SANTA CLARA — 49ers rookie cornerback Tarvarius Moore was thrust into action after Ahkello Witherspoon was injured midway through the first quarter against the Seahawks, and now it looks like he will start the remaining two games of the season.
After Sunday's game, coach Kyle Shanahan discussed having his hand forced due to Witherspoon's knee injury.
“Didn’t want [Moore] to get his opportunity because of injury,” Shanahan said, “but he’s been playing tough all year. It was good to just throw him out there and see how he did. I thought he raised up to the challenge very well.
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Veteran cornerback Richard Sherman explained what impressed him the most about Moore's performance.
“Tarvarius Moore came out there, was ready for his moment,” Sherman said. “I think sometimes you run into situations where a young guy gets thrown out there and he hasn’t played substantially throughout any part of a season.
“For Spoon to get hurt and for him to go out there, he’s only practiced left corner, and to go out at right corner and be ready for his moment and step up and make those plays for us, I can’t say enough about the job he did.”
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After watching film, Shanahan spoke about how Moore bounced back from a few missed assignments.
“Yeah, I was excited to see him play,” Shanahan said. “I know they challenged him a number of times and he missed some plays, but I liked how he rebounded throughout the game. Similar to what I was trying to describe with [Dante] Pettis versus Tampa where Tampa was the first time we kind of left him out there just let him play through things.
“That was the situation with Tarvarius yesterday. Stuff that he struggled on earlier, I thought he did better in the fourth quarter. He plays physical. He doesn’t mind hitting. He showed that on special teams. He carried it over to the defense and looks like he had fun out there. Looked like it wasn’t too big for him. He challenged guys at the line.
Shanahan also pointed out that Moore played a key role in Richie James Jr.’s 97-yard kick return for a touchdown.
“He made a huge block too, on special teams, on Richie’s kick return too, which sprung him loose,” Shanahan said.
Moore finished the day with five solo tackles, two assists and two pass break ups. He could end the season as Witherspoon did in his own rookie season, with his stock on the rise.