Stunning NextGen Stats Highlight 49ers’ Dominance Against Pats originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The 49ers made several stunning plays in their defeat the New England Patriots Sunday at Levi’s Stadium and NextGen Stats highlighted how some players defied the odds to achieve this.
The most memorable play of the game was George Kittle’s touchdown run while he was covered by three Patriots defenders. The 12-yard touchdown reception had a completion probability of 14.2 percent, which is the fourth most improbable among all receivers and the most improbable by a tight end over four weeks.
Kittle’s touchdown was possible thanks to quarterback Brock Purdy’s 3.47 seconds to throw, which was the longest in Week 4. Purdy used that time to throw the ball deep for an average of 19, 2 yards per completion.
Purdy’s average predicted air yards mark of 14.5 topped the NFL and his completed air yards mark of 13.4 was the highest and almost double the distance of the second highest mark of 7.7 yards by Minnesota Vikings signal-caller Sam Darnold.
Purdy posted a completion percentage over 5.6 percent above expectations, which was the seventh highest of the week. Of his total throws, 29.6 percent were considered aggressive, which puts him at the top of the league.
Jordan Mason recorded 24 carries for 123 rushing yards and a touchdown against a stacked box on 54.17 percent of his carries, which was second-most in the league. The running back’s plus-37 rushing yards above expectation ranks fifth with 54.2 percent of his carries being successful. on the expected mileage.
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk may have only caught two of his five targets on Sunday, but the wide receiver was the only one with an average cushion of less than 3.0 yards in Week 4 (2.4 yards). The Arizona State product averaged 1.9 yards of separation (tied for 11th lowest) on his five targets, but his average of 17.7 air yards on target was fourth highest.
On the defensive side of the ball, Nick Bosa led the defensive line with nine pressures on Sunday, nearly matching his total of 10 pressures from the previous three weeks combined. The All-Pro’s speed is what’s most remarkable. Bosa averaged a pass time of 0.51 seconds, the fastest of any defender in a game against the last 7 seasons (min. 20 passes).
Bosa’s fourth-quarter sack was completed in 2.60 seconds, which was the fastest in Week 4 and tied for the fifth-fastest of the season.
The 49ers return to the practice field Wednesday to prepare against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5 at Levi’s Stadium.
