SANTA CLARA — Alfred Collins turns 24 on Wednesday, but he felt Monday as if he’d already had his celebration.
The 49ers’ rookie defensive tackle came through with a game-saving play in Thursday night’s 26-23 overtime road win over the Los Angeles Rams. Los Angeles had first-and-goal at the 3-yard line with 1:07 left in regulation, quarterback Matthew Stafford gave the ball to Kyren Williams, and the Rams were poised to begin celebrating an apparent 27-23 win.
Collins, a second-round draft pick out of Texas, made a perfect swipe at the ball, and lo and behold, there it was right in front of him on the ground to recover.
“I don’t know if I even saw it,” Collins said Monday. “I thought they scored, and then the ball’s right there. It was awesome to make that play for my team. I mean, just seeing everybody’s faces made me happy. It took all of us and that’s big.”
How did it feel?
“It felt like my birthday,” Collins said.
After a 49ers punt, the Rams wound up tying the game 23-23 on a 48-yard field goal by Joshua Karty, setting up overtime. Collins and his defensive line mates weren’t done. After Eddy Piñeiro kicked a 41-yard field goal on the 49ers’ first possession, the Rams drove all the way to the 49ers’ 11 and were faced with fourth-and-1.
Williams was stuffed for no gain. Game over. Linebacker Fred Warner said afterward the Rams essentially telegraphed that they intended to play “big boy” football and run on fourth down. Collins said the 49ers weren’t surprised.
“I mean, just the way their body position was, you knew it was going to be a run,” Collins said. “It’s just football IQ and watching film.”
In recovery mode
The 49ers went through a brief walkthrough-style practice designed to do no more than get their muscles some work after three days off. The 49ers needed them too after what coach Kyle Shanahan called one of the “most exhausting” regular-season games he’s been a part of in nine years as a head coach.
The one notable move was starting the window on safety Malik Mustapha, who has been on the Physically Unable to Perform list after offseason ACL surgery. The 49ers have 21 days to either activate Mustapha or place him on injured reserve for the season.
In theory, Mustapha could be activated for Sunday’s road showdown with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a battle of 4-1 teams. The 49ers aren’t likely to rush him, however. Rookie Marques Sigle and veteran Jason Pinnock have taken every snap at the safety spots through five games.
Mustapha, a fourth-round draft pick out of Wake Forest, played in 16 games as a rookie, including 12 starts, with 72 tackles and five passes defensed. Mustapha was not available for comment after practice.
During the brief media window for a “bonus” practice, quarterback Brock Purdy wasn’t present, while tight end George Kittle (hamstring), Collins (knee), wide receiver Jordan Watkins (calf) and cornerback Upton Stout (ankle).
Collins said his knee felt fine.
Mac Jones was on the field with No. 3 quarterback Adrian Martinez and was in uniform, but was wearing a left knee brace and wasn’t doing much while the media was present. Wide receiver Jauan Jennings was in uniform but it isn’t known if he actually practiced, as he has been hampered by ankle and rib injuries. Ricky Pearsall Jr. (knee) wasn’t present, and neither was Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey, the NFL leader with 130 touches, has been getting regular veteran days off.
Shanahan was unavailable for comment and the 49ers aren’t required to update injuries until Wednesday.
Puni gets his rest
Right guard Dominick Puni played all of the 86 snaps and by the time he got on the team bus in Los Angeles he was spent.
“That was the highest snap count I ever played in the NFL,” Puni said. “To do it on a Thursday with minimum rest shows the grittiness of our team. We keep fighting and we haven’t given up yet. I think that’s why we keep winning these games.”
The short flight home was a welcome one.
“I was dead. Getting on the bus after the shower I think I cramped up four or five times,” Puni said. “That’s the most exhausted I’ve been after a game for sure.”
Piñeiro’s career-long
Place kicker Eddy Piñeiro had never kicked a 59-yard field goal in an NFL game, but felt pretty good after warmups at the roofed SoFi Stadium.
“Pregame, I remember hitting 58 both ways,” Piñeiro said. “There’s no wind in there.”
Shanahan said afterward he might consider an even longer attempt in the future after Piñeiro connected on the longest of his four field goals.
It has been a whirlwind for Piñeiro, who replaced Jake Moody after the opener and is 11-for-11 on field goal attempts. He quickly bonded with holder Thomas Morstead and long-snapper Jon Weeks and has been well received by teammates.
A veteran place kicker, Piñeiro is amazed by the distances kickers are routinely reaching with 60-yard attempts as common as 100-mile-per-hour fastballs.
“These guys are hitting some big balls and you’ve got to catch up,” Piñeiro said. When I first got in the league eight years ago, if you hit a 55-yarder you were the man. Now if you don’t hit it, you were supposed to make it.”
Related Articles
49ers mailbag: Which players might return for NFC showdown with Bucs?
Eddy Piñeiro one of five 49ers who have thrived in `next man up’ season
Trump advisor suggests ICE could be present at Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium
49ers’ Kyle Shanahan thought Mac Jones was done . . . and then he went back on the field
Inman: 10 things that caught my eye in 49ers’ overtime win over Rams
Piñeiro was late getting back to the locker room after the 49ers’ win, as Shanahan noted postgame, but it was for good reason.
“I was trying to come inside but they wouldn’t let me because they were making me do some Spanish interviews,” Piñeiro said.
Psycho CMC fined
Shanahan occasionally refers to McCaffrey as a psycho (it’s meant as a compliment), but the 49ers running back will be paying out of pocket for using his helmet as a weapon while attempting to tackle Jacksonville linebacker Devin Lloyd after a third-quarter interception by Purdy.
McCaffrey leaked out of the backfield and Purdy overthrew him in the third quarter, with the ball going to Lloyd. McCaffrey then lowered his head and drove it into Lloyd. Lloyd bounced off the tackle attempt and was brought down by Jake Tonges. Neither player was hurt, but the NFL docked McCaffrey $23,186.
