49ers top Panthers: Rapid reactions

• Dee Winters almost beheaded Carolina QB Bryce Young.
• Bad interception by Brock Purdy, and the Panthers have great field position.

• What a play by Ji'Ayir Brown, picking off Young and giving the 49ers the ball back. Huge play!

• That second-quarter scramble by Purdy was nice. He dodged a pass rusher and picked up the first down.

• Jake Brendel is getting owned out there. I doubt anyone is surprised by this.
• Purdy just threw another pick. Another one that was thrown late. He's doing what he can to keep the Panthers in the game. And I think he could've run for another first down. Just a bad throw.
• Fortunately for Purdy and the 49ers, the Panthers can't catch the ball, and San Francisco gets it back.
• The 49ers are dominating time of possession and total plays. But they're only up 7-0.
• Colton McKivitz just saved the day by recovering McCaffrey's fumble. After an efficient opening drive, the 49ers' offense has been sloppy.
• What in there actual crap! Purdy was just picked off for the third time in the first half. Just ridiculous.
• Purdy is QB1. But maybe Mac Jones should be playing right now.
• Brown is having a good first half.
• Great job by Brown and Malik Mustapha, and the defense, to hold the Panthers to a field goal.

• Another nice return by Skyy Moore.
• Matt Gay makes his first field goal attempt with the 49ers.
• Nick Martin destroyed the ball carrier and forced a fumble on the kickoff. Carolina recovers, though. Still, I like seeing Martin make plays.

• McCaffrey gets the touchdown against his old team. That has to feel good.

• That was a nice drive, by the way. Then again, any drive that doesn't end in an interception feels like a good one.
• Jason Pinnock with an ugly missed tackle, and the ball carrier picks up several extra yards.
• The defense has been excellent all game, until now. Renardo Green got beaten deep. The Panthers are back to within a touchdown (and two-point conversion).
• Does anyone (other than Solomon Thomas) ever fall for the fake snap?
• Gay has made two field goals tonight.
• Brown gets his second interception of the game. He's been huge in this game. Green got away with a hold, but I'm not complaining.
• The 49ers' offense has been Jekyll and Hyde tonight. They've shifted between dominant and sloppy.
• Clelin Ferrell with his second sack of the season.
• McCaffrey has touched the ball 31 times in this game. That seems high.
• Pearsall hasn't been as involved in the offense as I thought he would. But maybe it's just going to take some time. He's only a couple of games into his return from the knee injury. I've seen him with multiple nice blocks, though.

It wasn't pretty, but the 49ers improved to 8-4 despite committing three turnovers. Next up is a trip to Cleveland to face a tough Browns defense. The 49ers need to continue winning games to stay in the playoff hunt.