David Newton
Nick Wagoner
Nick Wagoner
ESPN Staff Writer
Nick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In over a decade with the company, Nick has led ESPN’s coverage of the Niners’ 2019 and 2023 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick’s protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam’s subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team’s relocation and stadium saga.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Though the bruised and battered San Francisco 49ers haven’t had many aesthetically pleasing wins this season, they have found ways to get the victory.
It happened again Monday night, as the Niners overcame a litany of first-half mistakes to knock off the Carolina Panthers 20-9 in a game that figures to be pivotal in the NFC playoff chase.
With the win, the 49ers improved to 8-4, including 7-2 against NFC opponents. Carolina fell to 6-6 and 4-3 in NFC games.
According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Niners bolstered their playoff hopes from 86% to 91.3% and put the Panthers’ chances in peril, as they dropped from 22.7% to 18%.
Despite quarterback Brock Purdy providing plenty of opportunities for the Panthers to establish a lead and perhaps steal a victory, the Niners’ injury-ravaged defense repeatedly prevented Carolina from capitalizing.
Niners safety Ji’Ayir Brown supplied the biggest spark, coming up with a pair of interceptions, including one in the end zone, and five tackles.
It’s the first time since Week 3 that the Niners have strung together multiple wins. They head to Cleveland to face the Browns on Sunday.
Stat to know: 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey insisted last week that facing his former team for the first time since being traded in 2022 wouldn’t be much different than most other games.
Statistically speaking, that proved true. McCaffrey went over 100 scrimmage yards for the 10th time this season and had at least 50 rushing and 50 receiving yards for the eighth time in 2025. It’s the 14th time he has hit the 50/50 mark since joining the Niners, tied with Frank Gore for the second most in franchise history. McCaffrey needs three more such games to surpass the team’s single-season record he established in 2023.
McCaffrey finished with 142 scrimmage yards on 31 touches.
What to make of the QB performance: For whatever reason, Purdy continued to struggle on “Monday Night Football.” Against the Panthers, he threw three first-half interceptions, the second time he has done that in his career, with his other one coming against Baltimore on MNF in 2023. In five career starts on Monday night, he has thrown 11 interceptions.
Purdy rebounded a bit in the second half as coach Kyle Shanahan dialed up some easy throws on screens and short passes. Purdy finished 23-of-32 for 193 yards with 1 touchdown and 3 picks. But it was still a concerning outing for Purdy after an encouraging return from his right big toe injury last week against Arizona.
Most surprising performance: The defense. Though the offense spent much of the first half committing turnovers and near-turnovers, the Niners’ defense repeatedly answered the bell, allowing three points off those takeaways. The Panthers managed only 230 total yards and 5.3 yards per play, including a season low in yards (72) and first downs (three) in the first half.
For a unit missing end Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner, much has been made of the offense having to carry the load, but San Francisco’s defense delivered when needed Monday night. — Nick Wagoner
Next game: vs. Cleveland Browns (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)
Carolina had a chance to take the outright lead in the NFC South for the first time this late in the season since 2017 with a victory, but quarterback Bryce Young couldn’t carry the offense a week after throwing for a franchise-record 448 yards in an overtime win at Atlanta.
The loss left the Panthers half a game behind Tampa Bay (6-5) in the division with their next game against the NFC-leading Los Angeles Rams (8-2). The Panthers close with two of three games against the struggling Bucs but have the hot Seattle Seahawks (8-3) in between them.
Tampa Bay, meanwhile, enters the easiest part of its schedule against the Arizona Cardinals, New Orleans Saints and Falcons.
The Panthers’ reliance on Young has to be concerning after the Niners became the third consecutive team to shut down Carolina’s running game (69 yards on 13 carries). The Panthers might have to face the pass-happy Rams next week without Pro Bowl corner Jaycee Horn, who suffered a concussion late in the first half.
What to make of the QB performance: The first half set the tone. Young had a lower passer rating (25.0) than the 49ers’ Purdy (48.4), even though Purdy threw three interceptions. As a result, the Panthers had their fewest yards (72) and first downs (three) in any half this season. Young’s numbers were slightly better in the second half, but his second interception with 6:27 remaining basically sealed Carolina’s fate and left him 0-2 on MNF and 0-3 in prime-time games.
Biggest hole in the game plan: Stopping former Panthers’ running back McCaffrey. You’d think defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero would have loaded the defense to stop the player Carolina traded to the 49ers midway through the 2022 season, but McCaffrey had 142 scrimmage yards, including a 12-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Stat to know: The Panthers were the first team to trail at halftime (10-3) despite having three defensive interceptions since the 2021 Browns (Week 12 at Ravens). Before Monday’s game, Cleveland was the only team to do this over the past 10 years. — David Newton
Next game: at Los Angeles Rams (4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday)
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