There’ve been times the 49ers have wanted to stew in the aftermath of defeat. After the Week 2 loss to the Rams, Nick Bosa suggested that his teammates needed to “feel the loss.”
But Sunday afternoon, which saw the 49ers blow a 13-point lead on their way to a 24-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, did not mark such an occurrence.
In the locker room, head coach Kyle Shanahan actually encouraged players to leave and begin resting at home as quickly as possible. There’s little time for rumination, since a game against the Seattle Seahawks — with first place in the NFC West on the line — awaits Thursday night.
“We’d love to sit here and get pissed,” Shanahan said. “But you can’t do anything about these games once they end. I told the guys the next time we’ll be able to do something is Thursday, and it’s better to only have to wait until Thursday then having to wait until next Sunday. It will come fast.”
So hydration and recovery are of paramount importance for the 49ers, who were clearly worn down by the end of a contest played in temperatures that reached 97 degrees.
Arizona running back James Conner, for example, managed only 9 rushing yards in the first half before racking up 77 yards after intermission — including 51 yards on 5.7 yards per carry in the fourth quarter.
The Cardinals also showed clear signs of fatigue, but they didn’t turn the ball over down the stretch. The 49ers did so three times, on a pair of tipped interceptions from quarterback Brock Purdy and a fumble from running back Jordan Mason, over the scoreless second half that overexposed their defense.
Sunday’s failures have only increased the urgency of the coming challenge against Seattle (3-2), who on Sunday lost 29-20 at home to the New York Giants.
“I think we need to turn the page on this one,” said 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa, who struck a different tone after the latest loss to a divisional opponent. “It’s pretty clear what happened and why we lost. It’s a blessing in disguise that we’re playing on Thursday.”
Still, it’s fair to question how the 49ers (2-3) can rectify the disjointed play that’s marred all three of their defeats this season.
Against the Cardinals, the 49ers’ 32nd-ranked special teams unit actually delivered a positive splash play, for a change. That came when defensive tackle Jordan Elliott blocked an Arizona field goal that cornerback Deommodore Lenoir returned for a touchdown in the second quarter.
“I had an offside earlier in that drive, and I felt like I had to make that up,” Elliott said in the locker room. “So I feel like I did whatever I had to do to block that.”
But that same quarter saw 49ers kicker Jake Moody knocked out of the game. He suffered a high ankle sprain while trying to make a tackle on kick coverage. The special teams unit was predictably hamstrung from that point forward. As a result of Moody’s absence, the 49ers even unsuccessfully went for a fourth-and-22 instead of trying a field goal.
The 49ers started reaching out to kickers Sunday evening. Moody’s predecessor, 41-year-old Robbie Gould, isn’t a realistic option. He announced his retirement in December and is now the head football coach at suburban Chicago’s Rolling Meadows High School — coincidentally the alma mater of former 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo.
“With kickers, they’re almost independent contractors, so we’ll get them in as fast as possible and get the best guy we can,” Shanahan said. “I’m sure it’ll have to be for a few weeks.”
The 49ers hope their new signee helps them solve the current game of Whac-A-Mole on special teams. But that isn’t the only part of the operation in which one issue has improved only to see another arise.
The 49ers offense — which was good but not great over the first four games — registered its worst performance of the season against the Cardinals, who don’t have a good defense. Arizona ranked No. 30 in expected points added coming into this game. But the 49ers failed to capitalize, especially in the red zone, where they ranked No. 20 in the NFL, with a 50% touchdown percentage entering the game.
On Sunday, the 49ers scored only one touchdown on six trips to the red zone.
“We were middle of the pack before the day started, and we got a lot worse today,” Shanahan said bluntly.
The absence of running back Christian McCaffrey has hurt the 49ers’ ability to generate space in the tighter quarters of the red zone. But Purdy blamed himself; in particular, a play in which he misfired to tight end George Kittle short of the goal line.
“When we have a matchup and a good look, I’ve just got to rip it,” Purdy said. “So I’ve got to be better and more aggressive down there.”
While it might be fair to chalk up the 49ers’ struggles against the run to heat-related fatigue, other issues can’t be discounted as aberrations. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray rushed for a 50-yard touchdown, the longest of his career, on Arizona’s second play from scrimmage. The score came on a zone read, which the Cardinals successfully used again for a critical Murray gain late in the fourth quarter.
It’s defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen’s first year on the job, and the 49ers have seemed uncharacteristically vulnerable to big plays at inopportune moments this season. They also haven’t covered particularly well from the safety position, where Talanoa Hufanga exited Sunday’s game with a wrist injury that threatens to generate more instability over the short week ahead. Rookie Malik Mustapha and second-year man Ji’Ayir Brown might have to make up the starting duo in Seattle.
But it was those designed runs from Murray that most exposed the 49ers defense against Arizona.
“They were giving us a different look on the zone read,” Bosa said. “In all our losses, the preparation we’ve had is great. But teams are … doing things a little differently, and we need to adjust a little better. They’re just showing different looks than what we were looking at on tape — so we just have to adjust.”
Another chance to adjust looms. That’s the nature of this ephemeral league, which the 49ers have learned through their dizzying in-season turnarounds, huge victories, and gut-punching losses over the past half-decade. The exhilaration of victory might not last long in the NFL, but neither does the disappointment of defeat — especially when a Thursday game rolls around.
“We’ve just got to get back to the drawing board and finish,” 49ers defensive tackle Maliek Collins said in the locker room. “I still feel like it’s early in the season. We’re going into Week 6. We have a quick Week 6 coming up. I haven’t lost any faith. Everything we want is still out in front of us.”
Said Bosa: “Finishing and playing complementary football is something we’ve been good at through the years. I haven’t lost any confidence in the team.”