1 winner and 3 clear losers from 49ers' collapse against Seahawks

The San Francisco 49ers blew yet another game against a lesser opponent. They now have the trifecta of blowing games against all three of their NFC West opponents.

Let's break down the winners and losers from this contest.

There are not many positives from this game, so much of this will focus on the proverbial losers from the bout, which proved the Niners simply are not good enough right now.

Winner: Jauan Jennings

On a team that largely looked like it didn't want to win the game, wide receiver Jauan Jennings stood out as a guy who was going to lay it all down for San Francisco. He had 10 receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown.

On the team's final scoring drive in the fourth quarter, Jennings basically did it all. On a 3rd-and-11 play on Seattle's 21-yard line, Jennings caught the ball 3 or 4 yards short of the first down and literally fought through four Seahawks defenders to get the first down.

It was the sort of competitive spirit and refusal to quit that has been sorely missing on this 49ers squad for much of the year.

If only everyone on the team went after it like Jennings does.

Loser: Kyle Shanahan

The Niners had plenty of chances to put this game away. Perhaps the best chance came in the fourth quarter when they had the ball and a four-point lead with 3:56 left on the clock. So, basically the Seahawks had the Niners right where they wanted them, given head coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers' penchant for blowing games exactly like this one.

The Niners got one first down then had a rush for minus-1 yard with running back Christian McCaffrey, followed by a Seattle timeout with 3:02 on the clock. Then, two straight incompletions. One was on a bad ball from quarterback Brock Purdy to wide receiver Deebo Samuel over the middle which was thrown behind him.

If they complete that for a first down the game probably goes the other way.

Shanahan is clearly just not doing a good enough job of calling plays this year in these key spots. It is something he has always struggled with, playing with a lead. But perhaps he is so in his head now after so many late-game collapses that he is trying to become more creative in these spots. Who knows.

All we know is that this team is underperforming, and the head coach deserves a lot of the blame.

Loser: Offensive line

Like many of their losses this year, the Niners beat themselves. Seven of their nine penalties came on offense, and a lot of them were holds or illegal formations that slowed the team's momentum and stopped drives that could have resulted in points.

Linemen Aaron Banks, Colton McKivitz, and Jake Brendel are clearly the three weak links on the O-line, and they all committed key penalties that cost San Francisco.

Loser: 2-minute defense

Yes, the defense was without defensive end Nick Bosa down the stretch, but it still folded like a chair in the final minutes of the game and let the Seahawks drive down and get a touchdown without putting up too much of a fight.

This is nothing new.

The 49ers did the same thing against the Arizona Cardinals as well as the Los Angeles Rams earlier this year, giving up yardage late that led to the other team taking the game. The Niners are seemingly never able to come up with a big play late to ice the game. Perhaps this is due to the conservative play calls of defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen, or perhaps it is a psychological thing with the defense.

No matter what, it is almost expected now that this supposedly good defense is going to blow games late, which is exactly what they did.

We could be here the rest of the night naming losers from this game. The one thing we know is the 49ers stand at 5-5 with seven games left. The season is not over, but it certainly could be if they lose the next two incredibly difficult games on the road against the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills.

It is a shame because this team clearly has the talent to be good, but it seems like a combination of sloppiness, injuries, along with the hangover and decreased motivation that comes with three straight postseasons ending in heartbreak have rendered San Francisco merely mediocre this season.

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