The San Francisco 49ers were hampered by turnovers and ended up losing 28-18 to the previously winless Arizona Cardinals.
When a team loses to a previously winless team and is now tied for the fewest wins in the NFL, it forces a real conversation about whether that said team is now the worst in the league.
Considering that the 49ers lost this extremely winnable game at home to such a poor opponent, it’s an argument worth exploring in some depth.
There were numerous developments to take away from this game from the 49ers perspective, mostly negative, but some positive.
Reflections on San Francisco 49ers Week Five Loss to Arizona Cardinals
C.J. Beathard Plagued by Turnovers
C.J. Beathard committed four turnovers, and it’s practically impossible to win while not adequately protecting the ball.
Beathard was strip-sacked twice, the second of which was forced by Haason Reddick and returned for a touchdown by Josh Bynes on a drive in which the 49ers could have taken the lead with a field goal near the end of the game.
The return occurred with about four and a half minutes left, and Beathard theoretically could have eaten up enough clock on the drive to give the ball back to the Cardinals offense with very little time to respond.
Instead, the strip led to the Cardinals going up by two possessions, a win becoming very unlikely for the 49ers at that point.
For the second straight week, Beathard showed glimpses of being a productive quarterback, but ultimately doomed his team with inopportune turnovers.
Beathard lost two fumbles and threw two interceptions, the last interception coming on a fourth and long on their ensuing drive after the fumble returned for a touchdown.
The interception on fourth and long would lead to the second rushing touchdown of the game for the Cardinals that put them up by 16 points with under three and a half minutes left.
It really evokes the question of whether the team needs to bring in another quarterback via a free agent signing or a trade.
Nick Mullens is the only other quarterback on the roster right now, and he was undrafted and has never appeared in an NFL game.
If a quarterback turns the ball over as frequently as Beathard, the team does not have a realistic chance of winning ball games.
Perhaps management is fine with just throwing in the towel for this season and setting themselves up for a high draft pick.
Jimmy Garoppolo would presumably be healthy for next season, and the team would be able to bring in more intriguing young talent.
This was probably as easy of a task as Beathard is going to face, and he responded by turning the ball over four times.
There’s no reason to expect the 49ers to be able to compete for a win on a weekly basis if changes aren’t made.
Breida Injured Again
The rushing attack for the 49ers looked good, but Matt Breida finds himself banged up once again. He left the game in the first quarter and did not return.
Before he exited with his injury, Breida had run for 56 yards on eight carries and caught a shovel pass for a five-yard touchdown.
Brieda has a vast amount of talent, but it’s still unclear if he’s durable enough to be depended on as a featured running back.
Breida is explosive, but he’s just 5’9″ and 200 pounds, leaving himself vulnerable to injury.
The injury might not be serious, but it’s getting to the point where there’s a concern every series that Breida is going to end up getting hurt.
He might be the best offensive weapon this team has right now, and any time he’s not out on the field the offense is going to suffer.
Alfred Morris got the bulk of the rushes after Breida went down, but he only averaged 3.4 yards per rush.
Raheem Mostert was forced into action after the Breida injury and he committed a costly fumble that was returned to the red zone by Patrick Peterson.
That fumble recovery and impressive return led to a rushing touchdown by David Johnson that put the Cardinals up 14-6.
Ideally, Mostert wouldn’t be in the game in that situation, but that’s what happens when Breida gets injured.
Wasted Opportunities for 49ers Offense
The offense found a nice rhythm for extended periods, and would obviously be a lot more productive if they didn’t turn the ball over.
The offense scored on their opening drive, but they didn’t score another touchdown until the fourth quarter.
The interceptions by Beathard can be excused a lot easier than his fumbles. The first interception resulted from a pass that deflected off the hands of Pierre Garcon, and the second interception was on a fourth and long heave.
The first strip sack happened just as the 49ers offense was starting to find a nice groove. Beathard didn’t step up in the pocket and Chandler Jones was able to knock the ball out of his hands coming around the edge and recovered his forced fumble.
This turnover didn’t lead to any points for the Cardinals, but it ended a 49ers drive that looked poised to put points on the board.
The 49ers special teams also played poorly. A bobbled hold on their extra point attempt following their first touchdown resulted in a failed extra point.
Robbie Gould then snapped his streak of 33 consecutive field goals made when he missed a 45-yard field goal that would have put the 49ers within five points near the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Time of Possession Dominated by 49ers
The Cardinals defense came into this game leading the NFL in time on the field, and this game followed what’s becoming all too familiar of a pattern for the Cardinals.
The 49ers offense had the ball for 40:12 this game, while the Cardinals offense was only out on the field for 19:48.
It’s extremely rare that a team dominates the time of possession to that degree and still finds a way to lose the game.
The 49ers defense did a fantastic job containing the Cardinals offense and not letting them prolong drives.
The Cardinals offense was held to just two for 12 on third down conversions and went three and out on five of their 12 drives, not including their final drive where they kneeled to run out the clock.
Richard Sherman and Jaquiski Tartt returned to the lineup after missing time due to injuries, and it really helped the secondary.
The only huge mistake the 49ers defense made occurred on the very first play for them when Josh Rosen hit a wide-open Christian Kirk for a 75-yard touchdown pass.
Besides that gaffe, the 49ers defense was really impressive. They held Rosen to just a 40 percent completion percentage and the Cardinals running attack to just 53 yards on a minuscule 2.3 yards per carry.
Letting the Game Escape
It still looked like a winnable game for the 49ers as the fourth quarter began. They were marching the ball downfield and the offense seemed to have some spark to it.
They got the ball down to the goal line set up by a very nice bubble screen completed to George Kittle for a 45 yard gain.
Kittle once again led the team with 83 receiving yards but dropped a crucial two-point conversion at the end of the game that basically sealed the 49ers fate.
It’s becoming a reoccurring theme for Kittle each week. He shows incredible explosiveness but manages to continue dropping passes.
On third and one on the one-yard line, Cole Wick dropped what would have been a touchdown pass by Beathard to bring up fourth down.
The 49ers went for it on fourth down, and Trent Taylor caught a diving pass in the near right corner of the end zone on what started out as a failed bubble screen.
Taylor had a solid game, leading the team with seven catches and tacking on 61 yards. Kyle Juszczyk was also active in the passing game, hauling in six catches and tallying up 75 receiving yards.
The 49ers failed to get the two-point conversion when Jones read the screen to the left perfectly and deflected the pass intended for Garcon.
That was as close as the 49ers got to catching the Cardinals. After forcing the Cardinals offense into a three and out on the next drive, the fumble return for a touchdown happened.
The 49ers offense showed tenacity as the minutes winded down, going 76 yards on 10 plays capped off by a sneak into the end zone by Beathard.
A two-point conversion would have made it a one-possession game with just under a minute and a half remaining.
They still would have theoretically had a chance to win the game by recovering an onside kick on the following kickoff.
It ended up not being that dramatic of a finish, though, as Kittle dropped the two-point conversion attempt and effectively ended the game for the 49ers.
This is going to be a rough season for the 49ers. If they couldn’t pull off a win in this game, there’s no matchup that they should feel totally confident heading into with this current lineup.
