The 49ers’ 2022 season is off to a strange start. They lost a game in a downpour in Chicago, and then won a game where they lost starting QB Trey Lance for the season.
A result from the odd first two weeks is a 1-1 record for the 49ers, but a sense of gloom hanging over the club with emotions running high following the Lance injury and Jimmy Garoppolo’s return to the starting lineup.
While the QB conversation has dominated the headlines, there are some other performances that have jumped out this season that come as a little bit of a surprise. They’re also things that could help carry the 49ers to a division win and perhaps another deep playoff run.
We dug through the Pro Football Focus grades from the first two weeks and picked out a few things that were a bit surprising that could also get the 49ers on track to another NFC championship game appearance.
Safety dance
The 49ers had a little bit of a question mark at safety going into the preseason. Second-year strong safety Talanoa Hufanga hadn’t secured the starting job, and then free safety Jimmie Ward got hurt in a practice early in the preseason slate. San Francisco’s two safeties, Hufanga and Tashaun Gipson (who signed four days before the preseason finale) have been their two highest-graded defenders through two weeks.
Hufanga is the NFL’s second-highest graded safety per PFF with a 90.7 overall mark. That would put him in the ‘elite’ category over an entire season. He has one interception and tipped another ball up that Gipson hauled in for a pick. Hufanga has been everywhere around the football and has already had a hand in two turnovers. It’s hard to find a lot of things he’s not doing well early in the season.
Gipson hasn’t been quite as good as Hufanga, but still has a very strong 82.7 overall grade. He’s been an especially effective tackler and he was in the right place to take advantage of Hufanga’s tipped ball against the Seahawks.
Safety play is so vital in the NFL now, and the 49ers have pieced together the league’s best safety duo to start the 2022 season. If they keep getting this level of production in the back end of the secondary, they’ll have an elite defense all year.
Killer Bs
While the 49ers offensive line needs to see continued improvement and more consistent play through the regular season, it’s hard to quibble with the production they’ve gotten from left guard Aaron Banks and rookie right guard Spencer Burford in the first two weeks. It’s by no means been perfect, but they’ve both earned the two highest pass blocking grades on the 49ers’ offensive line. Burford has a team-best 83.7 pass blocking grade, while Banks is sitting just behind him with an 82.2 mark. Banks gave up two pressures in Chicago and just one against the Seahawks. Burford has yet to have a pressure counted against him. The two young offensive linemen need to continue trending in the right direction, but the 49ers so far have avoided disaster inside. If that unit gets better as the year goes, they’ll be in great shape come January.
Mike McGlinchey's return
Speaking of the offensive line, McGlinchey has come back nicely from a bad quad injury last season. There was definitely some concern about how he’d look in his return. He’s responded by allowing just two pressures and one sack in two games while earning respectable grades across the board, and he’s actually gotten a pass blocking grade (71.2) better than his run blocking mark (68.9). The 49ers don’t necessarily need him to be elite, he just needs to not be a glaring problem. He’s been well short of a glaring problem through two weeks.
Samuel Womack holding his own
The 49ers handed the keys to the all-important slot corner spot to rookie fifth-round pick Samuel Womack. While Womack hasn’t come up with a takeaway or a pass breakup yet, he’s been quiet. That’s ideal for a cornerback. San Francisco hasn’t played any prolific passing teams yet, but Womack has been very good vs. Chicago and Seattle. PFF has him down for five catches allowed on seven targets. The impressive part is that his five catches allowed have gone for just 29 yards. When Womack’s receiver does make a reception, they’re tackled almost immediately, and he’s not allowing any shots down the field out of the slot. There’ll be greater tests for him down the road this year, but early returns point to him being another nice fifth-round find for the 49ers.
