They’ve won only once in three games. Yet they possess a top-tier defense. What gives?
Blame it on “bad offense,” as tight end George Kittle said of Sunday’s 11-10 loss at Denver.
They’ve scored just five touchdowns. That is their fewest total through three games since 2017, when they opened 0-3 en route to 0-8 in coach Kyle Shanahan’s first season.
Monday night, the 49ers welcome in merely the reigning Super Bowl champions. Clarification: That would be the Los Angeles Rams, who lost six straight regular-season games to the 49ers before rallying past them in January’s NFC Championship Game.
The 49ers’ unsettling start on offense is not the fault of one coach, player or quarterback. It’s not all about third-down failures, turnover ratio or starting field position (7 of 14 drives Sunday began inside the 49ers’ 20-yard line).
Rather than belabor one aspect, here are five ways to recalibrate the offense:
1. STOP THE PAIN
Each game, a key offensive starter has sustained a significant injury: running back Trey Lance (knee sprain), quarterback Trey Lance (ankle fracture), left tackle Trent Williams (ankle sprain). Lance is done for the season while the other two likely won’t return until November.
Time for an even-year exorcism? This injury trend is resembling the 2018 and ’20 pitfalls. Of course, there is no safe bubble to mitigate danger in this contact sport. We’re just pointing out that the loss of key starters should not be ignored when evaluating the following issues.
Get over it. No mourning is allowed with the NFL’s 24-hour, forget-about-it rule. This was hailed a month ago as the deepest roster under Shanahan and general manager John Lynch. So, who’ll be the next men up, or next men down?
2. NEW JUMPMAN: DEEBO
Two months after signing a lucrative extension with the 49ers, Deebo Samuel had his “dream come true” when Nike announced Tuesday he’s the newest ambassador for the Jordan brand. “As a kid, all I wanted were J’s,” Samuel said in Nike’s press release.
It would behoove the 49ers to get Samuel and his new shoes into the end zone more often. Their offense orbits around him. He scored their first touchdown on a run in Chicago, but he hasn’t scored on his 12 catches (21 targets) for just 131 yards.
Mind you, Samuel’s receiving production could have skyrocketed Sunday night. Instead, Jimmy Garoppolo, a Jordan-brand ambassador from 2018-20, underthrew Samuel on a wheel route that required a fadeaway catch on his back, and Samuel later broke open on a third-down, fourth-quarter throw that went elsewhere.
3. TOW THE LINE
Williams, the NFL’s best linemen, is irreplaceable. Now the 49ers’ already inexperienced line will plug in Colton McKivitiz and hope for the best, which worked out after Williams was a late scratch for the regular-season finale that the 49ers won in L.A.
The line figured to lurch at times this season with an entirely new interior. Through three games, the 49ers are funneling the majority of their runs up the middle, behind center Jake Brendel and guards Aaron Banks and Spencer Burford. Right tackle Mike McGlinchey needs to rally this unit in Williams’ absence. Sunday’s goal: seal off Aaron Donald from the backfield as the 49ers’ run away from him.
4. JIMMY G REBOUNDS
Garoppolo is coming off a terrible outing in Denver that rivals his career worst. Historically, he rebounds well, and his quick-release throws have been an elixir vs. the Rams. This is no time to grant “freedom” for throws testing the boundaries.
He’s never lost consecutive starts … in which he’s finished both games; a calf injury knocked him out of last October’s loss to Seattle after a loss to Green Bay.
This Monday night, he’ll have to atone for a slew of mistakes in Denver: late throws (or a no-throw or an interception) toward Deebo Samuel, fumbling a delayed snap (center’s fault), and, of course, the embarrassing retreat through the end zone for a safety (which canceled out a pick-six).
5. VARIETY SHOW
The offensive calls seem stale and too predictable: “Here comes a power run up the middle, there goes a play-action pass over the middle.”
After an offseason emphasis on installing and practicing option runs, the 49ers are recalibrating without Lance. Shanahan must dig further into their “catalog” of plays, like they did in 2020 against the Rams with short passes to Samuel.
Healthy and available for greater use: Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Ray-Ray McCloud, Jauan Jennings and — who are we missing — running backs!
Combining Jeff Wilson Jr. with Samuel for Sunday’s runs wasn’t enough of a threat. Incorporate another rusher, be it rookie Jordan Mason or the two new veterans on the bench, Marlon Mack and Tevin Coleman. Oh, and finally get more use out of Kyle Juszczyk’s play-making instincts.
What about deep threat Danny Gray? Just don’t send the rookie speedster on a go-route with Garoppolo and the offense backed up on their own goal line. Right? Well, at this point, just get some yards and points in any way possible.
