Inman: 10 things that caught my eye in 49ers’ 20-9 win over Panthers

SANTA CLARA Safety Ji Ayir Brown read Bryce Young s young eyes and intercepted two passes in Monday night s ers domination Then Brown read the room that being Levi s Stadium s auditorium during his post-win press conference Standing at the podium after that - defense-led supremacy over Carolina Brown didn t strut even though he just played the best battle of his three-year Niners career in coach Kyle Shanahan s eyes Brown s two interceptions helped bail out Brock Purdy who got intercepted on three consecutive drives before halftime Yet rather than bask in any heroic glory Brown used the spotlight to preach band unity So did others There ain t no bailouts Brown reported We see turnovers happen It s all part of the challenge If it was perfect people wouldn t watch it as much Just having the offense s back this match like they had ours the previous weeks it s complementary football The ers - won their previous event by outscoring Arizona - while the Cardinals Jacoby Brissett set an NFL record with completions This championship was won by the ers defense denying the Panthers more than three points on those three takeaways before halftime The vibe around the locker room is everybody showing love and they got our backs and you go through tough things Purdy reported We re all in this together So love our locker room love our company and we re good San Francisco ers quarterback Brock Purdy leaves the field after being congratulated by Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young after the ers - NFL win at Levi s Stadium in Santa Clara Calif on Monday Nov Jane Tyska Bay Area News Group Here are things that caught my eye PURDY S STOICISM Purdy did not require a major pep talk amid his interception spree nor did he get one and Christian McCaffrey disclosed anything of the sort would be disrespectful to a professional after obvious gaffes If I have a drop and somebody says Catch the ball it makes you want to knock them out reported McCaffrey There s really nothing to say You just keep on playing It s a long encounter You don t say anything to him Added center Jake Brendel The guy s been level-headed his entire career He s not young now but I played with him when he was young and he was super stoic when he was a rookie I m not expecting him to freak out and go in the tank And he knows we ll have his back Purdy explained there wasn t a specific pick-me-up offered by teammates other than George Kittle advising to keep ripping passes and Purdy indeed uncovered Kittle for a game-long -yard reception after the three picks QUARTERBACK PRESSURE No Shanahan noted he did not consider pulling Purdy after the three interceptions and sending in Mac Jones who went - in the starting role while Purdy was out with a toe injury an appendage Purdy insisted is fine and not impacting his ability to drive the ball This quote from Purdy about his confidence is a credo for any quarterback and worth pointing out in light of the Panthers Bryce Young cracking Monday night and Shedeur Sanders first home start upcoming in Cleveland on Sunday You feel a little bit of pressure and stuff but this is why we re put in this position I can handle this Purdy noted As a quarterback you can t lose confidence in yourself You can t shrivel back and then all of a sudden take a bunch of checkdowns and stuff You still have to read the play out and stay aggressive and be better You ve got to learn from your mistakes too On the horizon in the ers final two home games are No overall picks the past two drafts Cam Ward Titans Dec and Caleb Williams Bears Dec BIG COMPETITION BROWN Ji Ayir Brown entered with four interceptions including one off Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl His only one last season came Oct against Dallas How did he pull of Monday s daily double Seeing Bryce looking down the middle of the field it looked like he d scramble at first then stopped so I read his eyes and jumped it Brown disclosed The second one same thing just reading his eyes It was tight coverage by Renardo Green I jumped in front of that and made a play for the company Brown had interceptions in games at Penn State enticing the ers to grab him with their top draft pick albeit in the third round Big ups to Tig Very proud of him Jauan Jennings revealed of his locker-mate We want more for him because that s what it s about a guy making a name for himself SAM O S WISE WORDS Defensive end Sam Okuayinonu delivered an inspiring message Saturday night to teammates perhaps culling from his prime-time performance last season in which he had a sack and three quarterback hits in defeating Dallas Sam O spoke about opportunity and a lot of guys felt that story Brown noted Tonight was a night to have an opportunity to show the world what the ers defense is you know being down certain of our best players The guys did a great job doing that tonight LEAGUE-LEADING CMC McCaffrey might do something no one has ever done lead the NFL in both carries and receptions His carries are more than the Colts Jonathan Taylor one less meeting and his receptions are one more than the NFC West s Jaxon Smith-Njigba Seahawks Puka Nacua Rams and Trey McBride Cardinals McCaffrey s -yard touchdown run marked his th touchdown this season tying for the league s third the greater part An obvious storyline was McCaffrey behind extra motivated to face a Panthers club that traded him three years ago but if you know him like we think you do since his Stanford days he s All-Pro Intense no matter the opponent That s a thoroughly new unit than when I was there so it s really just business once the ball is snapped McCaffrey reported LOW BLOW When the NFL issues discipline for late-game transgressions Jauan Jennings fine ought not to be greater than that doled out to the Panthers Tre Von Moehrig who seemingly could even draw a suspension for punching his left hand into Jennings groin area after a McCaffrey run with minutes remaining That explained why Jennings went after Moehrig after the championship and was pulled away by Panthers linebacker Krys Barnes Shanahan called it a cheap shot and was proud of Jennings initial restraint As for the postgame scene I was just responding to me particular childish behavior Jennings disclosed That was just out of nowhere It s possibly the history of me playing ball I play hard I m physically stronger than a lot of DBs Moehrig explained reporters Jennings had been talking crazy after plays and pushed him in the back PENALTY TREND Neither Moehrig nor Jennings drew a penalty during the challenge The ers got penalized twice unnecessary roughness on Jordan Elliott on a point-after kick that the Panthers made then took away the point to try in vain for a -point conversion and a delay-of-game call on a three-and-out series in the fourth quarter The ers were penalized only once their previous encounter Of the Panthers four penalties two were for holding Bryce Huff and another was for intentional grounding reflecting well on a ers pass rush that officially had just one sack by Clelin Ferrell ROBINSON REFLECTS Curtis Robinson stated he necessities to tackle better after notching just three in his first career start at middle linebacker in place of the injured Fred Warner and Tatum Bethune A year ago however Robinson was coming off reconstructive knee surgery after an ACL tear just days before he would have replaced Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles in the lineup Robinson disclosed of Monday s starting debut It meant the world to me It s been really tough I mentioned this to the defense last night It s been really intricate this whole week for me not to really reflect on the whole journey and just keep it about the crew keep it about the defense It was a huge moment for me And so to be able to come out the other side with a huge win on Monday night and certainly be able to reflect on you know how long it s been and what I had to go through to get here I m grateful more than I could ever explain URGENT AWAY Related Articles Photos San Francisco ers prevail over Carolina Panthers for - NFL win ers record card vs Panthers Stellar defense erases offensive mistakes Ji Ayir Brown s interceptions outweigh Brock Purdy s in ers MNF win Kurtenbach The ers got away with one against the Panthers It better be one-and-done What the ers declared after beating the Panthers Still neighMcCaffrey nor any ers rusher has busted a run longer than yards There s a lot of things schematically we tried tonight that we were one block off or two initiatives from springing a pretty big play center Jake Brendel explained We just have to get in the film get that stuff corrected Brendel complimented the Panthers stout defensive front before noting that the ers felt they left a lot of yards out there Kittle on ESPN s postgame show echoed that frustration and revealed the ers should be scoring points routinely BROWNS ON DECK Purdy was not sacked Monday The ers have allowed just one sack the past three games and all season eighth fewest in the NFL They ll get Tuesday off before their next challenge win in Cleveland for the first time since after losing their past four visits Sunday they ll oppose the Browns Myles Garrett who has sacks on his own quarterback hits Cleveland has collected sacks in all seven shy of the Broncos NFL lead Defensive tackle Maliek Collins has sacks after totaling five last year for the ers before his March release We have to heal up and make sure everyone is ready to go Brendel commented Yeah it s a short week but nothing we haven t done before We just have to get in here and install the contest plan and make sure everyone is recovered physically The only injury disclosed postgame Okuayinonu s ankle from which he briefly returned The NFC playoff picture The ers remain in the seventh and final spot However their - record in conference games is unmatched The No Rams are - with a - NFC mark which could come into play regarding tiebreakers San Francisco ers quarterback Brock Purdy looks to pass in the second quarter of their NFL contest against the Carolina Panthers at Levi s Stadium in Santa Clara Calif on Monday Nov Jane Tyska Bay Area News Group