Let’s be clear–the San Francisco 49ers should have won their season opener against the Arizona Cardinals. Robert Saleh’s defense should have stopped Kyler Murray and the newly acquired DeAndre Hopkins dead in their tracks. When the defense came up short, Jimmy Garoppolo should have looked like the version of himself from the Saints game last December where he completed 26 of 35 passes for 349 yards and four touchdowns. And if that wasn’t going to happen, Kyle Shanahan should have called better plays that would have utilized his offense’s knack for running the ball and scoring touchdowns. But none of those things happened in the 49ers Week 1 loss.
Reflecting on the 49ers Week 1 Loss
Off-Season Issues
Should have. Could have. Would have. The off-season changes clearly affected the Niners on Sunday afternoon. Losing key players like Emmanuel Sanders, Joe Staley, Matt Breida, and DeForest Buckner had consequences. The injuries also played a large part with the lack of Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and Jalen Hurd’s contributions. Maybe the Niners were in desperate need of the preseason to work out some of the kinks and to better gel as a team before the season officially started.
The reality is that the defending NFC Champions delivered a so-so performance full of missed opportunities. Despite it all, it’s too early to start panicking and writing off the Niners’ season. Why? Because losing in Week 1 doesn’t signify a horrible season ahead.
History Tells a Different Story
The Dallas Cowboys in 1993, the New England Patriots in 2001, and the New York Giants in 2007 are the teams that the 49ers need to be thinking about right now. All three started 0-2 for various reasons and ended up claiming the Lombardi trophy. Tom Brady’s debut season started with a loss after replacing the injured Drew Bledsoe in New England and the team went 5-5 before finally gaining the traction needed to win the remainder of season. The New York Giants followed up an 8-8 season by starting 0-2 before winning six straight games (many of them blowouts) and finishing 10-6, ultimately becoming the first Wild Card team to win the Super Bowl.
Dallas, however, is the most interesting of these three teams because they parallel what’s going on with San Francisco at the moment. Back in ’93, Emmitt Smith and the Cowboys were unable to reach an agreement on the future Hall of Fame running back’s contract, leading to Smith’s absence from the first two games. Naturally, Dallas lost those games but when Smith returned, that team finished the regular season at 12-4 and went straight on to win the Super Bowl.
The missing pieces for the 49ers are Brandon Aiyuk, Jalen Hurd, and Deebo Samuel. It doesn’t excuse Week 1’s performance but it certainly paints a picture that the Niners are currently not at full strength. They have a particularly good chance to bounce back and, honestly, go all the way if they are able to learn from Sunday’s loss because it was a needed wake-up call for Kyle Shanahan and this roster.
Mistakes Were Made
The loss to Arizona wasn’t earth shattering since the last three games came down to the wire and were extremely close. This game was no different except in the end, it was Arizona who pulled out a win instead of San Francisco. Though the mistakes on display were very hard to overlook.
Let’s talk about the defense. For a good portion of the first quarter, it looked like the team from 2019 was making a reappearance. Nick Bosa, Javon Kinclaw, and Solomon Thomas covered Kyler Murray pretty well, not to mention Kerry Hyder Jr’s first sack of the season. It didn’t last, sadly, as Murray and Hopkins pushed past the D and never looked back. The lackluster response against Murray’s incredible mobile talents, who tapped into his inner Lamar Jackson, was embarrassing. And let’s not forget about Emmanuel Mosely and Richard Sherman’s failed attempts to contain DeAndre Hopkins, whose career high debut (14 catches for 151 yards) was undoubtedly impressive from a football standpoint. In the end, Robert Saleh’s infectious energy and charm was not enough for the defense to rise up to this new challenge.
As for the offense, it wasn’t quite there and yes, Jimmy Garoppolo played a big part in this. On paper, one could excuse Jimmy with a decent performance of zero interceptions, two touchdowns, and finishing with 19 for 33 for 259 yards. But the starting quarterback was unable to connect with his open receivers, especially Kendrick Bourne on the final drive, and his inability to convert third downs, going 4 for 10 for 34 yards was frustrating to watch. The worst play of the game for Jimmy was the inexcusably poor throw to George Kittle, causing a knee sprain for the star tight-end.
Optimistic About the Future
The 49ers deserved to lose in Week 1, period. They simply weren’t in sync and were outplayed by the Cardinal’s newest weapons. But there were some positives that provide some optimism.
Raheem Mostert continued to show just how essential he is to the Niner’s success. The 49ers Faithful must be glad that the salary dispute during the off-season was resolved and Mostert is still on this team, because that 76-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter was astonishing.
Jerick McKinnon’s three-year absence finally ended with a terrific return, where he made a touchdown and had three receptions for 24 yards. McKinnon may be the vital player he was hyped up to be a few years ago and if this game was a taste of things to come, then he’ll be very interesting to watch.
The defense, again, for a brief time showed glimpses of their previous dominance. While they may not have had an answer for Murray or Hopkins later in the game, other teams in the NFL may not fare as well especially if Saleh is able to course correct and get his defense back to their 2019 ways.
The Benefit of Losing Early
The biggest positive though, was that the 49ers lost early. This team, from the players to the coaches to front office, needed this loss to remind them that a return to the playoffs or the Super Bowl will not be an easy road. The entire NFL is smelling blood in the water after the Niners fourth quarter collapse in the Super Bowl and now they’re realizing that the bleeding hasn’t stopped. 2019’s run was fantastic and, frankly, magical by all accounts. If 2020’s so-called “Revenge Tour” is really going to take place, they need to dig deep and show the league what they’re made of.
This season is far from over for the 49ers and it’s time for this team to step up and get things going. All it takes is a spark and if history is a good indicator, this team is good for it.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
