The writing seemed to be on the wall heading into the weekend for the San Francisco 49ers when Brock Purdy, Nick Bosa, and Charvarius Ward were ruled out due to injury. Then, Trent Williams was deemed inactive after a pregame warmup.
Well, Sunday went exactly how many expected and even worse to a degree, as the 49ers suffered their ugliest loss of the season in a 38-10 defeat to the Green Bay Packers, dropping to 5-6 on the season.
Offensively, the 49ers couldn’t establish any form of a run game, while their passing game struggled to generate many explosives and finish drives.
Defensively, San Francisco was out-physicaled and looked gassed from the jump, struggling to contain the run without Bosa, leading to the blowout defeat.
Here are three quick takeaways from the 49ers 38-10 loss to the Packers on Sunday.
Establishing the run game
Coming into the game, with a key injury at quarterback and at left tackle, it was clear the 49ers weren’t going to muster enough offense without a consistent run game.
San Francisco had struggled to establish the run with Christian McCaffrey over the last two games, as the star rushed for just 3.7 yards per carry since returning from injury.
That didn’t improve on Sunday, as McCaffrey had just 31 yards on 11 carries, failing to muster any type of success on the day. In our three keys to win, I highlighted the need to give Jordan Mason more carries during a game where the 49ers absolutely needed an identity on the ground.
Mason got a 16-yard carry on his first touch on the first drive of the second half, but didn’t see much volume outside of that, with San Francisco relying more on their passing game after falling into a deficit early.
The 49ers just looked flat, so an extra boost of physicality from Mason could’ve helped. Instead, they rode McCaffrey hard again, who struggled on the ground, while fumbling the ball on his longest catch of the day.
Defensively, San Francisco allowed Green Bay to run the ball 42 times, gaining 169 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Starter Josh Jacobs led the way with 106 yards and all three scores, powering through inside the red zone for a number of touchdowns.
The passing game was inconsistent for Green Bay, as Jordan Love completed just 13/23 passes for 163 yards. But, a strong rushing attack led the way en route to 38 points.
Big swing
One of the 49ers’ biggest chances in this game came to open up the second half. San Francisco had an abominable start, going three-and-out on consecutive possessions, while giving up scores on all three of Green Bay’s opening drives.
Down 17-7, the 49ers had a big chance to cut the game to a one-score lead, but opportunities were missed, as has been the case for much of the year.
Facing a 1st & 10 at the Green Bay 47-yard line, Brandon Allen had a deep ball to Jauan Jennings behind him, missing the open wideout who could’ve corraled the pass but wasn’t able to. Then, on 4th & 2, Allen had happy feet and was late dishing out an out-route, killing the drive.
After having a chance to pull within one score, the 49ers missed out, giving Green Bay a chance to improve their lead. But, the defense forced a quick three-and-out, giving San Francisco a chance to get within one score once again.
Well, as they did on the opening drive, San Francisco moved the ball, getting from their 10-yard line to the Green Bay 45-yard line. But, disaster struck again, as Brandon Allen had a pass intercepted off a dart to Deebo Samuel, which went through his hands and into those of Xavier McKinney.
Green Bay wouldn’t let that opportunity pass, as they swiftly put together a three-play, 26-yard touchdown drive to go up 24-7, never looking back from there.
In a game where so much was already going against them, the 49ers had a big chance to begin the second half. But, as they’ve done for much of the season, San Francisco was unable to capitalize.
Outlook of the stars
Coming into the season, it seemed like the 49ers were going to rely on their stars more than expected with the roster getting older and younger talent slowly getting integrated into the roster.
Well, 11 games through, San Francisco is 5-6 and their stars are a big reason for that.
Offensively, it starts at the top with Brock Purdy. The quarterback has been a positive for the season as he has utilized his legs more often, while overcoming other deficiencies. But, the question is: has he looked like a $60 million dollar quarterback?
Running back Christian McCaffrey missed the entire first half of the year as he rehabbed Achilles tendonitis, leaving San Francisco in a hole with arguably their best skill position player shelved. Brandon Aiyuk suffered a torn ACL early in the season, forcing rookies into action sooner rather than later at the receiver position. Then, Trent Williams started dealing with ankle issues, limiting his play and forcing him to miss a game.
Defensively, Nick Bosa has recently dealt with an oblique and hip issue, missing this past week. Javon Hargrave was ruled out early in the season with a triceps injury. Charvarius Ward has missed time. Fred Warner has not looked the same as his Defensive Player of the Year-level start. Talanoa Hufanga has also been out of the lineup for much of the year.
That has led to a talent depreciation on both sides of the ball, with certain players feeling like they’ve regressed, while the passion and fight in this team feel different than years past.
With the top players looking as they have over the first 11 games of the year, it’s questionable to see how this team can truly turn things around.
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