The San Francisco 49ers faced an ugly loss against the Denver Broncos on Sunday Night Football. The final score was 11-10, and the Niners now have a 1-2 record. With such a devastating loss, things are not looking bright for the 49ers this season. There were some highs during the game but mainly lows for the Niners offense. After the loss in primetime, can the 49ers fix their issues and become a winning team?
Time of Possession
The 49ers offense could not keep any momentum throughout the game. The team was fine in the first quarter, but nothing special. The overall time of possession was 25:31. Despite the 49ers having a great defense, they were on the field too long. This results in them getting tired out, and the Broncos’ offense took advantage of that. If the 49ers’ offense gave their defense time to breathe, the game could have ended differently.
The 49ers rushed the ball only 19 times, which is less than they are known to do. The Niners have won in important games when they ran for more attempts. In the 2021 week 18 game vs the Rams, the 49ers had to win in order to make the playoffs. The team attempted 31 rushing plays that game and maintained possession for a time of 36:44. This is over ten minutes more than what they had against the Broncos. The biggest talk of that game was the way the 49ers held the ball, not giving the Rams’ offense a chance. If the 49ers want to be a winning team and fix their issues, they must run the ball more, while having the majority time of possession.
Decision-Making
Kyle Shanahan
There were plenty of decision-making issues in the loss for the 49ers. Head Coach, Kyle Shanahan, made a few questionable calls that could have been key factors in the loss. The Denver Broncos had enough field position for a field goal, but there was a holding call against them. Instead of accepting the penalty to repeat third down out of field goal range, Shanahan declined the penalty. This lead to Denver gaining three points, instead of trusting the defense to make the stop. Shanahan also elected to not go for it on fourth down, when the offense was past the 50-yard line. This did not just show a lack of aggression, but a lack of trust in the offense.
Jimmy Garoppolo
By the end of the game, the 49ers were down by one with not much time left on the clock. All the offense had to do was get into field goal range. Instead, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo forced a throw to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk who was covered by three men. Instead of getting into field position, Garoppolo threw an interception. This was the play that sealed the deal for the Denver Broncos. Throwing interceptions is not new to Garoppolo. The quarterback now has 39 in his career. In order for the 49ers to have a winning season, Garoppolo needs to make better decisions. As a veteran, these are rookie mistakes.
Another aspect of Garoppolo’s game that has the entire NFL community talking is the safety. In the third quarter of the game, instead of the offense running the ball, Garoppolo dropped back into his own endzone and went too far. Garoppolo stepped out of the endzone causing a safety. He is the first quarterback to do that since Dan Orlovsky in 2010. This cost the 49ers two points, they lost by one. This is a huge mistake that every quarterback knows not to do. Like in the interception, going forward Garoppolo will need to throw the ball away rather than force plays. The decision-making is an important topic the 49ers must look at to fix their issues.
The Offensive Line
Despite having a solid first two games, the offensive line did not do its job in the loss against Denver. Garoppolo was sacked four times and hit six times. There was no time in the pocket for throws because of the constant pressure. In the third quarter of the game, left tackle Trent Williams went down with an injury and was ruled out. Now expected to miss a couple of weeks, the 49ers lack depth at the offensive line. Although this can not be where all the blame is held, this position will need to be stronger if the 49ers want to become a winning team.
The Defense
Overall the 49ers’ defense was how they always are, great. What lacked was that they produced zero turnovers. The loss can not be blamed on the defense, but turnovers could have helped with better field position and helped the team gain momentum. It felt as though both offenses were pushed within the 10-yard line when beginning their drives all game. A turnover by the defense could have greatly helped the offense. Amongst everything that went wrong, turnovers by the defense can help the 49ers fix their issues.
Can They Fix Their Issues?
The game against the Broncos was a mess for San Francisco. Their offense has a lot to fix if they want to be a competitive team. Most of their issues come down to discipline for Kyle Shanahan and his offense. The 49ers need to prove they want this and analyze every mistake they made.
The next game for the 49ers is week four, Monday Night Football, against NFC West Rivals, the LA Rams.
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