When you had been blessed to overlook the primary 15 video games of the 49ers’ 2024 marketing campaign, San Francisco gave you a Cliff Notes model of it Sunday in Miami.
The 29-16 loss to the Dolphins completely encapsulated the season: statistically robust however basically rotten.
On Sunday, the Niners averaged extra yards per play than the Miami offense. The San Francisco protection held Miami to 4-of-12 on third downs and just one red-zone landing in three tries.
Test a spreadsheet, and the Niners did nicely.
It’s too unhealthy soccer isn’t performed on a spreadsheet.
On the precise grass, in a recreation performed by well-compensated males, the Niners had been a catastrophe. Sunday’s recreation introduced one other string of accidents and a number of the worst situational soccer you’ll ever see on each side of the ball, leading to a 29-17 loss.
Sure, Sunday’s efficiency was the identical sort of recreation that was defined away early within the season, bemoaned within the fall, and has turn into unavoidable within the twilight of the marketing campaign.
The Niners had 11 penalties for 90 vital yards, doubling up a not-exactly-buttoned-up Dolphins squad in that class. They couldn’t run the ball, which was presupposed to be head coach and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s complete “thing.” They transformed solely 5 of 14 third and fourth-down conditions, and Brock Purdy, taking part in behind a backup-laden offensive line that might have been higher off laying on the bottom within the fetal place, threw a game-sealing interception with 2 minutes to play,
I might go on, however I’m getting second-hand embarrassment simply typing these items.
“No matter what’s going on, when you have those penalties like that, you don’t deserve the win. The offense — the biggest thing was lack of concentration,” Shanahan stated. “[And] You can’t have three personal fouls on three drives [on defense] in the second half and expect to win.”
And the Niners haven’t gained. It’s arduous, in any case, to play two opponents each week: The group on the opposite facet of the sphere and your self.
That stated, I heard many counsel going into Sunday’s Week 16 recreation that with the Niners taking part in unburdened video games — San Francisco had no probability to make the playoffs earlier than kickoff Sunday — they could play their greatest soccer. The stress of a Tremendous Bowl-or-bust marketing campaign had been lifted; would possibly the group’s play elevate, too?
Oh, to be so naive. This type of stink doesn’t merely wash out.
Certainly, we noticed a contest in excellent South Florida circumstances that advised that the Niners can not assist themselves from self-destructive conduct.
In reality, it advised that these Niners haven’t underperformed all season—they could have overperformed going into Sunday’s recreation.
The Dolphins entered Sunday’s recreation in a nasty spot. They wanted all the assistance they might get to win and keep within the playoff race, and the 49ers supplied that sort of assist and extra.
On the second offensive drive of the sport, the Niners stacked a maintain, false begin, and sack, turning a pleasant little bit of early-series momentum right into a third-and-23 failure and a punt. Nice begin, gang!
San Francisco was simply getting began.
The Niners adopted that with a false begin on a second-quarter third all the way down to take a nasty scenario and make it not possible.
Then the Niners took three factors—the conservative choice—to finish the third quarter regardless of being on the Miami 3-yard line in a six-point recreation with out materials which means within the standings. That was lame.
The all-around failures stored coming within the second half, too.
The Niners noticed Miami 15 yards out of the gate with an pointless roughness penalty on the primary play of the half.
Then rookie Ricky Pearsall was flagged twice for illegally lining as much as first knock the 49ers out of the pink zone after which to wipe out an enormous third-and-long conversion that took the 49ers to the Miami 2-yard line.
After all, the Niners missed the sphere objective on the finish of that drive. What else did you anticipate?
And down 19-17 within the fourth quarter, the Niners had two extra pointless roughness penalties, the latter of which was adopted by a defensive offside that supplied arguably the most effective kicker within the NFL 20 free yards of subject place. In contrast to the Niners’ kicker, Jake Moody, Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders made his non-chip kicks on Sunday.
Then the Niners, trailing by 5 with 2:10 to play, might solely muster one play earlier than Purdy — who spent a lot of this recreation behind a makeshift offensive line operating for his life, and that’s barely an exaggeration — threw an interception with out a 49ers receiver within the neighborhood.
Oh, and the Niners additionally had two extra particular groups penalties on this contest, too. That’s now 4 within the final two video games.
“It’s happened way too many times this year,” Nick Bosa stated. “It’s very frustrating all around — offense, defense, special teams. when you have that many penalties, that’s kind of a harbinger of a loss.”
“It’s just bad football, and I don’t put that on coach Shanahan, I don’t put that on our wide receivers coach and line coach, tight ends coach, that’s on us,” George Kittle, who was one of many Niners’ few brilliant spots, catching eight passes for 108 yards, stated. “We know what the formations are, we have to go out there and execute. I messed up one.”
People, I hope I’m not the primary to let you know this, however these 49ers are a nasty soccer group. This system’s rise to excellence — 4 NFC Championship Video games in 5 years — was fast. The Niners reached the Tremendous Bowl in yr three of the Shanahan regime.
The decline would possibly show to be even quicker.
However whereas 2024 being a misplaced and dropping season for the 49ers is definite, what stays unclear is how a lot the 49ers have to do to proper the ship at any time when this marketing campaign mercifully ends in two weeks.
Perhaps Deebo Samuel, who had a renaissance recreation Sunday, totaling 121 yards and a landing, joined Shanahan, Purdy, Kittle, Bosa, Fred Warner, and the Niners’ rookie-deal gamers as the inspiration for 2025 and past.
Perhaps not.
For Samuel and so many different Niners — each on the sphere and within the teaching ranks — two weeks stay to avoid wasting their jobs.
As a result of after Sunday’s disastrous and encapsulating efficiency, you possibly can simply argue that every thing that’s not bolted down ought to go.
