San Francisco 49ers: Top 5 takeaways from Week 12 loss to Seahawks
By Peter Panacy
No. 5: The 49ers Need Offensive Playmakers
The 49ers have a number of offensive players, obviously. Not shocking anyone there.
But there’s a pretty stark contrast between a player and a true playmaker. That’s where the Niners are hurting.
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Entering 2017, the closest players head coach Kyle Shanahan had, in this regard, were wide receiver Pierre Garçon and running back Carlos Hyde. Garçon is out for the season with a neck injury, which has put even more pressure on Hyde to perform well.
Hyde had a couple of nice carries against the Seahawks, but it was pretty obvious Seattle’s defense looked to take him out of the equation. Holding Hyde to just 47 yards on 16 carries — an average of just 2.9 yards per attempt — is a pretty good mark.
Poor quarterbacking and the lack of a bona fide receiving threat have hurt all year, and Week 12 was no different. Even amid relatively poor weather conditions.
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise the Niners boast the league’s 28th scoring offense.
We’ll see what happens under center between the rookie, C.J. Beathard, and Jimmy Garoppolo, who took over in the waning minutes on Sunday. But as the 49ers travel to Chicago to visit the Bears in Week 13, getting better contributions from players in addition to Hyde remains vital.