GREEN BAY, Wisc – If the San Francisco 49ers are playing without QB Brock Purdy, LT Trent Williams, DE Nick Bosa and a myriad of other starters, can they still go on the road into a tough environment against a hot team and win? The answer is no.
The 49ers leave Lambeau Field having lost to the Green Bay Packers, 38-10, falling to 5-6, with their season not over, but definitely slipping away.
“It was just bad ball,” said 49ers’ RB Christian McCaffrey.
The performance was one of their worst, if not the worst, of the season, but it’s the multitude of games they let slip away before this, that makes it even worse.
“The whole game was (disappointing),” said 49ers’ head coach Kyle Shanahan. “…The first half, just the run defense was real disappointing…There were way too many missed tackles. Just them being able to control that clock in the first half was one of the worst ones I have been a part of as far as a half.
“We stepped it up there in the second half, did better, especially in the run game. The offense got an opportunity to get going. They gave us an opportunity to get back in the game. And then to have those three turnovers that all led to touchdowns…You top that with the penalties…That’s how you get embarrassed like that.”
Brandon Allen was under center in place of Purdy, with his final line being 17-of-29 for 199 yards one touchdown and one interception. He fumbled twice and lost one of them. Allen called the lost fumble “brutal.”
On the next drive, McCaffrey fumbled on a 23-yard catch-and-run that would have put San Francisco at midfield. San Francisco ran the ball 16 times for 44 yards. That’s like a Kyle Shanahan nightmare.
“We’ve got to be a lot better for [Allen]. I’ve got to be a lot better for him,” McCaffrey said after the game.
The interception was not Allen, who was starting the 10th game of his career, but it was a ball that went through the hands of WR Deebo Samuel and into the waiting arms of Xavier McKinney. Samuel had another such situation later in the game, but that one didn’t lead to an interception.
On the day, Samuel was targeted four times and had one reception for 21 yards. Samuel has one receiving touchdown and one rushing touchdown this season. This is not ideal production.
Now, about that aforementioned “disappointing” defense. The Packers clearly did their due diligence, because they started the game committed to the run, knowing San Francisco has struggled against defending it all season. Green Bay ran the ball 42 times for 169 yards. Josh Jacobs was responsible for 106 of those yards and had three touchdowns. The Packers had 21 points off turnovers.
“This was embarrassing. We’ve got to take it on the chin, take it like a man and move on.” Fred Warner pic.twitter.com/mmfeWl6E7j
— Tracy Sandler (@TracyFGSN) November 25, 2024
All season, this 49ers team has hurt itself with penalties, turnovers, missed tackles and general lack of execution. On Sunday in Green Bay, they had 10 missed tackles in the first quarter alone. They also had back-to-back penalties for having too many men on the field.
Shanahan said the first was the result of the Packers swapping a wide receiver for a tight end and snapping the ball quickly, before the 49ers could make a change to their defense.
“It was a strategic play by them but one I feel shouldn’t have been allowed,” Shanahan said. “They didn’t give us time to sub on that, and that’s why I was upset.”
As for the second one, “[It] was on us,” Shanahan said.
They had nine total penalties for 77 yards on the day.
“This was one of the worst (losses) I’ve ever been a part of,” said 49ers’ LB Fred Warner. “This was embarrassing We’ve got to take it on the chin, take it like a man and move on.”
The bright spot on the day, as has been the case several times this year, was tight end George Kittle, who had 6 receptions on 6 targets for 82 yards and a touchdown.
The injuries started piling up early in the season (actually before) and haven’t stopped. Playing 60 games in three seasons has taken its toll physically and certainly emotionally, as none of those seasons have ended with a Super Bowl victory. And it’s not about to get an easier.
“There’s always a fight. One game at a time.” Christian McCaffrey pic.twitter.com/I4o648XXoq
— Tracy Sandler (@TracyFGSN) November 25, 2024
Having lost two in a row for the second time this year, the 49ers head to Buffalo next week for Sunday Night Football. The NFC West is pretty up for grabs, but the team’s performance thus far does not inspire hope for a late-season turnaround.
Kittle, however, feels differently.
“My optimism is not broken by any means,” Kittle said. “We still have a lot of very talented players, we will get some guys back, and I still have full trust in this coaching staff to put our guys in position to make plays…[It’s] definitely an uphill grind. We’ll get to see what we’re made of.”