Maybe the San Francisco 49ers will recover from this disastrous season and become next year’s champion.
Sure, there’s six weeks to go in this 2024 campaign. As bad as it was, the 38-10 blowout at Green Bay – the third-worst loss under Kyle Shanahan – counts as only one defeat. And despite falling to 5-6, their worst record at this point in the season since 2020, the mirage maintains that the 49ers are just one game out of first place in the NFC West.
If they can get hot at the right time…
Never mind. The reality check is half-empty. The 49ers are in last place. After getting drubbed by the Packers, the consolation prize is a trip to Buffalo. This injury-depleted team, which showed up on Sunday without injured quarterback Brock Purdy (shoulder) and All-Pros Nick Bosa (hip/oblique) and Trent Williams (ankle), may have a mathematical chance of rallying down the stretch to get into the playoffs. But what the defending NFC champs really need is a miracle.
There was no divine intervention at Lambeau Field. The 49ers fell behind 17-0. The defense missed 15 tackles in the first half, according to Next Gen Stats, and 20 for the game. It is not the same defense. Josh Jacobs became the first opponent in 55 games to rush for 100 yards (26 carries, 106 yards) against the 49ers, snapping the NFL’s longest-such sub-100 streak since 1955. The 49ers committed three turnovers in the second half (two from fill-in QB Brandon Allen, the other by Christian McCaffrey), which led to three Packers touchdowns. They committed nine penalties for 77 yards, including one that ruined Deebo Samuel’s 87-yard return of the second-half kickoff that seemingly set the table to make it a one-possession game.
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“It’s embarrassing,” 49ers linebacker Fred Warner lamented during his postgame news conference. “You’ve got to take it on the chin and move on.”
Sometimes, though, the body blows wear you down. This might appear as a massive Super Bowl hangover for the 49ers following the overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in February. That’s a stretch. It’s more apparent that last season’s flow didn’t carry over because each season is an episode of its own, and a championship run this time just isn’t in the cards.
This 49ers season started with McCaffrey – the reigning NFL rushing champ and vital component to the passing game – sidelined for nine weeks by an Achilles injury. Other setbacks have claimed defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (triceps) and wideout Brandon Aiyuk (ACL/MCL). And big-play linebacker Dre Greenlaw still hasn’t returned for the torn Achilles suffered in Super Bowl 58.
True, the NFL is a war of attrition and every team in the league has some level of frustration linked to injuries. Yet with the fresh batch of key players sidelined, the 49ers may have had more than their share.
Then again, they haven’t allowed themselves much cushion when considering their tendency to come up short in close games. The 49ers lost four games this season by a combined 13 points, including the Week 11 setback against (now first-place) Seattle that was sealed by Geno Smith’s 13-yard TD run with 12 seconds left. Since Shanahan became coach in 2017, the 49ers have lost the second-most games in the league (21) when they held fourth-quarter leads, according to Josh Dubow of The Associated Press.
Of course, there was nothing close about Green Bay’s drubbing, which was the 49ers’ most lopsided loss since 2018. It may have also represented some payback for the Packers, whose 2023 season ended with, well, a close loss at San Francisco in the NFC divisional playoffs.
Will there be a playoff rematch? Don’t bet on it. The Packers are currently slotted sixth in the NFC’s playoff race. The 49ers, in the 10th slot, have a 15% chance of making the playoffs, according to Next Gen Stats.
“Definitely an uphill grind,” George Kittle, the star tight end, said during his postgame news conference. “I guess we’ll see what we’re made of.”
Kittle, who led the 49ers with six catches and 82 yards, and scored the team’s only touchdown with a leaping 3-yard grab in the middle of the end zone, did not sound like a man ready to panic over his team’s predicament.
That’s a credit to Kittle. He’s still upbeat and eager. He was vehement in insisting that this trying season hasn’t tested his optimism.
“Why would it?” Kittle said.
Well…
“We’re not where we want to be by any means,” Kittle added. “Losing by 28, it’s horrible. We don’t want to do that by any means. Obviously, we’ve got to watch the tape.”
Spoiler alert: It’s a real horror show. Burning the tape is clearly another option.
This story has been updated to include a new video.