{"id":50443,"date":"2018-10-01T00:01:55","date_gmt":"2018-10-01T04:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=50443"},"modified":"2021-03-09T22:16:22","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T03:16:22","slug":"san-francisco-49ers-week-four-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2018\/10\/01\/san-francisco-49ers-week-four-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on the San Francisco 49ers Week Four Loss to the Los Angeles Chargers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The main story heading into this game for the San Francisco 49ers<\/a> was how C.J. Beathard<\/a> <\/strong>was going to respond to being thrust into the starting lineup due to the season-ending injury to Jimmy Garoppolo<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The 49ers had the ball in the waning minutes just needing a field goal to win, but Beathard threw an interception to give the Los Angeles Chargers<\/a> a 29-27 victory.<\/p>\n

San Francisco 49ers Week Four Loss Drops Them to 1-3<\/strong><\/h1>\n

It’s certainly not going to get any easier for the 49ers going forward. Injuries are majorly affecting this team early on this season.<\/p>\n

Besides Garoppolo, the defense has already suffered some important losses. Richard Sherman<\/a><\/strong> and Jaquiski Tartt<\/a><\/strong> didn’t play this game.<\/p>\n

The offense suffered more bad luck on Sunday as well.\u00a0Joe Staley<\/a> <\/strong>and Dante Pettis<\/a> <\/strong>exited this game and did not return.<\/p>\n

With this loss to the Chargers, the 49ers have fallen to 1-3 and now seem to be on the verge of letting their season completely slip away.<\/p>\n

Beathard Shows Flashes, but Makes Costly Mistakes<\/h2>\n

It was a mixed bag for Beathard in his first start of the year. He looked solid for much of the game, but also committed a couple costly turnovers that probably cost his team a victory.<\/p>\n

The first one was an interception on a first and goal from the eight-yard line with nine minutes left in the third quarter.<\/p>\n

The 49ers looked poised to at least tack three points on the board, and possibly come away with seven points to retake the lead.<\/p>\n

Instead, a deflected pass intended for Garret Celek was intercepted by Trevor Williams<\/a><\/strong> and returned for 86 yards.<\/p>\n

The 49ers defense responded by clamping down and holding the Chargers offense to a field goal, but it was still a demoralizing point swing to put the Chargers up 26-17.<\/p>\n

The second crucial mistake from Beathard happened on the final offensive drive of the game for the 49ers when they had a chance to march down the field and kick a field goal for the win.<\/p>\n

On their own 31-yard line with about two and a half minutes remaining in the game, Beathard was hit as he threw a pass intended for Alfred Morris<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n

The pass was picked off by Isaac Rochell<\/a><\/strong> and returned to the 49ers 19-yard line, essentially icing the game.<\/p>\n

Beathard had a chance to win the game for the 49ers and instead turned the ball over. The 49ers started that final drive a long way back on their own seven, but they only needed to get into field goal range to set themselves up for a victory.<\/p>\n

All things considered, Beathard played decently. He went 23\/37 for 298 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions while putting up an 82.9 passer rating.<\/p>\n

Despite the key mistakes, Beathard generally played well enough to give the 49ers some comfort going forward with him as the starter.<\/p>\n

The 49ers were actually up 14-0 with under four minutes left in the first quarter after Beathard hit Kendrick Bourne<\/a><\/strong> for a two-yard touchdown pass.<\/p>\n

With a cushion like that, all Beathard would have had to do is just not make any mistakes and play a game manager role the rest of the way if the defense had played more effectively.<\/p>\n

The defense didn’t hold up its end of the bargain, though, and forced Beathard to need to make big plays near the end of the game to pull off a win.<\/p>\n

That’s not an ideal situation to put a normally backup quarterback in. The turnover on that crucial drive certainly raises the question of whether Beathard is capable of leading game-winning drives in crunch time if presented with the opportunity.<\/p>\n

It’s way different to ask a quarterback to come from behind than just manage a lead. The defense has a responsibility to not turn the game into a shootout and put too much of a load on Beathard.<\/p>\n

The red zone issues were very apparent as well.\u00a0A team like the 49ers can\u2019t afford to leave points off the board, and they went just 1\/4 on their red zone attempts, with one of those being the debilitating interception that resulted in a Chargers field goal.<\/p>\n

Kittle Has Another Impressive Game<\/h2>\n

Beathard\u2019s numbers were helped by a nice 82-yard touchdown pass to George Kittle<\/a><\/strong> with just under three minutes to go in the third quarter.<\/p>\n

Kittle continues to show that he has the potential to be one of the upper echelon tight ends in this league if his hands ever improve.<\/p>\n

The speed he showed in the open field after making that catch is more evidence that he could be a truly great player in this league.<\/p>\n

Kittle finished the game with six catches and a game-leading 125 receiving yards. Through the first four games, he leads the 49ers in catches and yards.<\/p>\n

49ers Defense Struggles with Missed Tackles<\/h2>\n

Costly turnovers aside, to put the blame squarely on Beathard for this loss is looking at the game too narrowly.<\/p>\n

There were numerous instances on defense where the 49ers simply couldn’t wrap up the guy with the ball, and drives were extended.<\/p>\n

It’s a shame because the defense looked exceptional through the first couple series of the game before the Chargers offense was eventually able to find a rhythm.<\/p>\n

Philip Rivers<\/a><\/strong> bounced back nicely from throwing a pick-six to Antone Exum<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0on the Chargers opening drive to have a great game.<\/p>\n

He started off 0\/4 with an interception but managed to salvage a good performance out of that horrendous start.<\/p>\n

He finished 25\/39 for 250 yards and three touchdowns and a 97.2 passer rating. Each of his three touchdown passes went to different players.<\/p>\n

Antonio Gates<\/a><\/strong> caught a touchdown in the first quarter, Austin Ekeler<\/a><\/strong> caught one in the second quarter, and Melvin Gordon<\/a><\/strong> caught the final one in the third quarter.<\/p>\n

The 49ers defense came into this game leading the league in missed tackles, and they had the same problems against this Chargers offense.<\/p>\n

Gordon ran for 104 yards on just 15 carries, with much of that damage coming after the first hit put on him.<\/p>\n

Missing tackles in abundance like that indicate a lack of fundamentals and ultimately keeps the defense out on the field longer.<\/p>\n

The unit gets more and more exhausted the longer they\u2019re out on the field, which results in even more missed tackles. It’s a vicious cycle.<\/p>\n

49ers Didn’t Get the Running Game Going<\/h2>\n

It was interesting how much the 49ers threw the ball with an inexperienced quarterback in a game where they spent the vast majority of the time either in the lead or within striking distance.<\/p>\n

Beathard threw the ball 37 times while running backs Matt Breida<\/a><\/strong> and Morris only combined for 13 carries.<\/p>\n

Breida came into this week tied for the league lead in rushing yards, and it\u2019s disappointing that they weren\u2019t able to incorporate the running game more effectively against a defense that had struggled against the run in their last three games.<\/p>\n

The Chargers defense came into this week giving up the ninth-most rushing yards per game with 120.3 yards, but the 49ers were able to rush for just 76 yards this game.<\/p>\n

The running game is clearly the strength of the 49ers offense at this stage of the season, and Beathard needs a solid rushing attack to lean on to make his job easier.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>