After starting out the season seemingly perfect, rolling to five straight wins and becoming the obvious Super Bowl favorites, the San Francisco 49ers have dropped three straight games to the Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals. In the 31-17 loss to the Bengals, the 49ers lost their first two possession game in over a year! Out of nowhere, the 49ers have fallen back to Earth.
So what happened? And can the 49ers recover?
People have been quick to blame the losses on the injuries to left tackle Trent Williams and wide receiver Deebo Samuel, or pin it all on Brock Purdy. However, the issues lie much deeper than injuries or the quarterbacks. All three of these factors have contributed to the losses, but there are several others at play as well.
Let's take a look at three of the 49ers' biggest issues that must be solved during their bye week if they want to get in the win column again.
Tackling & Run Defense
One of the most jarring things for 49ers fans is the fall of their run defense and tackling The 49ers defense looks unrecognizable. The defense, which is known for stuffing runners at or behind the line of scrimmage, has given up multiple 9-yard and first down runs over the past three weeks. In addition, opposing teams have been able to break runs to the outside way more than before. These runs haven't even been to premiere runnings backs or offensive lines either, but to the Vikings and Bengals, who are bottom-five rushing teams in the NFL. The normally swarming defense has looked slow to the ball, something unseen the past few years for the 49ers.
On top of the run defense issues, the 49ers aren't getting ball-carriers like normal. One of the most sure-tackling teams is letting runners and receivers break free for first-down and larger gains, rather than knocking them down immediately. Some of the team's better tacklers, including Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga, have simply failed to get receivers down.
The stats reflect this too, with the 49ers having missed a whopping 32 tackles during their three game losing streak, via David Lombardi. While there are some teams who don't have great defenses or regularly give up big plays and win, the 49ers are not built that way. The 49ers rely on sure tackling as one of their best means to slow and stop opponents from scoring. They're not meant to keep up in a shoot out every week. Their failure to do so has allowed the Brown, Vikings, and especially the Bengals to capitalize and put the 49ers behind.
Pass Rush
The 49ers pass rush has also not been the same the past few weeks. The 49ers have not had a top secondary in the Kyle Shanahan-era, so the basis of their “top” pass defense relies on their ability to get to the quarterback. When the 49ers pressure the opposing quarterback enough, they either stall drives or force them into poor decisions and throws. Though the 49ers got a few sacks on Joe Burrow and P.J. Walker, they also missed several opportunities for more, particularly when Burrow escaped on a third down early in the Bengals game. Overall, Burrow went 28-32 for 283 yards and three touchdowns, which is completely against the 49ers standard.
The 49ers also failed to sack Kirk Cousins once in the loss to the Vikings. Without disruption, Cousins is one of the sharpest quarterbacks in the league and lit up the secondary, going 35-45 for 378 yards and two touchdowns with a pick.
The good news for the 49ers is their last minute trade for Chase Young should provide an extra spark for the pass rush.
Turnovers + Missed Kicks
One of the most notable changes in the 49ers' play the past couple weeks is the increase in turnovers and miscues. A large chunk of that falls on quarterback Brock Purdy, who has now thrown five interceptions in the past three games after throwing none the first five weeks of the season. While Purdy is still making good throws most of the game, these poor ones are costing scoring opportunities for the 49ers.
The 49ers have also has several other miscues which are out of the ordinary for the team. Christian McCaffrey and Purdy have each had a fumble the past couple games. McCaffrey's in particular cost SF another scoring opportunity. Rookie kicker Jake Moody has also missed three kicks during the losing streak, including a game-winner versus the Cleveland Browns.
In addition to these miscues, the 49ers have not capitalized on the turnovers they've forced. Despite forcing four turnovers the past three games, San Francisco failed to put up points off of three of them. Putting on points not only swings the game in favor of the 49ers on the scoreboard, but momentum-wise as well. The best 49ers teams in recent history were all good at putting up points off of turnovers. Capitalizing off of the other team's mistakes will be important for the 49ers to become dominant once again.
These are not the only reasons behind the 49ers losing streak, but a few of the big ones. They also have room to improve play-calling on both sides of the ball and their offensive line. If the 49ers can correct these issues, expect them to get back in the Super Bowl race.
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