The 49ers looked sluggish in a 31-17 defeat against the Bengals on Sunday. It marked the team’s third consecutive loss, and a third game in a row where its once vaunted defense came up short in every key spot.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about the slew of issues facing the team between tackling, poor coverage and a lackluster pass rush, and which one concerned him the most. He pointed to all of the above and attributed the issues to fatigue.
“I know we’ve lost three games in a row,” Shanahan said. “I thought there was things that we were sloppy on versus Cleveland, mainly the penalties and struggling against the run. I thought in Minnesota there was actually a number of good clips that I really liked how we looked on tape and our energy and stuff like that. But, I thought we gave up too big of plays, a couple busts, and we struggled against a quarterback who was really hot. Then I believe yesterday that to me sticks out on the tape the most is just how slow and tired we looked. When that does happen, I think it leads to bigger holes. I think it leads to more mistakes. I think it leads to missed tackles. I could see on tape a different type of energy that was disappointing, but I also know that they need this rest and that showed the most.”
It would be nice for the 49ers if rest really was the only needed fix. They’ll get plenty of rest during the bye week.
The problem is it likely isn’t only relegated to that one thing, which leaves some significant issues for the coaching staff to solve during the week away. If they can start putting together more complimentary football performances, they should see dividends in how fresh the team is heading into January.
