The San Francisco 49ers are now 1-2 after their Week 3 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. The Niners are apparently struggling on offense and look very undisciplined. Will they have enough time to turn it around?
Following their second straight loss, the San Francisco 49ers have looked a bit puzzling. Their strong run game is seemingly no longer a major aspect of their offense, which could be one of the main reasons they have been unable to hold onto their leads. Last week against the Bears, the 49ers were up 20-7 in the fourth quarter, but continued to throw the ball. After two Colin Kaepernick interceptions, the Bears roared back to score three touchdowns and win 28-20. The team's backs rushed for a total of 63 yards on 18 carries.
They followed up that fourth quarter collapse with a 23-14 loss on the road against the Cardinals on Sunday. Arizona had backup quarterback Drew Stanton under center, which seemed like it would be a cakewalk for a talented 49ers defense. But instead of controlling the ball and the clock with the running game, Colin Kaepernick and the offense passed 37 times and the team was unable to get much going in the second half. Frank Gore rushed the ball six times for ten yards and Carlos Hyde added three carries for 13 yards and a touchdown.
The rest of the team's rush yards in the last two games were runs from Kaepernick, many of which came after he dropped back for a pass and escaped pressure. Even he couldn't explain the team's plan in the second half.
"We hadn't shown that before," Kaepernick said of the team's no-huddle, spread attack, in this CSN Bay Area article. "It was something new. In the second half, we ran it here and there. I really can't say why we didn't. They were just the calls that came in."
Gore was obviously upset when he told reporters after only a few questions that he couldn't talk anymore.
The team could be looking to revamp the offense for the future, but if the starting quarterback and starting running back can't give a word of insight into the matter, then who can? They should at least have some answers regarding the second half offense, because they've been outscored 52-3 in three second halves this season.
They may need to work on their discipline too, as they've amassed 25 penalties for 225 yards in their two losses this season.
