Sunday: 3:25 p.m. at Levi's Stadium (Ch. 9 and KFAN-FM 100.3)
ABOUT THE 49ERS
• The 49ers (5-5) jumped to a 20-3 lead and didn't look back in last week's 30-10 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Elusive receiver Deebo Samuel again worked out of the backfield as San Francisco deals with running back injuries, finishing with 79 rushing yards and a touchdown on eight carries.
• Starting running back Raheem Mostert is on injured reserve, and Elijah Mitchell and JaMycal Hasty missed last week's win because of injuries. Their defense could get a boost as edge rusher Dee Ford and linebacker Dre Greenlaw may return Sunday from injured reserve, according to 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan.
• Tight end George Kittle returned from IR and has caught a touchdown in three consecutive games. He's one of the NFL's best blockers at the position, creating holes for the run game, aside from dominating as a receiver after the catch.
• Only four NFL defenders have more sacks than 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa, who leads San Francisco with 10 sacks and 15 tackles for losses. Bosa, 24, has returned from the torn ACL that ended his 2020 season and resumed being the 49ers' best defender.
PLAYER SPEAK | QB Jimmy Garoppolo
• Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has held onto the starting job over rookie first-round pick Trey Lance, the Marshall, Minn., native and North Dakota State product selected third overall. Garoppolo has ceded only one start to Lance because of injury, and he's been efficient in back-to-back wins.
• Garoppolo has completed 75.6% of his passes for 358 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions in wins against the Rams and Jaguars. Turnovers were a problem for Garoppolo to start the season, but he's committed only one in his past four starts.
• Garoppolo on targeting left tackle Trent Williams on a goal-line incompletion: "I told him I was throwing it to you whether you were triple- or quadruple-covered. It was a tough one. The catches he made in practice; he had a nice one-hander in practice. He can do it. We'll save that one."
• Garoppolo on two long drives, 18 and 20 plays, in back-to-back weeks: "It starts with their exhaustion. That many plays on the field, in this humidity [in Jacksonville]. This was more of a grinder-type drive. Last week was just running-it-down-their-throat type of thing. This week was a little different."
COACH SPEAK | Kyle Shanahan
• Kyle Shanahan is in his fifth season as 49ers head coach with a 34-40 record (.459) in the regular season and 2-1 in one playoff appearance. San Francisco's offense has been middling under Shanahan, and the 49ers rank 13th in yardage and 16th in points this season.
• Shanahan, the former Falcons coordinator, has evolved a system that has spread throughout the NFL, including in Minnesota. The 49ers' brand leans heavily on a varied rushing attack and play fakes that set up receivers in catch-and-run situations.
• Shanahan on Garoppolo's future: "It's nothing against Jimmy that we took him, but we do believe Trey will be our guy of the future. Like I said, I think it'll be really hard if Jimmy's on it for him to beat him out right away. So it's kind of going like that right now."
• Shanahan on how moving Samuel around helps attack defenses: "Man coverage, who's got him when he's outside? Who's got him in the backfield? Those are different run fits, could confuse linebackers and stuff like that on the runs and the passes. You just have to account for everything, same with motions and where guys line up."