The San Francisco 49ers found themselves in a tailspin once again, as they succumbed to a gut-wrenching collapse in the fourth quarter for the second time in just three weeks.
On Sunday, Kyle Shanahan’s team witnessed a 13-point lead vanish in the second half, with a 10-point advantage slipping away in the fourth quarter of a heartbreaking 24-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. This latest debacle came on the heels of a similar meltdown against the Los Angeles Rams, where the Niners let a 14-point lead slip in the third quarter.
The back-to-back division defeats have left the Niners with a 2-3 record, a disappointing start to the season for a team with high expectations.
Kicker Jake Moody’s ankle injury during the game hindered the team’s ability to extend their lead with long field goals, but it couldn’t mask the larger issue of the Niners’ struggles in the red zone. San Francisco converted just 1-of-6 red zone chances into touchdowns on Sunday, a glaring weakness that has plagued them early in the season. The absence of star running back Christian McCaffrey, known for his effectiveness in the red zone, certainly didn’t help matters, but Shanahan knows there’s more to it than just one player missing.
“Same thing I said all last week, not very good,” Shanahan lamented about his team’s red zone woes. “We were middle of the pack before today started and we got a lot worse today.”
The Niners have some soul-searching to do as they try to bounce back from these demoralizing losses and right the ship before it’s too late. They’ll need to address their red zone inefficiencies and find a way to close out games if they want to salvage the season and live up to their potential.
