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In an affair that the Seattle Seahawks handily controlled for the majority of the game, it was a disappointing Week 4 for the San Francisco 49ers in what ideally would have been a bounce-back performance the game after a heartbreaking Week 3. However, there were still plenty of good things to take away from the 28-21 loss, including Trey Lance's performance after taking over in the second half following Jimmy Garoppolo's injury.
As the 49ers head into a difficult stretch in their schedule, with the Arizona Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears, Cardinals (again), and Los Angeles Rams as their next 5 opponents, they'll need to straighten themselves out and figure out a way to stop the bleeding on consecutive losses after starting the year 2-0.
Of course, figuring out what needs to be fixed starts with identifying what's going well and making sure it continues, as well as diagnosing the problems and fixing them. With that being said, here are three key takeaways for San Fran coming after a tough loss against their division rival Seahawks.
1. The 49ers need to let the reins go on Trey Lance
After Trey Lance entered the game in the second half of Sunday's game, he ended with a very solid box score line of 9/18 for 157 yards and 2 touchdowns, compared to 0 interceptions. A deeper look at the actual game film, though, reveals that Lance had a fair share of rookie struggles. He was inefficient from a percentages standpoint, missed on some open receivers, and saw almost half of his passing yardage come on one broken play in which he hit a wide open Deebo Samuel for a 76-yard touchdown. Coach Kyle Shanahan also offered his thoughts on his young QB's performance:
Article Continues BelowâI thought he ran the ball well, hit some passes, obviously missed some passes,â coach Kyle Shanahan said. âHe was in a tough situation there when we were down two scores. He did a good job moving the chains a couple of times with his legs, but it looked like a typical first game.â
Though Lance will surely make mistakes as he takes over as the presumed starter next week (given Garoppolo's injury), the 49ers will need to let him work through the offense without being baby'd, if they want him to turn into the kind of quarterback who can lead them to the Super Bowl. San Fran simply doesn't have the dominant defense or running game to carry them like it did two seasons ago.
2. The secondary needs to take more chances
Though the Niners defense did a good job containing Russell Wilson to a relatively quiet game, the Seahawks high point total by game's end and San Fran's low total is largely indicative of how the Seahawks were able to create and capitalize on defensive splash plays and takeaways, while the 49ers were not. Granted, the Seahawks are not a mistake-prone offense, but the fact remains that the 49ers will need to create more complex looks and defensive packages, even if they're riskier, in order to force good teams like the Packers and Seahawks into mistakes.
3. The pass rush has returned to form
After a down year in virtually every department last season, there were many concerns heading into 2021 that the 49ers wouldn't be able to recapture their 2019 performance, especially in the running game and their dominant pass rush. However, it seems they've put a quell to any of those doubts so far, as they've notched a sack in every game so far, and sacked Russell Wilson three times. More importantly, their dominant guys â Dee Ford and Nick Bosa â have combined for 7 sacks thus far. A big pass rush wins big games, and that's something San Fran fans can rest easy in knowing.
