fourth quarter that Kansas City was focused on stopping the 49ers’ rushing attack. Defensive end Terrell Suggs, at that point in his career a run stopper, spent a ton of time on the field to try and help a defense that allowed 88 rushing yards on 12 first-half carries. Through three quarters the 49ers had 109 rushing yards on 17 attempts. San Francisco won the third quarter 10-0 to take a 20-10 lead into the final 15 minutes.

That’s when the Chiefs’ plan to put the ball in Garoppolo’s hands worked. By selling out to stop the run they pushed Shanahan into a pass-happy set of play calls. The 49ers in the fourth quarter ran it five times for 39 yards.

After the Chiefs made it 20-17, the 49ers ran it once with RB Raheem Mostert for five yards. Then they threw it twice, both incomplete, and punted.

Kansas City then made it 24-20 with 2:44 to go. Mostert again opened the drive with a 17-yard run. A false start on WR Emmanuel Sanders made it first-and-15, but the 49ers still managed to get a first down at the Chiefs’ 49 after a couple throws. They never ran it again and turned it over on downs, effectively ending the game.

It was pretty clear during the game what Kansas City (and any team playing the 49ers) wanted to do to defend them, and Ward’s confirmation just makes it all the more baffling that the 49ers would so willingly play into their hands.

Perhaps a more dynamic passing attack with Brock Purdy under center will help the 49ers avoid becoming too one-dimensional because of defensive personnel.

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This key metric proves Patrick Mahomes is NFL’s best QB on third down

Next Gen Stats broke down #Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes’ success in third-and-long situations.

To say that Patrick Mahomes has played stellar football since taking over as the Kansas City Chiefs’ starting quarterback in 2018 would be an understatement of epic proportions.

He has not only delivered the team Super Bowl wins but has also achieved spectacular statistical success that places him entirely in a league of his own. Mahomes’ accomplishments on third down are well documented, but one analysis done by Next Gen Stats proves that when it comes to the most crucial situations, the reigning MVP is more likely to deliver than any other signal-caller in the league.

His average time to throw, throw past sticks percentage, yards per attempt, and pass EPA are all the best of any quarterback in the league in third and seven-or-more-yard situations.

While some of these marks could be attributed to Andy Reid’s offensive scheme, Mahomes’ ability to process, react, and deliver accurate balls to receivers on time is truly second to none in one of the game’s most difficult situations.