A stunning loss to Seahawks pushes 49ers and Kyle Shanahan into another uncomfortable coaching crossroads

Heading into the Week 9 bye last season, the San Francisco 49ers were skidding. Their offense had scored 17 points in each of three consecutive games — all losses — and something felt off. The euphoria of drubbing the Dallas Cowboys 42-10 was long gone, and some anxiety started to set in. The run defense had been flat for several games, quarterback Brock Purdy was committing ugly turnovers and there was a lack of continuity across the board.

The focus at that time was on defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. And Shanahan’s answer to that was moving him down from the booth to the sideline, so he could be in better communication with his players. The next game out, the 49ers held the Jacksonville Jaguars to three points. It was the first of six consecutive 49er victories and San Francisco closed out the season 7-2 before sweeping into the Super Bowl.

It’s a memory that has differing vantages. Some might see it as Shanahan scapegoating his defensive coordinator — who he later fired after a Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs — at a time when Shanahan’s own offense was a big part of the problem. Others might see it as Shanahan shaking up his staff’s routine and trying to engage a different dynamic and spark the team.

Whatever it was, it feels relevant to the 2024 iteration of the 49ers. They’re off-kilter again, this time fumbling in a fairly critical 20-17 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks that drops San Francisco to 5-5 and the bottom of an extremely tight NFC West, thanks to a woeful 1-3 record in the division. Sunday’s defeat stung in multiple ways, from star edge rusher Nick Bosa suffering his second oblique injury of the season, to Purdy misfiring under pressure on a key third-down hot read (which could have iced a win for San Francisco), to the 49ers’ defense looking half-asleep as the Seahawks put together an astonishing 12-play, 80-yard touchdown drive in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

With that drive, the Seahawks put themselves…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-11-18 05:44:03

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