5 unavoidable takeaways from 49ers’ Week 3 loss to Broncos
By Peter Panacy
42. 11. 45. Final. 10
The 49ers were utterly embarrassed on Sunday Night Football’s loss to the Broncos, which shouldn’t generate too many positive takeaways.
There are so many different ways to spin the San Francisco 49ers’ flop of a loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday Night Football in Week 3.
None of them good.
Reactions to the Niners’ 11-10 defeat in front of a national audience, one which will have to wonder if the game was among the worst ever witnessed in prime time, will certainly be provocative, to say the least.
No hyperbole detected. #SFvsDEN #49ers #Broncos pic.twitter.com/kSHPnwBfAe
— Peter Panacy (@PeterPanacy) September 26, 2022
After coming in to relieve an injured quarterback in Trey Lance a week ago, veteran signal-caller Jimmy Garoppolo was anything but effective, and any one of his multiple gaffes effectively cost San Francisco the win.
Meanwhile, head coach Kyle Shanahan has himself in a bit of a rut, too. His loss to Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett, who has already been under the microscope for being completely overwhelmed not even four games into the young season, won’t go over well in both 49ers and NFL circles.
The Niners’ loss, dropping them to 1-2, paints some not-so-good realities Shanahan and Co. will need to address soon.
And the game also leaves some glaring takeaways, too.
49ers takeaway vs. Broncos No. 5: Kyle Shanahan is in a funk
There are plenty of reasons why San Francisco’s offense went stagnant on Sunday night, but there’s a larger picture looming over Shanahan’s head.
His offense hasn’t exactly been stellar, and that’s a trend dating back to the latter portion of last season, too, as 49ers Webzone’s Al Sacco pointed out:
#49ers scored 30-plus points 3 games in a row from Week 10-12 in 2021.
— Al Sacco (@AlSacco49) September 26, 2022
Since then they’ve broken 30 just once in the last 12 games (including playoffs), are averaging just 20.5 points per game.
Yes, there are other X-factors at play here. Garoppolo was playing injured towards the end of last year, and the quarterback only recently worked his way back into the fray with his supporting cast.
That said, Shanahan’s efforts have nevertheless looked disjointed, which is a bit troubling considering two of his top weapons, wide receiver Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle, are both All-Pros.
On Sunday, Shanahan’s offense hit another low mark by going a paltry 1-of-10 on third down and managing just 267 total yards.
Whatever Shanahan wants his offensive identity to be, that needs to be discovered soon.