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Losing to the Seattle Seahawks made Fred Warner mad, and Brock Purdy said the team can’t rely on magic to turn things around. But here are three reasons the 49ers are in trouble after the crushing last-minute Week 11 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan described the loss in four words, according to seahawks.com.
“I'm just extremely disappointed,” Shanahan said.
The only thing saving the 49ers right now is the NFC West is a four-team traffic jam. The Cardinals are out in front at 6-4 while the Rams, Seahawks, and 49ers are all 5-5. And there’s plenty of season left with each team having seven games on the slate.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said team isn’t finishing
In the NFL, it’s all about the endgame. Keep it close and win in the fourth quarter. That’s what Seattle did in the 20-17 decision. Geno Smith’s daring run to the end zone in the final seconds clinched the win.
But this year’s 49ers’ team isn’t finding ways to win.
“I thought we had a chance to put them away a number of times throughout the game,” Shanahan said. “I thought the penalties we had on a number of drives just killed us. We had some good momentum and then had a penalty that kind of ended the drive on two big drives. That cost us points on both of them.
“Still, should have put it away there on that last drive and had every opportunity to. And missed a couple opportunities to do that. When we did that, we gave them a chance. I thought our defense played great all game until that last drive. But let them hang around, and when you let people hang around, that's what happens. But it's, when you have opportunities to do it. And you hurt yourself with penalties and a few missed opportunities. You've got to finish it there at the end. Was disappointed because I thought the offense had every chance to do that. And we didn't get it done there.”
The 49ers lost by six points to the Vikings, three to the Rams, one to the Cardinals, and three to the Seahawks. Turn just two of those around and this conversation isn’t a thing.
Shanahan said the 49ers didn’t break down at the end when Smith two game-changing scramble runs.
“No, it's not a breakdown,” Shanahan said. “It's just getting through the D-Line. Everyone was in coverage, one was verse zone, the first one. The next one, I believe, was versus man. No one was open in the rhythm of the play and you've got to keep him in the pocket and he broke through there. And especially on the touchdown run, guys in man-coverage had their backs to him and can't let him out the pocket there.”
QB Brock Purdy hasn’t made same amount of plays
Purdy entered 2024 with a record of 17-4 as a starter. But he’s 5-5 this year, throwing for 2,613 yards. However, perhaps most troubling is his 13-to-8 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He came into the year with a 44-to-15 mark.
Also, his yards per attempt is down almost a full yard. And. his quarterback rating is off by over five points. This is from a guy who finished fourth for the AP most valuable player award last season.
However, Purdy said he’s looking forward.
“Yeah, I think that's our mindset for sure is to win every single game,” Purdy said. “And you've got to do it one at a time. You can't look too far ahead. Up next is Green Bay and we have to be all in on that and not look up. We just have to look down and do our jobs, get better as a unit and we've just got to find a way to win. It's the NFL, it's not easy and nothing's ever given to you.”
Purdy also said the 49ers understand how difficult it is to win in this league.
“It's the NFL,” Purdy said. “You never want to put yourself in a hole. The guys across the other side of the ball, they're the best in the world at what they do. And so, anytime you have some kind of holding, false start or something that can hinder you it's never a good thing.
“In the years past we can put that behind us and play the next play. That's the same for right now. But we've just got to look at the film. Be real with ourselves and just try to limit those kinds of things. Because just because we had success the last couple years doesn't mean the next play or just because something bad happens to us we're just magically going to make up for it. We've got to have the chip on our shoulder to go take it every single play and down and game. We've just got to get back to that mindset.”
Injuries have wrecked the season
Consider that Christian McCaffrey has played only two games. Brandon Aiyuk is lost for the season. Deebo Samuel has battled his usual assortment of injuries. George Kittle has been on and off the injury report. And now Nick Bosa picked up yet another ding.
Teams can’t lose that much star power in the NFL and keep winning. And there’s no way the 49ers will be the same level of offense without Aiyuk. So that’s an unrecoverable asset. Yes, Jauan Jennings has performed well in his new role, but he’s not the same type of receiver as Aiyuk. He’s more like Samuel. Aiyuk filled a need on offense for the 49ers.
The season isn’t lost. The 49ers could still make the playoffs. But another Super Bowl appearance seems out of reach, especially with the way the Detroit Lions are playing.
