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Juice disappointed he fumbled rare rushing opportunity in 49ers’ loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The 49ers’ run game was going well until it wasn’t in their 35-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Highmark Stadium.
Not only did the team lose Christian McCaffrey to what could be a season-ending knee injury early in the game, but Kyle Juszczyk also fumbled the ball on the 1-yard line to begin the second half when a score seemed very likely. A touchdown would have cut the Bills’ lead to a more manageable 11 points, and would have given the 49ers much-needed momentum.
“[Bills safety Taylor Rapp] got a good shot on it,” Juszczyk said after the game. “I felt like I had it locked up, and [Rapp] punched right on it and it was a good play by him.”
With the 49ers so close to the goal line, the logical choice would appear for coach Kyle Shanahan to have a play ready for the game’s leading rusher, Jordan Mason. But the third-year running back was on the sideline being evaluated for a concussion.
Rookie Isaac Guerendo was on the field during the gaffe, but the ball went to the veteran fullback Juszczyk instead. Shanahan explained his decision after the game.
“We do a lot on the goal line — we thought it was a good scheme run for the fronts [the Bills] always play down there,” Shanahan said. “It’s tough to run it versus their zero looks, and we thought it was a good schemed up play to run an inverse there and felt really good about it.
“I don’t think Kyle’s fumbled the ball in a long time. I can’t remember the last time he did it … They stripped him, and they made a good play.”
Juszczyk clearly was disappointed with his fumble, which seemed to suck the momentum out of a 49ers team that had come out of the halftime break with positive energy.
“Extremely,” Juszczyk said of his frustration level. “I don’t get a ton of opportunities, so every one them means so much to me. So when something like that happens, I take it…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/juice-disappointed-fumbled-rare-rushing-065900212.html
Author : NBC Sports BayArea
Publish date : 2024-12-02 06:59:00
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