The Week 7 highlight and the one play everyone missed that helped 49ers rookie prove what was already obvious
Ever since the Week 3 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams in which Ronnie Bell dropped a fourth-quarter catch that likely would have sealed victory, there have been questions about Jacob Cowing's lack of involvement in the San Francisco 49ers' offense. After an injury-hindered offseason, Cowing thrived in the preseason games with the New Orleans […]
Ever since the Week 3 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams in which Ronnie Bell dropped a fourth-quarter catch that likely would have sealed victory, there have been questions about Jacob Cowing's lack of involvement in the San Francisco 49ers' offense.
After an injury-hindered offseason, Cowing thrived in the preseason games with the New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders, displaying the speed and route-running craft to suggest he could make an instant impact as a fourth-round pick.
It was no surprise his opportunities were limited when Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings were all healthy. However, Bell's drop in a game Samuel missed through injury saw the apparent receiver pecking order attract significant scrutiny.
Bell has continued to play more offensive snaps than Cowing regardless of which receivers the 49ers have had available. The 2023 seventh-round pick has been in for 83 offensive plays, compared to just 17 for Cowing, despite Bell having little positive impact on the receiving game.
Though he was not at fault for the interception Brock Purdy threw while targeting him in last week's defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs, Bell may now see the balance shift in Cowing's favor after the latter's cameo effort against the Chiefs.
Cowing had his first NFL catch on a screen pass in the second quarter, but it was a pair of second-half plays that served to illustrate why he should be on the field more often.
The first will have been missed by everyone watching the broadcast, as it came on a run by Jordan Mason. Cowing was not involved in the blocking, instead he ran a route against a defender lined up in man coverage.
Nazeeh Johnson had no idea the 49ers were running the ball. Had Purdy thrown it, he would have had no answer for Cowing's route, which saw him rapidly chop his feet before using his right foot and his head to fake an outside release. Cowing then displayed hugely impressive fluidity to burst back inside, gaining leverage and huge amounts of separation.
Of course, it is difficult to get too excited about a play on which the 49ers didn't even attempt a pass. However, a few plays later, Cowing delivered an even more intriguing demonstration of his potential.
Cowing ran a perfect curl pump double move against the coverage of Johnson to break free down the right sideline and reel in a 41-yard reception from Purdy, who delivered an underthrown ball amid some push from the Chiefs' interior defensive line. Had Purdy succeeded in leading Cowing to the ball, it likely would have been a touchdown to lift the 49ers back within one score.
Route-running prowess, speed and explosive playmaking ability are all things Cowing his in his locker, and with Aiyuk out for the season and Samuel's status for Week 8 up in the air after he spent time in the hospital with pneumonia, he is likely to finally get increased opportunity to demonstrate those traits.
Speaking about Cowing and first-round receiver Ricky Pearsall, who made his NFL debut against the Chiefs 50 days on from being shot through the chest, head coach Kyle Shanahan said:
"We had to mix a lot of stuff around there in the second quarter and halftime, or mainly halftime, and those guys were some in spots they didn’t get reps at. And for the most part they didn’t make too many mistakes and gave us a chance to get back in the game and gave us a chance to win. Hopefully we can build off of that. These guys are going to get a lot more reps going forward with B.A. being out, with [WR] Jauan [Jennings] and Deebo, not sure if we’ll get them back this week or not. So it was a good start for those guys and they should have a lot more coming."
There's a lot more coming for Cowing and it's been a long time coming.
Shanahan is famously tough on his receivers and demands a lot of them, which likely explains Cowing's extended wait for his chance.
But it was clear as early as preseason that Cowing should have been ahead of Bell in the pecking order. After proving that point on just two plays versus Kansas City, hopefully now that order will be reorganized.
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It would make a lot of sense.
