49ers vs. Chargers: Breaking down the good, bad & ugly from Week 4

The Bad from Week 4

Unfortunately, the 49ers are still a bad team right now. There’s no other way around it.

Sure, the Niners could have won all three losses this season if one or two things had gone differently. But that’s where good teams figure out ways to win. San Francisco isn’t quite there yet.

The defense is going to be saddled with a big chunk of the blame for the loss, and deservedly so. But it goes beyond defensive miscues, such as defensive end Solomon Thomas actually dropping back into coverage (seriously, I get how DEs can deploy in zone coverages at times, but still).

San Francisco’s game plan is also partially to blame, which falls on Kyle Shanahan to a large degree.

Let’s start there.

The 49ers Running Game

Philip Rivers helms one of the better offenses in the NFL, certainly one boasting plenty of weapons. One of the best ways to negate that, thereby taking pressure off a beleaguered Niners defense, would have been to establish the running game early and use it often.

Instead, running back Matt Breida, who entered Week 4 tied with the Dallas Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott for the NFL’s leading rusher, saw just nine carries and mustered a mere 39 yards. Breida’s backup, Alfred Morris, had just 19 yards on seven carries.

Sure, credit has to be given to Los Angeles’ defense, which mostly eliminated the huge chunk plays Breida enjoyed earlier this season.

Still, a Niners ground attack averaging a mere 3.6 yards per carry wasn’t going to cut it in L.A.

Tight End Garrett Celek

Garrett Celek’s bobbled pass that went for an 82-yard interception return was bad enough. But he was also flagged for two holding calls during the game, including one on special teams.

Celek’s non-catch is just one example of a few that doomed San Francisco’s efforts. There were a couple of three-point swings that went in the Chargers’ favor, and this was one of them. Considering the final score, you can see why this was important.

Kyle Shanahan’s Play Calling at the End of the First Half

I’m surprised no one asked about this during Shanahan’s postgame presser.

Let’s rewind back to the 49ers’ final possession of the first half. San Francisco was up 17-14 with 47 seconds left on the clock and starting at its own 25-yard line. The Niners were going to start the second half on offense too. And with the 49ers defense starting to show some cracks after their early 14-0 lead, one might have figured Shanahan would simply call for three consecutive running plays to run out the clock. Or, at least, force Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn to use his remaining timeouts.

Instead, Shanahan called for three straight pass plays. The first fell incomplete, stopping the clock. The second was completed to Matt Breida, but he was pushed out of bounds, stopping the clock. And then the third also fell incomplete.

The 49ers had to punt and only erased 18 seconds off the clock. Los Angeles’ punt return on the ensuing play went 56 yards, and the Chargers were able to settle for a game-tying field goal.

Granted, Shanahan being aggressive on the road in that situation would have been OK in some circumstances. Just not this one, especially considering yet another three-point sway that went against San Francisco.

A key mistake that ended up being costly by the time the game was over.