Almost too many shortcomings to count
Flexed, flushed and flummoxed. That was the 49ers on Sunday.
First, they were flexed out of the glamorous evening slot by NBC, which deemed the 49ers unsuitable for prime time.
The 49ers made the programming people look like geniuses by collapsing in a 39-10 loss to the Rams, whereupon the operative word in the locker room was “flush,” as in wiping this bad loss and this five-game losing streak off the old hard drive.
“You’ve got to flush this,” quarterback C.J. Beathard said.
Considering that the 49ers were pummeled by the visitors — and committed four turnovers
without creating a single Rams turnover — there is much flushing to be done.
The flummoxed part? That’s the 49ers having no answers for what has been going wrong, other than the signalflare phrase, “We’ve got to do better.”
It’s hard to remember all the way back to Sunday morning, when even credible NFL people were giving the 49ers a chance against the unbeaten Rams. Sure. Didn’t the 49ers almost take it to the Packers on the frozen tundra the previous Monday night?
This game was a turning point for the 49ers. A chance to achieve relevance, either with a win or a competitive performance against the only undefeated team in the league.
Didn’t happen. Now the 49ers are 1-6 and headed into a five-game stretch against teams that are .500 or below. They would have to run that table to achieve .500.
If only the 49ers could eliminate turnovers, they would be massively improved, but that’s like saying if I could nullify gravity, I could dunk. The 49ers have stamped themselves as a turnover-prone team, led by a turnover-prone quarterback.
After two of the 49ers’ first three possessions ended in lost fumbles, this exchange might have taken place on the sidelines:
Head coach Kyle Shanahan: “Guys, we can’t keep turning the ball over this way.”
Player: “Don’t worry, Coach, we’ll come up with new ways.”
And they did. On their next drive, Beathard fumbled but recovered, then he was sacked, forcing a punt, then the Rams blocked the punt out of the back of the end zone for a safety.
On the 49ers’ next possession, Beathard fumbled while diving to the turf on a scramble, but there’s a new rule this season that a quarterback dive in the open field is the same as a slide, so it was no fumble. On the next play, Beathard threw an interception. By the way, on that nonfumble fumble, Beathard lost the ball without being touched.
In evaluating and critiquing Beathard’s performance, which included seven sacks and two interceptions, it’s worth noting that the Rams can bring the fire. Defensive tackle Aaron Donald basically stole the 49ers’ lunch and gave them a wedgie in the bargain.
It’s amazing the havoc a truly great defensive lineman can wreak on an offense, as I was saying after the game to the press-box-elevator operator, Jon Gruden.
It didn’t help Beathard that in obvious passing situations — 2nd-and-16, 3rd-and-13, for instance — Shanahan put Beathard in straight drop-back calls, basically teeing him up for Donald and cohorts.
Against Green Bay, Beathard looked like he might be on the verge of blooming into a capable quarterback in Shanahan’s clever offensive system, but now Beathard is back to being seen as a QB whose greatest talent is absorbing punishment.
Shanahan nipped in the bud any talk of a quarterback change. When asked what was stopping him from taking a look at backup Nick Mullens, Shanahan shot back, “Because C.J. is the best quarterback we have in our building.”
Faint praise, indeed. And not likely to stop wiseguys from pointing out that Colin Kaepernick is warming up in a bullpen somewhere. A reminder: Kaepernick is not considered 49ers material because he’s not a pure pocket passer and has no downfield touch. Yeah, you’d hate to see a 49ers quarterback scramble away from the rush and take off downfield.
Not that 49ers fans could stand any more excitement. Many ticket holders flexed themselves out of Sunday’s game entirely, or stayed out of the blazing sun by hiding in their tequila bunkers deep in the bowels of Levi’s Stadium. Those fans who were there started flexing themselves toward the parking lot in the third quarter.
Most of them weren’t around to enjoy the remaining highlights, like Arik Armstead sacking Rams quarterback Jared Goff to end the third quarter, then celebrating with a “Let’s eat!” belly rub, even though his team was down 22 points. See: baseball’s unwritten rule No. 82: “Never pimp a homer when you’re down double digits.”
But if that was a social faux pas, the 49ers can flush it.