The 49ers fell 28-21 to the Seahawks, which puts them 2-2 on the year and last place in the NFC West a quarter of the way through 2021, prompting some hard-to-swallow lessons.
It’s easy to overreact negatively to losses, especially painful ones within the division to a rival like the Seattle Seahawks, who have seemingly owned the San Francisco 49ers over the past decade outside a handful of memorable moments for the red and gold.
Such was the case in Week 4 when quarterback Russell Wilson and Co. managed to turn on the pressure after a relatively uneventful first half that saw both teams 7-7 after the second quarter.
By the time it was over, Seattle had pulled away the 28-21 victory and all but dominated the second-half action.
One loss isn’t the end of the road, especially so early in the season. But a quarter-of-the-way-through mark is generally pretty telling when it comes to looking at trends. Now at 2-2 on the season, perhaps the Niners’ trend is they’re an OK team, perhaps only slightly above the .500 mark by the time the regular season rolls around.
If so, that’s one tough lesson San Francisco might have to accept after losing Week 4. Here are five others.
No. 5: 49ers aren’t a Super Bowl-caliber team
There’ll be those fans who say otherwise, and it’s always great to appreciate the enthusiasm.
But the cold, hard reality of this 49ers team is they aren’t equipped to make it to the Super Bowl this year, let alone win it. And it’s not even necessary to use the injury bug as an excuse, although that’s key.
In 2019, the Niners had both the talent and momentum to overcome multiple mistakes in certain phases of the game. Case in point, when kickoff returner Trent Cannon muffed his return, then lost the loose-ball fumble to Seattle, Wilson was able to punch the ball into the end zone for the Seahawks’ second touchdown within a four-play period.
San Francisco couldn’t overcome that. Nor could it overcome the fact kicker Robbie Gould missed the game with a groin injury, leading to punter and fill-in kicker Mitch Wishnowsky missing both a field goal and extra-point attempt.
Super Bowl-caliber teams need to be able to overcome those kinds of setbacks. The 49ers can’t right now.
The talent and relatively easy remaining schedule, outside the NFC West, mean the Niners will still compete for a playoff berth and likely get there.
Just don’t expect a game in February.
No. 4: 49ers injury bug won’t go away… at all
One of the key reasons, or two, why San Francisco isn’t going to be a Super Bowl contender this year is because of season-ending injuries to running back Raheem Mostert and cornerback Jason Verrett, who were both considered vital cogs in the team’s plans this year.
There have been other key injuries, too, but Week 4’s loss seemed to highlight all the troubles the 49ers haven’t been able to shake.
For years now.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a calf injury on the opening possession of the game. And while he gutted it out until halftime, eventually giving way to rookie quarterback Trey Lance, Garoppolo was clearly upset with the latest in what’s been a long line of injuries suffered, telling reporters the following after the game:
"It sucked. I mean, just in between series, I could feel it tightening up in everything. Thought I could get it out. I tried to for the first half, but it’s just tough, man. I don’t know. I’ve been in the situation too many times and it’s getting real old. So, it’s just one of those things, but a part of the business, though."
The Niners missed Robbie Gould, of course. Yet there might be even more concern with left tackle Trent Williams suffering a shoulder injury, and he had to exit the game on a cart and was also emotional during his exit.
After a disastrous run of injuries in 2020 when San Francisco had more players land on injured reserve than any other team in the NFL, this year isn’t shaping up to be much more generous.
No. 3: 49ers offense is wasting good play by the defense
Yes, first-year defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans has been inconsistent this season, his side of the ball looking vulnerable in Week 1 before being dominant in Week 2.
Then, in Week 3 against the Green Bay Packers, Ryans and the 49ers defense could do awfully little before looking like a completely dominant group against Russell Wilson and the Seahawks offense over the first two quarters.
After the first half, the Niners had given up just the seven points, 80 net yards and just three first downs. In contrast, San Francisco’s offense had 219 net yards and 12 first downs.
Except the score was tied. The 49ers offense was guilty of not doing anything close enough to push Wilson and the Seahawks out of the game despite the defense doing everything it possibly could.
Ryans is going through his growing pains. But there’s enough talent on the defensive side to make up for it, namely with EDGEs Dee Ford and Nick Bosa recording sacks, and linebacker Fred Warner making plays, too.
Yet even Warner revealed some notable frustrations with how things panned out:
"We’re going to be mad about it after losing like that. So, there is always a sense of urgency, and it’s even at a heightened level I’d say. For myself, and I speak for the rest of the team, we are all going to look at ourselves and see how we can get better."
Warner won’t come out and say it. He’s a team captain of course. But he understands his side of the ball did its job in Week 4.
The offense, however did not.
No. 2: 49ers need to play Trey Lance, like it or not
They might not have any other choice, especially considering Jimmy Garoppolo could miss some time with his calf injury, even if it’s only a week or so.
But the Niners now face the reality of giving Trey Lance much more field time after he saw continuous action for the first time in his NFL career after getting all the offensive snaps in the second half.
Lance had his upside moments, yes, including two touchdowns to wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Yet there were also plenty of moments where Lance’s inexperience and indecisiveness were on full display.
Granted, Lance isn’t getting a lot of reps during practices, and he’s only working on a handful of plays for actual games instead of being subjected to regular play. At least up to Week 4.
Regardless, it’s clear Lance is going to be the X-factor for this team going forward, particularly if Garoppolo isn’t able to stay healthy on the field. And if Lance winds up starting and performing well enough in Week 5 against the first-place Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco’s quarterback room could and should receive a massive shakeup over the rest of the season.
Even if it means the 49ers miss out on a playoff berth amid Lance’s needed maturation.
No. 1: Kyle Shanahan deserves to be questioned, criticized
Pick a few moments throughout the game, and you should be able to identify some things were Kyle Shanahan gaffed. Or, at the very least, failed to take advantage of what was working for him.
Granted, Shanahan couldn’t prevent Jimmy Garoppolo’s injury, and perhaps that led to Garoppolo’s day being a mere so-so performance, although Jimmy G didn’t exactly look either solid or terrible. Just OK, which has become the norm for him.
But chew on this: The Niners averaged 4.7 yards per rush in the first half, and running back Trey Sermon was finally having some success against what was ranked as the worst run defense in the NFL entering Week 4, according to Football Outsiders.
Shanahan continued to play conservative, though, deciding to fall somewhere between pounding the ball on the ground against a suspect Seattle defense and letting Garoppolo, then Lance, make low-risk passes at predictable moments on third downs.
The net result? A painful 2-of-14 third-down conversion rate.
“I was disappointed,” Shanahan said of the first half. “I think it was like 220 yards to 80, so when it’s like that, you definitely want to have more points to show for it.”
Shanahan should have either stuck with a ground-and-pound offense, which was working on a hot day, or he should have not played scared with his third-down offense.
Instead, the opposite happened. And San Francisco now finds itself in last place within the NFC West a quarter of the way through the 2021 season.