A team that lost by two touchdowns in Week 1 to another that won three games last season.
asserted
that → lose → games
But wait, watch out: It might be a trap.
uncertain
It → wait → ?
In all likelihood, the 49ers will improve to 2-0 this week against the Dolphins.
asserted
49ers → improve → Dolphins
But not if they look past Jeff Hafley’s lowly roster, the youngest and least experienced in the NFL.
asserted
they → look → NFL
The Dolphins might be the closest thing the league has to a college team, but there’s a reason why the phrase is “Any given Sunday,” not “Any given Saturday.”
Layer on top any lingering effects from their Week 1 trip to Australia and this one has all the makings of one of those games on the schedule that can trip up the better team.
uncertain
that → have → team
Kyle Shanahan is making sure that isn’t lost on his players.
asserted
that → make → players
“I think the greatness in our team in general is having a head coach like Kyle Shanahan who paints the picture perfectly for the situation week to week,” linebacker Fred Warner said.
asserted
Warner → think → week
“He did that exact same thing this week, letting us know the challenges that the Dolphins present and the challenge that we have as a team to really get better coming off the Rams game.”
asserted
we → do → game
The Niners will play their second straight football game following almost 16 hours in the air.
asserted
Niners → play → air
They looked no worse for the wear in their 27-7 win over the Rams, and they’ll have had even more time to readjust when they take the field at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.
asserted
they → look → Sunday
Still, it’s just one more possible complication in a game that should under normal circumstances produce one of the widest margins of victory of the season.
asserted
that → ’ → season
Bettors haven’t been dissuaded, with the spread growing even wider in the Niners’ favor, up to 13 ½ points a day before kickoff.
asserted
spread → dissuade → kickoff
“I mean, it’s the National Football League,” defensive coordinator Raheem Morris said.
asserted
Morris → mean → ?
“You better come ready every single week, or there’s a piece of humble pie waiting around the corner for you.
asserted
You → come → you
Our head coach preaches that.
asserted
coach → preach → that
It’s our building.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
It’s the mentality.”
asserted
It → ’ → ?
Hafley is searching for his first win as a head coach, and surely it would be satisfying to come at his former place of work.
asserted
it → search → work
He was on the same coaching staff as Shanahan in Cleveland and became his defensive backs coach for his first two seasons in San Francisco.
asserted
He → become → Francisco
As Packers defensive coordinator in 2024, he bottled up Christian McCaffrey for 31 yards while limiting Shanahan’s offense to one of its worst outputs of the season in a 38-10 win.
asserted
he → bottle → win
That said, Brock Purdy presents somewhat more of a challenge than Brandon Allen.
asserted
Purdy → say → Allen
If familiarity helps bridge the talent disparity, Miami has another brain to pick in offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, who was also one of Shanahan’s first assistants in San Francisco.
asserted
who → help → Francisco
Shanahan called Hafley “one of the best coaches I’ve been around,” so he’s not allowing his team to take the Dolphins for granted.
asserted
team → call → Dolphins
Although they were handed a decisive defeat by the Raiders in Hafley’s debut, Shanahan took note of the tenacity of their defense, “even though the game was over on play 67 and they’re just running the clock out.”
asserted
they → hand → clock
Could they be setting themselves up for a trap game?
uncertain
they → set → game
Does it seem like they’re allowing themselves to fall for it?
asserted
themselves → seem → it
“To say you don’t worry about it, I’d be lying,” Morris said.
asserted
Morris → say → it
“But we’re definitely going to teach that message.”
asserted
we → go → message
Marquee matchup: De’Von Achane vs. 49ers’ front seven
The talent gap between these teams is so wide that even the remotest possibility of an upset hinges on the Dolphins’ ability to break off an explosive play or three, and it probably isn’t coming from Malik Willis in the passing game.
asserted
it → hinge → game
He set an NFL record (minimum 100 attempts) averaging 5.7 yards per carry last season, and defensive coordinator Raheem Morris acknowledged that the diminutive-but-explosive 5-foot-8 running back “presents a lot of challenges for us,” adding that he “gets mistaken [for] an outside runner, but he lowers his pads, he runs for the extra yards … then, if you’re not careful, he can make a really explosive run or catch.”
asserted
he → set → run
That could be especially true for Morris’ unit, which allowed the Rams to average 5.1 yards per attempt on the ground in the first half of their Week 1 win.
uncertain
Rams → allow → win
The score: 49ers 28, Dolphins 17
No amount of jet lag should prevent the Niners from improving to 2-0 against a Miami team that may contend for the worst record in the league when it’s all said and done.
uncertain
it → prevent → league
Hafley had his team in wine country this week adjusting to the time difference — three hours? pfft — and they’ll reward the first-year coach with a better effort than Week 1 against the Raiders and at least keep it within two touchdowns.
asserted
they → have → touchdowns
Kyle Shanahan said he “felt like crap” at first after the 49ers got home from Australia, but the head coach and most of his players seemed to be back to their normal selves by the time they began to install their game plan for the Dolphins.
asserted
they → say → Dolphins
San Francisco did everything to set itself up to come home from its almost 8,000-mile Week 1 trip with a win.
asserted
Francisco → do → win
Now, it’s the Niners’ job to get back on the routines they’ll be on for the rest of the season.
asserted
they → ’ → season
EXPERIENCE COUNTS:
asserted
EXPERIENCE → count → ?
Even if the Niners aren’t quite themselves, they should still be able to sleepwalk through this game.
asserted
they → sleepwalk → game
Like their coach’s Tesla, they can put it in autopilot mode.
asserted
they → put → mode
That’s because this will be Shanahan’s, George Kittle’s and Kyle Juszczyk’s 10th home opener at Levi’s Stadium.
asserted
this → ’ → Stadium
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
