Time to face ‘the moment of truth’
By Eric Branch
During the offseason, when they began their massive rebuilding, the 49ers’ catchphrase was clear: brick by brick.
During the regular season, in which they’ve lost three games by a combined eight points, those words have been shoved aside for these: the moment of truth.
After a 12-9 loss in Seattle, head coach Kyle Shanahan invoked them when discussing a failed final drive: “In the moment of truth,” he said, “we didn’t get it done in the passing game.”
After an 18-15 overtime loss in Arizona, Shanahan said the 49ers needed to discover why they weren’t making plays “in the moment of truth.”
On Wednesday, Shanahan said it again. On Thursday, it was clearly catching: “We’ve been competing hard,” general manager John Lynch said on KNBR. “I think where we have to take it to the next level is what wins games in this league: mak-
ing plays at the moment of truth.”
Now, on Sunday, the 0-4 49ers will look to finally seize their moment when they visit the Colts (1-3) at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Is this the week the 49ers finally get it done if they face a high-stakes, late-game situation? In the midst of the truth talk, here’s the painful reality: The 49ers don’t have enough difference-makers who can single-handedly alter games.
At Seattle, for example, the Seahawks won because Russell Wilson, a Super-Bowl-winning QB who has been voted to three Pro Bowls, took over in the fourth quarter. He capped the gamewinning drive he headlined by pulling off a signature Houdini act on a touchdown pass.
At Arizona, the Cardinals won because Larry Fitzgerald, a future firstballot Hall of Famer, soared to make a 19-yard game-winning grab between two defenders in the end zone.
The 49ers’ competitive start has offered signs of progress, but is clear evidence that 2-14 teams aren’t remade in an offseason.
They are lacking at vital moments because they are still lacking at key spots: quarterback, edge rusher, wide receiver and cornerback, among them.
Their deficiencies help explain their lack of game-changing plays: The defense has three takeaways (two have come on special teams) and zero sacks in two of four games. Their offense, which hasn’t scored a touchdown in three of four games, has 11 plays of 20-plus yards, five more than Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt.
“We’re on the right track,” said center Daniel Kilgore. “It’s just one or two plays and we’ll get it done.”
Said quarterback Brian Hoyer: “We just have to put it all together and then execute it when it comes down to it.”
And Shanahan: “I do strongly believe that when you lose three games by a total of eight points that you very easily could have won those games just by one or two plays going different.”
But who will make those plays?
The 49ers have young players who could emerge, but few players with a big-play track record.
Elvis Dumervil is their only player with more than 15 career sacks. Pierre Garcon is their only player with more than 82 career receptions. Their top cornerbacks, Rashard Robinson and Dontae Johnson, have combined for two career interceptions. And Hoyer, who ranks 30th in the NFL in passer rating, has shown why he has spent time with seven teams in nine seasons.
The 49ers, who have lost to the Panthers, Seahawks, Rams and Cardinals, have proved incapable of beating teams with playoff aspirations.
The good news: They are playing the Colts, a team that might have more serious warts than the 49ers.
Indianapolis ranks 31st in total offense and defense and has been overwhelmed by 65 points against the Rams and Seahawks, teams the 49ers have lost to by five points.
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett, 23, who was acquired in a trade Sept. 2, will make his sixth career start Sunday because Andrew Luck has yet to return from offseason shoulder surgery.
In their search for ways to praise the Colts, the 49ers have noted they were tied with the Seahawks last week in the third quarter. Then Seattle scored the final 28 points in a 46-18 win.
“Sometimes,” Hoyer said, “the end result doesn’t always tell the tale.”
The 49ers’ string of near misses tells the tale of a team that hasn’t responded in the moment of truth. And it’s possible they won’t until at least 2018, after they’ve continued to rebuild, brick by brick.