5 unavoidable takeaways from 49ers’ Week 3 loss to Broncos

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.

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:

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.

49ers takeaway vs. Broncos No. 4: DeMeco Ryans is gone after this season

While Kyle Shanahan is known for his bright offensive mind, it’s actually been the Niners defense that has carried the team, both towards the end of last season and over three games into 2022, too.

Thank you very much, defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans.

After turning down potential head-coaching opportunities last offseason, Ryans is yet again off to a masterclass season with San Francisco, his defense only showing some slight gaffes in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears before effectively pitching a shutout versus the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2 (Seattle’s lone points came off a blocked field-goal attempt returned for a touchdown).

Against quarterback Russell Wilson and the Broncos, Ryans’ unit still held Denver to an average of just 3.7 yards per play and nine points, the other two coming off Jimmy Garoppolo’s miscue in the end zone that went for a safety.

Ryans already figured to be a hot candidate for a head-coaching gig entering 2023, and the first three weeks are pretty much solidifying the idea he’ll wind up getting that job.

One can only hope the defense he helped develop into one of the league’s top units this year carries over with whichever coach winds up replacing him.

49ers takeaway vs. Broncos No. 3: Losing Trent Williams is massive

Remember that Jimmy Garoppolo safety? As bad as that play ways, Garoppolo’s actions weren’t the worst part of it.

Simultaneously, All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams was rolled up during the play and suffered a high-ankle sprain as a result. And while he was able to walk off the field (albeit gingerly) under his own power, the prospects for a quick recovery and return don’t look good.

Second-year lineman Jaylon Moore gave up a sack to Garoppolo on the first pass snap in relief of Williams, leading to Moore being replaced by fellow backup Colton McKivitz.

Rewinding back to training camp where there appeared to be a clear void for an adequate swing tackle to support both Williams and Mike McGlinchey, the likely multi-week absence of Williams going forward is about the last thing the 49ers needed as they try to correct what’s been a struggling offense the first three weeks.

Denver took full advantage of Williams’ absence, too, and it’s likely the Niners’ future opponents will copy that blueprint going forward.

49ers takeaway vs. Broncos No. 2: Jimmy Garoppolo can’t beat stacked boxes

One of the strategies Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero deployed on Sunday night was to frequently insert an extra (fifth) defensive lineman at the line of scrimmage.

It’s a gamble, fully intended to make San Francisco earn every yard possible in the rushing game but at the expense of opening up more chances within the secondary for quarterbacks to target.

In effect, Evero was daring Garoppolo to throw with the extra lineman down in the box.

For most quarterbacks, this is an absolute gift. With only six Denver players typically in coverage, Garoppolo would have at least two of his receiving targets facing one-on-one matchups. But Evero’s strategy paid off nicely.

Related Story: Jimmy Garoppolo’s play vs. Broncos isn’t the only brutal part of Week 3 loss

Sure, the run-first 49ers still managed to gain 88 yards on the ground and averaged 4.6 yards per carry. But, if one is to take away running back Jeff Wilson Jr.’s long of 37 yards, the Niners averaged just 2.8 yards per attempt.

And Evero’s gamble took full advantage of the hard reality that Garoppolo wasn’t capable of carrying San Francisco’s offense by the way of his throwing arm.

Just like exploiting the depth weaknesses of the 49ers’ offensive line, it’s likely other teams may copy Evero’s strategy of daring Garoppolo to throw with similar success moving forward.

49ers takeaway vs. Broncos No. 1: More evidence Jimmy Garoppolo ‘ain’t it’

The pundits who argued the Niners were actually better with Jimmy Garoppolo under center in the wake of Trey Lance’s season-ending ankle injury suffered in Week 2 might be walking back their statements a bit this week.

If anything, Week 3’s loss showed every reason why San Francisco wants to move on from Garoppolo and took the aggressive flier on Lance a year ago.

There are a number of angles to attack Garoppolo’s efforts here. He completed only 62.1 percent of his passes, tossed a horribly predictable interception late in the fourth quarter in response to Denver capturing the lead and his gaffe of stepping out of bounds in the end zone will surely make former Detroit Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky feel much better.

However, let’s focus on some of the gaffes that won’t receive as much attention.

Garoppolo failed to target a wide-open Deebo Samuel who went uncovered by Denver’s defense in the first half, instead tossing an incompletion to fellow wideout Brandon Aiyuk. Later in the game, Garoppolo managed to hit Samuel for a 32-yard completion, but had the pass led the receiver more, Samuel would have been off for another potential touchdown.

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Instead, Samuel had to slow up for the ball and was subsequently tackled after making the catch.

On another third-down play, Garoppolo threw behind Samuel for an incompletion, too, nullifying a would-be drive extension.

Even more reasons why the 49ers admitted Garoppolo wouldn’t be their long-term solution any longer, providing evidence of why they want to move forward with Lance.

But they can’t, at least not this season.