SF 49ers: 5 biggest disappointments over first quarter of 2020

With a quarter of the 2020 NFL season in the books, the 2-2 SF 49ers aren’t where they want to be, which means there are some disappointments.

Through four weeks of action this season, the SF 49ers aren’t exactly looking like their Super Bowl-contending selves.

At 2-2 amid what’s considered to be the “light” portion of its 2020 schedule, head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad is looking more like a long shot to even make the playoffs, let alone get back to the Super Bowl and win it this time. The team’s only two wins this season have come against the lowly New York Jets and New York Giants, two squads who could be ranked in the final two spots of nearly every NFL power rankings list out there, while the Niners’ two losses are against teams — the Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles — they otherwise should have beaten.

Exactly what’s wrong this deep into the season is complex, revolving around the overwhelming wave of injuries the team has suffered. But the setbacks go beyond a number of players being hurt.

There have been less-than-stellar performances from players who were expected to be big-time contributors. Various positional units have looked disjointed. At times, the play-calling on both sides of the ball has been suspect.

And what you’re getting is the 2-2 result despite San Francisco’s offense being ranked 11th overall in scoring and the defense finishing up the quarter mark with the second-fewest points allowed.

So, what’s going wrong?

To figure that out, let’s look at some of the expectations for Shanahan and Co. this season, then determine what the biggest disappointments over the first four weeks have been.

Starting off with all those massive injuries.