San Francisco 49ers: Breaking Down Offense From Sunday’s Loss

The San Francisco 49ers fell short in their quest to make it to the Super Bowl. They were able to get off to a pretty good start but things fell out of place for them in the fourth quarter. This game was definitely winnable but it slipped away from them. The offense seemed to struggle against the Seattle Seahawks. Let’s break down their effort from Sunday’s loss.

The running game was not a factor for the 49ers. Frank Gore only got 11 carries which is not nearly enough to get most running backs going. Gore was out quite a bit in the third quarter. Colin Kaepernick had 130 yards on 11 carries. Most of the yards game on scrambles so it wasn’t like as if Greg Roman was dialing up a bunch of running plays for his quarterback. The 49ers got away from the run in a game that required them to do the opposite. It was a bit more difficult to run the ball with Mike Iupati out after breaking his ankle.

The passing game was a bit of a struggle against the Seattle secondary. Anquan Boldin stepped up and made a nice catch on a 26 yard touchdown reception. It was a great throw by Kaepernick as he jumped up and delivered a strike that just got past the outstretched arms of Earl Thomas.

Kaepernick was 14/24 for 153 yard and two interceptions. He made a bad read on his first interception in which he was confused by the coverage. He thought that Kam Chancellor was going to drop down in the flats instead of back into the zone where Boldin was. As a result, Chancellor made the interception on a pass that Kaepernick should not have ever thrown. That was a costly turnover because the 49ers were moving the ball.

The offensive line struggled a bit with Micahel Bennett and Cliff Avril. Both of them were able to get to Kaepernick and for the fumble. The one by Avril was recovered by the Seahwawks while Johnathan Goodwin scooped up the over one.

The last drive was one that almost ended in a victory but once again, the Red Zone monster was out. Kaepernick made a nice throw to Frank Gore. This was on a 4th down. The drive got all the way down the 18 yard line with some time left and two time outs. There is no way that I wouldn’t have thrown the ball to Boldin on the slant and told him ot call a timeout as soon as he got tackled. We all know this didn’t happen and as a result the Seahawks can party.

The need for a big receiver that can win the jump ball in the Red Zone was really shown today. The 49ers will also need to get Kaepernick more up to speed on running offense. He has to become more comfortable throwing from within them/