Jimmy Garoppolo headlines 49ers duds from putrid loss to Broncos

49ers dud vs. Broncos: Kyle Shanahan

One might safely argue head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense has been in a funk.

Granted, transitioning from Trey Lance to Jimmy Garoppolo after a full offseason with Lance at the helm isn’t going to be easy. But the Niners’ offensive trends dating back to the end of last season haven’t exactly been a net positive:

Shanahan didn’t call his best game on Sunday either, essentially being outcoached by the Broncos’ own embattled head coach, Nathaniel Hackett.

A few plays stand out here. For starters, following an offensive-holding call against Denver on a 3rd-and-9 play that would have likely pushed a would-be field-goal try out of range, Shanahan nevertheless declined the penalty, which led to the Broncos successfully converting the field goal.

Also, in a strange decision, Shanahan running out the first-half clock by giving Deebo Samuel the ball, thereby subjecting him to more injury risk on a meaningless play, was questionable.

However, perhaps the worst marks against Shanahan were the 1-of-10 third-down success rate and San Francisco’s seven penalties for 40 yards are more indicative of teamwide issues the head coach will need to rectify soon.

Regardless of how effective or ineffective his playcalling has been.