Students of recent history can recall the 49ers in 2021 seemingly out of the picture at 3-5 and then somehow rallying to reach the NFC Championship Game.
A check of the game book from that day shows 17 players who were on the 49ers then and are on the 49ers now, as well nine coaches including head coach Kyle Shanahan.That resurrection was sparked in part by having Deebo Samuel shifted into the backfield from wide receiver and moving Arik Armstead from defensive end to full-time defensive tackle.
While it’s nice to have that in the memory bank, Shanahan doesn’t see that season as relevant.
“I don’t think it pertains to anything,” Shanahan said Monday in a conference call with local reporters. “I think everyone goes off life experiences. People can resort to that and know how things work. I’ve seen a number of them, enough to know you can never count yourself out until you’re actually eliminated from something. But I think every year is different and we’ve got to write our own story this year and it has nothing to do with other years.”
In truth, for as painful as Sunday’s 24-23 loss to Arizona was, the 49ers, even at 0-2 in the NFC West, are in a division where they’re not exactly down and out.
The 49ers visit Seattle Thursday night, with the Seahawks at 3-2 after losing to the New York Giants. Arizona is 2-3 after the 49ers win and the Los Angeles Rams are 1-4.
And it’s not as if the 49ers of Oct. 6 are going to be the same team they are a month from now. Yes, they could be worse. They could also be a lot better.
Perhaps in reference to that 2021 season, where the 49ers ran off a 7-2 finish and beat the Rams in the final game of the season to sneak into the wild card round, tight end George Kittle wasn’t about to throw in the towel.
“The team that you look like in September and October will be significantly different in November and December,” Kittle said Sunday night. “We’ve got to try to get better, take one day at a time and be a little bit better every day.”
Quarterback Brock Purdy had one of his few bad games, going 19-for-35 for 244 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He was a senior at Iowa State in 2021, so he’s focused only on this team. It’s one Purdy said is still looking to find itself.
“Every year is different with just the team, the chemistry and getting guys together,” Purdy said. “It’s a couple plays away, a couple drives away from gelling and gluing together. But I’m confident we’ll find it.”
Where the 49ers need to be a lot better is on offense, which cratered in a way few Shanahan teams have after the first half when they held a 23-10 lead.
“I thought this one was worse than the Rams in terms of we got sloppier in terms of our turnovers, not scoring in the second half,” Shanahan said. “When you have a lead on people you need to finish them. The way you finish people is you continue to score, and if you aren’t doing that, you can’t turn it over and you’ve got to stop people at the end.”
The 49ers did none of those things, with three turnovers and one plus another one on downs when forced to go for a first down on fourth-and-23 without place kicker Jake Moody.
With place kicker Jake Moody out indefinitely with a right high ankle sprain, Shanahan said four kickers were coming in for tryouts but had yet to learn their names.
THE MIDNIGHT OIL
Shanahan and his staff have already put the Arizona loss to bed to begin preparation for Seattle. The review period will be a brief one. Defensive end Nick Bosa thinks that’s a good thing.
“It’s pretty clear what happened and why we lost, so I think it’s kind of a blessing in disguise that we’re playing on Thursday,” Bosa said.
Shanahan hasn’t had time to stop and think about whether it’s a blessing or a curse.
“My process with that started all last night,” Shanahan said. “I do all that stuff at home when I’m done, when I get home. And then I come in in the morning and clarify it with all the coaches real early and put that to bed with them and then get right to Seattle . . . in these short weeks, you get to the next game as soon as possible.”
Toward that end, Shanahan held his weekly conference call in the morning rather than the late afternoon, and had very little in the way of updates of injured players.
Safety Talanoa Hufanga departed with a wrist injury but Shanahan wasn’t sure of the severity or if he’d even had an X-ray.
Linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles is likely to miss another week with a calf injury, while wide receiver Chris Conley (oblique) and wide receiver/return specialist Jacob Cowing (shoulder) remain day-to-day.
Running back Christian McCaffery (Achilles tendinitis) will continue to progress deliberately through his rehab on injured reserve, and at some point will return to practice with a 21-day window to get reacclimated to football.
“His plan is to continue his rehab and every day you try to push the rehab more and more each day,” Shanahan said.
With the short practice week, wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (chest) will also continue rehab but his 21-day period on the non-football injury list will not begin until next week at the earliest.
Defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos, Shanahan said, had knee surgery and will miss four to eight weeks. Gross-Matos went on injured reserve before the Arizona game.
SNAP JUDGEMENTS
Snap counts and observations from Sunday’s loss to Arizona . . .
64: The entire starting offensive line as well as Purdy did not miss a snap.
59: Brandon Aiyuk played 92 percent of the offensive snaps and had seven receptions for 147 yards after having a previous high of 48. It was his highest percentage of snaps of the season.
58: Fred Warner was questionable coming in with an ankle injury, having practiced only on Friday. He led the 49ers with 12 tackles, one for a loss and played every defensive snap. His standard is so high it was his least impactful game.
41: It was a season low number of snaps for running back Jordan Mason and a season-low in percentage of snaps (64 percent). Also a season low in carries (14). He still had 89 yards and a 6.4 average with the help of a 34-yard gain, but had a costly fumble with the 49ers in the red zone preceding Arizona’s winning score.
36: Defensive end Leonard Floyd had his first sack since the season opener against the Jets but has yet to be the consistent bookend force the 49ers were seeking opposite Bosa.
36: Wide receiver Jauan Jennings, a breakout player through the first four games, was targeted just four times and caught one pass for 13 yards.
28: Defensive tackle Jordan Elliott played 28 snaps and made it wire to wire after having knee issues in his previous two games. His most impactful play, however, was on special teams — a blocked field goal attempt by Chad Ryland that Deommodore Lenoir returned 61 yards for a touchdown.
26: Linebacker Dee Winters got his most extensive time with Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles out with a calf injury. He finished with two assisted tackles.
13: Second-year edge rusher Ronald Beal Jr. did not show up on the stat sheet with a tackle, assist or quarterback hit as he struggles to make an impact on passing downs.
10: Ronnie Bell was active and saw action at wide receiver after being inactive following a conspicuous late drop against the Rams. He was not the target of a pass.
