San Francisco 49ers Lose Big Again, Fall to 1-2
By David Ochoa
The optimism the San Francisco 49ers generated after their opening week win over the Vikings seems so far away now, as they got blown out for the second consecutive week. On Sunday, the 49ers traveled one state over to take on their division rival, Arizona Cardinals, looking to get back on track.
Coming off a 43-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the 49ers had hoped to right their ship with a bounce back game against the Cardinals. Unfortunately, for the second week in the row, the 49ers fell apart in an opponent’s stadium. The game was over by the end of the first quarter when Arizona took a 14-0 lead, on their way to a 47-7 thrashing of the 49ers.
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This is a game that everyone from the 49ers’ players, to the coaching staff, to the front office is going to want to forget. Most notably, Colin Kaepernick, as he played arguably the worst game of his career. He began the game by throwing interceptions on back to back series’ that the Cardinals took back for touchdowns.
He finished the game with four interceptions and less than 100 passing yards and a dismal QB rating of 16.7. The one bright spot of his game is that he ran for the 49ers’ only score of the day.
After his dominating performance in week one, Carlos Hyde struggled to get going for the second consecutive week in a row. That is price for having such a good outing. Defenses are now focusing on Hyde and putting the game in Kaepernick’s hands.
Unfortunately for him and the 49ers, it seems that San Francisco’s offensive line is not up to the task of either protecting their quarterback or run blocking effectively.
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Kapernick has been unable to step into his throws because the pocket in front of him collapses so quickly. That pressure from the defense causes weak, inaccurate throws that tend to get intercepted — exactly like what happened against Arizona.
Even former pro bowl left tackle, Joe Staley is struggling on the field. When your best player on a unit is out of his groove, it stands to reason that the rest of the unit is playing poorly as well. The right side of the line, with Erik Pears and Jordan Devey, seems to be outmatched every week. With those two and center Marcus Martin performing so poorly, there is very little that Kaepernick or Hyde can do.
On the opposite side of the ball, the 49ers’ young defense is struggling. The potential they showed in the season opener has been nowhere to be found the last couple of weeks. Opposing quarterbacks are finding huge holes in the secondary and completing passes because the line can’t get to the quarterback.
Carson Palmer threw for 311 yards and two touchdowns against the 49ers’ defense. He and Larry Fitzgerald combined to shred the 49ers’ defense for 110 yards. The defense did intercept Palmer once, but in a losing effort so catastrophic, there doesn’t seem much worth celebrating about it.
While the secondary has always had question marks, the run defense was supposed to be stout. Well, Chris Johnson ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns against San Francisco’s run defense. The players might not have been helped out by their coaches, but they still looked a few steps behind the Cardinals on just about every play.
After one blow out loss, many reasoned that the team just had a bad game. After two blow out losses, it becomes a pattern and an indicator of just how good the team really is — or isn’t. With the Green Bay Packers next on the schedule, the 49ers quite possibly might give up 40 points in three consecutive games.