San Francisco 49ers: 5 biggest disappointments in 2018 so far
By Peter Panacy
The San Francisco 49ers haven’t exactly gotten off to the best of starts in 2018, meaning a number of expectations have been beset by disappointments. Here are the five biggest.
So much for the San Francisco 49ers making the playoffs in 2018.
In reality, a number of circumstances behind the Niners’ 1-4 start to the season have proven the franchise’s rebuild was nowhere close to being as far as many of us thought. The team still lacks critical depth, key impact players on both sides of the ball and haven’t totally jelled to the schemes implemented by head coach Kyle Shanahan and defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.
Oh, and season-ending ACL injuries to quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and running back Jerick McKinnon didn’t help much either.
If anything, those two injuries all but thwarted any chances the 49ers had to make the postseason.
Anyway, there have been more than a few disappointments on the year through Week 5. San Francisco’s only win on the year was nearly botched in the waning seconds. Defensive miscues cost the 49ers a chance in Week 3 against the Kansas City Chiefs. And the Niners lost very winnable games against the Los Angeles Chargers and Arizona Cardinals in Weeks 4 and 5, respectively.
It’s going to be a long season now, isn’t it.
There’s plenty of blame to go around, of course. But let’s focus it down to the five biggest disappointments the 49ers have endured so far in 2018.
Starting off with what’s been a major question mark for the team, San Francisco’s overall defense.