49ers vs. Dolphins Week 13 Live Blog

This game will teach us so much about who the 49ers are.
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SANTA CLARA -- This is the live blog for the San Francisco 49ers' Week 13 game against the Miami Dolphins. I will update this frequently with information and analysis from the press box.

11:28 The 49ers allegedly are open to re-signing Jimmy Garoppolo at the end of the season and Garoppolo apparently is open to an extension as well, according to the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. This seems like shocking news, but it's important to remember that reports like this surfaced roughly a year ago as well. Then Garoppolo got injured in December, played poorly in the regular season, the 49ers tried to trade him and failed, he had surgery, they cut his salary and he became a backup quarterback. Now he's in the middle of another hot stretch. Before the 49ers give him any kind of extension, he needs to stay healthy for the rest of the season, play well in a playoff game for the first time in his career and win the Super Bowl. Anything short of that, and I believe the 49ers will let Garoppolo walk and stick with Trey Lance. And frankly, even if Garoppolo wins the Super Bowl, they should not give him a lucrative three-year extension. Because right now, he's a bargain. If he's making more than $30 million per season, he's an albatross, and paying him could make it impossible for the 49ers to pay Nick Bosa as well. And Bosa is a much more important player than Garoppolo. So I guess I'm skeptical of this report.

11:40 Here are the 49ers' inactives: Spencer Burford, Ross Dwelley, T.Y. McGill and Curtis Robinson.

12:38 The last time Jimmy Garoppolo faced the Dolphins, he completed just 7 of 17 passes and threw for a mere 77 yards and two touchdowns before he left the game at halftime with an injury. It was one of the worst performances of his career, and it came against Dolphins defensive coordinator Josh Boyer, who's still with Miami. Boyer started his career in New England where he spent a few seasons with Garoppolo, which means Boyer seems to know how to defend him.

1:03 The 49ers win the toss and defer. The Dolphins will receive the opening kickoff.

FIRST QUARTER

1:06 First play of the game, Tua Tagovailoa throws a 75-yard touchdown pass to Trent Sherfield, who ran a simple seam route and was uncovered. Embarrassing start for the 49ers.

49ers 0, Dolphins 7.

1:14 On 3rd and 6 from the Dolphins 19, Jimmy Garoppolo gets sacked for a loss of 10. Linebacker Jerome Baker was completely unblocked. Next play, Robbie Gould makes a 47-yard field goal. Brandon Aiyuk made a 23-yard catch and Christian McCaffrey made a 33-yard catch on the drive. The Dolphins seem to daring Garoppolo to throw deep.

49ers 3, Dolphins 7.

1:20 On 3rd and 6 from the Dolphins 28, Fred Warner breaks up a pass over the middle intended for Sherfield, and Miami goes 3 and out. After the punt, the 49ers take over at their 46.

1:21 Jimmy Garoppolo has an ankle injury and his return is questionable. Wow.

1:31 On 1st and goal from the 3, Purdy throws a touchdown pass to Kyle Juszczyk. That drive was the result of a dreadful defensive pass interference penalty against Brandon Aiyuk on 3rd and 10.

49ers 10, Dolphins 7.

1:37 On 3rd and 7 from the Dolphins 28, Tagovailoa throws a one-hopper to Jaylen Wadde and the Dolphins go 3 and out again. Tagovailoa missed an open Waddle twice on that series and does not look comfortable in the pocket.

1:45 On 3rd and 2 from the Dolphins 46, McCaffrey runs up the middle for a loss of 3. Kyle Shanahan still hasn't figured out that McCaffrey isn't a short-yardage back. He needs to give these carries to Jordan Mason, who's averaging 11 yards per carry today. After the punt, Miami takes over at its 10.

SECOND QUARTER

1:58 On 3rd and 1 from the 49ers 17, Nick Bosa sacks Tagovailoa for a loss of 8. Next play, the Dolphins make a 43-yard field goal to tie the game.

49ers 10, Dolphins 10.

2:04 On 3rd and 5 from the 49ers 30, the Dolphins blitz and create an unblocked rusher, Purdy throws to his hot route, Deebo Samuel, who doesn't make the catch, and the 49ers go 3 and out. Samuel has zero receiving yards on 3 targets to go with zero rushing yards on one carry. After the punt, the Dolphins take over at their 28.

2:05 Garoppolo has a foot injury and is out for the rest of the game.

2:08 The Dolphins call three straight passes, Tua misses two open receivers and Miami goes 3 and out again. He's playing really poorly and letting the 49ers off the hook. After the punt, the 49ers take over at their 22.

2:17 On 4th and 4 from the Miami 39, Brock Purdy throws deep to Brandon Aiyuk and gets intercepted by Xavien Howard. Aiyuk was not open and the pass was underthrown. The Dolphins take over at their 19.

2:22 On 3rd and 8 from the Dolphins 39, Bosa sacks Tagovailoa again, and Miami goes 4 and out. After the punt, the 49ers take over at their 24 with 2:48 left.

2:36 On 3rd and goal from the 3, Purdy calmly throws a touchdown pass to a wide open Christian McCaffrey with four seconds left in the half. Excellent drive from Purdy, who converted a 3rd and 10 while taking a hit by completing a 19-yard pass over the middle to George Kittle.

49ers 17, Dolphins 10.

2:44 McCaffrey is dominating the game -- 17 of the 49ers 25 snaps have been touches for him -- and the Dolphins have not adjusted their coverage to take away him as a receiver.

THIRD QUARTER

2:57 On 3rd and 6 from the 49ers 49, Brock Purdy gets sacked by Melvin Ingram for a loss of 11. Mike McGlinchey got beat. After the punt, Tarvarius Moore commits a 15-yard unsportsmalike conduct penalty, so the Dolphins take over at their 38.

3:04 On 1st and 25 from the 49ers 43, Jimmie Ward intercepts Tagovailoa, who was under pressure. He threw a wild pass to Jeff Wilson Jr. who fell. The 49ers take over at their 36.

3:16 On 3rd and 14 from the Miami 27, Purdy throws a quick screen pass to Brandon Aiyuk who gains just two yards. Next play, Robbie Gould makes a 43-yard field goal. After the play, the Dolphins commit a 15-yard penalty that will be enforced on the kickoff.

49ers 20, Dolphins 10.

3:21 First play of the drive, Tagovailoa rolls left, sails a pass over Tyreek Hill and gets intercepted by Deommodore Lenoir. Just a horrendous pass. The 49ers take over at the Miami 25.

3:24 On 3rd and 5 from the 49ers 20, Purdy checks down to McCaffrey for two yards. Next play, Gould makes a 36-yard field goal.

49ers 23, Dolphins 10.

FOURTH QUARTER

3:34 On 1st and 10 from the 49ers 45, Charvarius Ward gives up a long touchdown catch to Tyreek Hill. Looks like the 49ers were in four-deep zone coverage and safety Talanoa Hufanga reacted to a receiver in front of him, which opened up the long throw. Samson Ebukam was injured on the play.

49ers 23, Dolphins 17.

3:43 On 3rd and 4 from the Miami 43, Purdy gets hit as he throws an errant deep pass intended for Jauan Jennings. After the punt, the Dolphins take over at their 10.

3:58 On 4th and 2 from the 49ers 36, Dre Greenlaw breaks up a pass intended for Mike Gesicki, and the Dolphins turn the ball over on downs. What a clutch series by the defense with 6:00 left.

4:10 The 49ers make a long field goal with 2:03 left.

49ers 26, Dolphins 17.

4:13 The 49ers take the ball from Tagovailoa and return it for a touchdown. This game is over stay. What a statement win by the 49ers. Stay tuned for their grades.

49ers 33, Dolphins 17.


Published
Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.