Time to panic? Taking stock in 49ers after collapse vs. Falcons
Is it time to panic now that the 49ers had their first bad loss of the season?
That’s the reactionary question following San Francisco’s 29-22 defeat Sunday to the Atlanta Falcons, who came into the game as double-digit underdogs with a not-so-intimidating 4-9 record.
The 49ers (11-3) face NFC West foes in their final two games of the season. The loss to Atlanta doesn’t do much to change the equation even as they fall from the No. 1 seed to No. 5. If they beat the Rams at home Saturday then the Seahawks in Seattle, the 49ers will win the division and get a first-round bye in the playoffs, which was true regardless of what happened Sunday.
Which might be why cornerback Richard Sherman ominously indicated last week the game wasn’t quite imperative.
“I could play in this game,” Sherman said, “if we had to have it.”
Injuries bench Sherman, most of secondary
Sherman didn’t play because of a hamstring injury which led to Julio Jones’ terrorizing San Francisco’s patchwork secondary that was also missing starters Jaquiski Tartt and K’Waun Williams. Neither did pass rusher Dee Ford, also because of a hamstring, adding to the lengthy list of defensive linemen on the shelf.
Not surprisingly, Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan was brought to the newly-installed Levi’s Stadium turf for sacks just twice as the 49ers’ previously top-ranked defense struggled to contain a lethal quarterback and receiver combination for the second straight week.
News came out Monday the 49ers tried to put a waiver claim on recently released Terrell Suggs, which is logical given the team lost backup defensive ends Ronald Blair III and Damontre Moore to injuries.
But San Francisco’s biggest issues Sunday were on offense. The No. 2 scoring team in the league managed just two touchdowns and three Robbie Gould field goals.
One touchdown was set up by a key special teams takeaway when Ross Dwelley forced a fumble from punt returner Kenjon Barner that Kyle Juszczyk returned to the 1-yard line. Otherwise, the 49ers offense that averaged 8.2 yards per play in New Orleans averaged 4.8 against the Falcons with just one length-of-the-field touchdown drive.
Kittle stars while receivers struggle
Kyle Shanahan’s top three pass catchers against the Saints — George Kittle, Emmanuel Sanders and Deebo Samuel — had at least eight targets apiece in the Superdome. Sunday? Kittle had 17, Sanders had four and Samuel, three.
Shanahan was asked afterwards if the offense was too dependent on Kittle, who finished with a career high 13 catches and a season’s-best 134 yards.
“If we were throwing to him in double coverage I would,” Shanahan said. “You don’t just call plays that say ‘Go to Kittle’. You might want to start there and if they don’t double him, he usually gets it because he usually wins and if not you progress. There are a number of plays we try to get to other people, but Kittle got the majority of it today.”
Kittle’s third-down fumble out of bounds inside the 2-minute warning was his most glaring mistake in an otherwise stellar season. It stopped the clock and prevented the 49ers from getting a first down that would have extended their final possession, rather than settling for Gould’s third field goal of the game, and giving the Falcons time to drive for the winning score.
“Just dropped it,” Kittle said. “I tried to switch hands with it, so I could get a stiff-arm in. It didn’t work out well for me.”
There was also a fumble from Matt Breida at the Falcons’ 34-yard line, the fringe of field goal range, that took another scoring chance off the board (Atlanta’s final touchdown gave them a 1-point lead before the goofy touchdown on the ensuing kickoff return).
There was also Shanahan’s play calling, which might have resulted in the inability to spread the ball around to different pass catchers. Sanders never got going. He finished with just two catches for nine yards while there didn’t appear to be many instances in which he was open, unlikely the game in New Orleans. Samuel was given a rushing attempt, but he finished the game with just two touches after having seven against the Saints.
If the team didn’t want Sherman to play because San Francisco didn’t “had to have it,” then it might not have wanted Sanders or Samuel to take poundings, either. Both players had been dealing with rib and shoulder injuries in recent weeks. Good luck getting anyone to admit that.
Though the 49ers did come out of Sunday’s game without any injuries to announce for the first time all season, which could just be a happy coincidence.
Otherwise, all three of San Francisco’s losses have come down to the final moments. The Seahawks hit a field goal in overtime Nov. 11. The Ravens nailed a 49-yard field goal as regulation expired Dec. 1. And then Jones’ barely broke the plane with 2 seconds remaining.
“Close games, you definitely learn what your team is made of,” Kittle said. “I hope our team learns from this game that if we don’t bring the intensity, then it will be a quick season ending.”
There’s a complicated scenario that exists where the 49ers can lose to the Rams on Saturday and still win the division by beating Seattle (which has to do with the complicated series of tie breakers) — which leaves a chance Sherman and Ford remain sidelined to avoid aggravating their injuries before the finale and the postseason run.
Regardless, the 49ers should bounce back with a spirited effort against the Rams (division record and conference games also factor into tie-breaking scenarios) before setting up the massive showdown against the Seahawks for the division.
This story was originally published December 16, 2019 at 4:15 PM.