San Francisco 49ers cornerback Greg Mabin worked his way onto the field Sunday after first taking care of business on the practice field.
Mabin played 29 of the 49ers’ 68 defensive snaps in the 49ers' 29-27 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, as the team attempted to compensate for the loss of cornerback Richard Sherman. Mabin played 18 snaps in place of Ahkello Witherspoon and 11 plays at Jimmie Ward’s spot.
“We had a plan to put Mabin in going in,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “It was more about Mabin, and how he has been practicing the last couple of weeks. He had a great week at practice, and we thought he deserved it. We planned on him going in the game spelling Ahkello and Ward a little bit. When he did go in and got his opportunity, he was playing at a pretty high level so we kept him in.”
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The Chargers targeted Mabin five times, catching two passes for 18 yards against him, according to Pro Football Focus. Mabin also forced a fumble.
Witherspoon gave up five receptions on eight targets for 39 yards and a touchdown, and the Chargers caught two of the four passes thrown at Ward for 28 yards.
The 49ers improved their tackling Sunday. One week after missing 17 tackles at Kansas City, the 49ers had seven missed tackles on defense against the Chargers, according to PFF. Antone Exum had three missed tackles, with four other players missing one tackle apiece.
However, the 49ers struggled to tackle on special teams with five missed tackles. Tyvis Powell had two missed tackles, according to PFF.
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In other notes from PFF:
-- George Kittle is the analytic service’s top-ranked tight end in the NFL. He ranks second in the NFL with an average of 2.87 yards per pass route. O.J. Howard of Tampa Bay leads the league at 2.88 yards.
-- Defensive lineman Arik Armstead led the defense with four pressures on his 20 pass rushes.
-- Solomon Thomas played a season-high 49 snaps, including 27 pass-rush downs, but managed only one pressure.
-- The 49ers' 51 missed tackles on defense is the worst in the NFL.
Here are the total numbers of snaps of every 49ers player who saw action Sunday:
Offense
Total offensive snaps: 60
Quarterback – C.J. Beathard 60
Running back – Matt Breida 38, Kyle Juszczyk 37, Alfred Morris 14, Raheem Mosert 1, Earl Mitchell 1
Wide receiver – Pierre Garçon 48, Marquise Goodwin 37, Trent Taylor 31, Kendrick Bourne 25
Tight end – George Kittle 50, Garrett Celek 17
Offensive line – Laken Tomlinson 60, Mike Person 60, Weston Richburg 60, Mike McGlinchey 57, Garry Gilliam 37, Joe Staley 24, Erik Magnuson 3
Defense
Total defensive snaps: 68
Defensive line – DeForest Buckner 52, Solomon Thomas 49, Arik Armstead 38, Ronald Blair 31, Cassius Marsh 28, Sheldon Day 24, D.J. Jones 17
Linebacker – Fred Warner 68, Reuben Foster 68, Malcolm Smith 23
Defensive back – Antone Exum 68, D.J. Reed 68, Jimmie Ward 57, Ahkello Witherspoon 50, K’Waun Williams 45, Greg Mabin 29
Special teams
Total special teams plays: 32
Mark Nzeocha 26, Elijah Lee 26, Tarvarius Moore 25, Tyvis Powell 20, Mostert 20, Bradley Pinion 16, Adrian Colbert 16, Mabin 16, Cole Wick 15, Marsh 15, Warner 15, Ward 15, Exum 13, Buckner 12, Reid 11, Celek 11, Kyle Nelson 10, Mitchell 6, Armstead 6, Robbie Gould 5, Tomlinson 5, McGlinchey 5, Gilliam 5, Juszczyk 5, Thomas 5, Jones 5, Taylor 4, Person 3, Magnuson 3, Richburg 2, Staley 2, Witherspoon 2, Smith 2, Dante Pettis 1, Foster 1, Williams 1, Blair 1, Day 1