Racing out to six straight wins to open the season with a less-than-formidable schedule left some people doubting how good the San Francisco 49ers actually are. Blowing out a Carolina team that had won four straight games should quieten some of those critics.
Tevin Coleman on Sunday scored three of his four touchdowns in the first half and rookie Nick Bosa had three sacks to go along with an acrobatic interception as the 49ers remained unbeaten with a 51-13 victory over the Carolina Panthers in their highest-scoring game in 26 years.
“It doesn’t really matter what the outside world thinks,” said 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman, who had an interception. “We knew the talent we have, we just have to execute and focus on us, and let the chips fall where they may.”
Photo: AFP
The Niners (7-0) are off to their best start since winning their first 10 games in 1990 and now have a second win against a team with a winning record thanks to a complete performance against the Panthers (4-3).
Jimmy Garoppolo and the offense had little trouble carving open Carolina’s defense with 232 yards rushing and a pair of touchdown passes for San Francisco’s most prolific offensive game since beating Detroit 55-17 on Dec. 19, 1993.
The defense did the rest.
San Francisco intercepted three passes from Kyle Allen, who went into the game with no interceptions on 153 career attempts while winning his first five starts in place of the injured Cam Newton.
They also had seven sacks, with Bosa getting three of them to go along with his leaping interception and 46-yard return on the final play of the third quarter.
“Whenever your moves are working really good, it’s a good feeling,” Bosa said. “Once you get a sack early you calm down.”
Coleman did most of the rest of the damage to the Panthers.
He scored on a 19-yard run in the first quarter, added a 10-yard catch in the second quarter, broke the game open with a 48-yard run late in the first half and added a one-yard run late in the third.
Coleman finished with 11 carries for 105 yards and two catches for 13 yards.
He became just the third 49ers player to score at least four touchdowns in a regular-season game, joining Jerry Rice and Billy Kilmer. Rice holds the record with five against Atlanta in 1990.
“He knows how to play in the offense,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “He had some good looks today and when Tevin has a good look, he usually can get in the end zone.”
Receiver Deebo Samuel added a 20-yard touchdown run and Raheem Mostert scored on a 41-yard run that made it 51-13.
Garoppolo finished 18 for 22 for 175 yards with touchdown passes to Coleman and Emmanuel Sanders.
Allen went 19 for 37 for 158 yards on a day that Newton was able to take warmups in a sign that he could be close to being ready to return from a foot injury.
“They showed up. We didn’t,” Panthers defensive lineman Gerald McCoy said. “We just didn’t come here today and be who we were supposed to be, and play like we were supposed to play. We have to do a better job of not beating ourselves.”
Elsewhere, the Saints spanked the Cardinals 31-9, the Packers dethroned the Chiefs 31-24, the Chargers beat the Bears 17-16, the Texans tamed the Raiders 27-24, the Eagles soared past the Bills 31-13 and the Titans bested the Buccaneers 27-23.
The Patriots battered the Browns 27-13, the Rams routed the Bengals 24-10 at Wembley Stadium in London, the Colts bettered the Broncos 15-13, the Seahawks felled the Falcons 27-20, the Jaguars downed the Jets 29-15 and the Lions grounded the Giants 31-26.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS