4 takeaways from 49ers’ stumble in Tennessee
The 49ers were rolling when they went to Tennessee on Thursday night to face the Titans. Consecutive wins over the Bengals and Falcons had them at 8-6 and eyeing a possible 11-win finish after their dismal start to the year. Then they stumbled in Nashville and dropped a tough one to the Titans 20-17.
So what happened to the once red-hot 49ers? We have a few takeaways:
QB play matters
(Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
The 49ers on Thursday showed just how much their success is tied to their quarterback. Jimmy Garoppolo’s errors put San Francisco in a tough spot on both sides of the ball, and highlighted why the club will move on from him after this season. Bad interceptions, missed touchdown throws to wide open receivers and taking unnecessary sacks all stood out as part of Garoppolo’s night. He wasn’t horrible, but he wasn’t good enough and the 49ers ultimately couldn’t overcome his mistakes.
Kittle goes cold
(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
The 49ers fed George Kittle early Thursday. He was targeted three times in the first quarter and caught two of them for 21 yards. The third target was a ball Garoppolo tried forcing to him in the red zone that was intercepted. Then they stopped throwing to him. Kittle finished the game with those two catches on three targets. That can’t happen. The Titans were trying hard to ensure he didn’t get the ball, but he’s too impactful to let go three quarters without a single target and Garoppolo wasn’t good enough to make the Titans pay for freeing up other areas of the field. San Francisco’s offense is at its best when Kittle is involved. They cannot go nearly full games without targeting him anymore.
A defensive issue
(Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
The 49ers’ defense was good enough to win Thursday, but breakdowns in the secondary in the second half allowed Titans wide receiver AJ Brown to dominate with six catches for 121 yards and a touchdown in the final two quarters. While the secondary certainly had a hard time containing Brown, missed tackles and inconsistent pass rush were also culprits in a big second half for Tennessee’s struggling offense. If San Francisco isn’t getting after the quarterback, their defensive backfield becomes a sizable liability. They have to make quarterbacks uncomfortable, especially on third down, if they’re going to make any noise in the playoffs.
Still in the playoffs
(Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Despite a bad loss the 49ers still hold the No. 6 seed and will hold a playoff spot at the end of the week regardless of the outcomes. This wasn’t a season-ending loss, but some issues were exposed that make it hard to believe this version of the 49ers can make a deep playoff run. They’ll still be in a spot to do that going into Week 17 no matter what since they earned a little breathing room with their wins over Cincinnati and Atlanta.
1
1
