SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers dominated the NFC West the past two seasons, winning 11 of 12 games on the way to back-to-back division titles.
This season hasn't gone nearly as well.
The Niners blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead on Sunday to the Arizona Cardinals with shoddy red zone play and a tiring defense leading to a 24-23 loss.
The defeat comes two weeks after San Francisco (2-3) blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter in a 27-24 road loss to the Los Angeles Rams, but the 49ers have little time to dwell on it with a trip to first-place Seattle coming Thursday night.
“We don’t have time to sit here and have a pity party,” All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams said. “We’ve got another really good football team, another division opponent. Short week, so got to go.”
The short week means there will be little time spent going over all the mistakes from Sunday, but there were plenty. San Francisco got shut out in the second half, committing three turnovers on four drives and scoring only one touchdown all game on six trips to the red zone.
The defense allowed back-to-back drives of 12 and 14 plays in the fourth quarter that allowed Kyler Murray and the Cardinals turn a 23-13 deficit into a 24-23 win, marking the third time in the last six games for the 49ers starting at last season's Super Bowl that they lost a game that they led by double digits.
They have an NFL-high 18 losses like that since coach Kyle Shanahan was hired in 2017, including six games when they led by at least 10 points in the fourth quarter.
But the Niners believe they aren't far off from getting back to the form that helped them reach the NFC title games in 2021 and '22 and the Super Bowl last season.
“It’s early in the season and we’re still trying to find our true identity as a team and we’re getting there,” quarterback Brock Purdy said. “It’s a couple plays away and a couple drives away from gelling and gluing together. But I’m confident that we’ll find it. We’ve just got to get into a rhythm and play complementary team football.”
What’s working
Special teams. The Niners finally delivered a big special teams play after several blunders earlier in the season. Jordan Elliott blocked a field goal attempt in the first half and Deommodore Lenoir returned it 61 yards for a touchdown. It was just San Francisco's third special teams TD in the regular season or playoffs in eight seasons under Shanahan and the first on a blocked field goal since 2009.
What needs help
Red zone offense. The Niners failed to score a TD after getting into the red zone five times in a game for the first time since 2017. They rank 30th on the season with TDs on 40.9% of red zone drives, down from an NFL-best 67.2% last season. San Francisco has already matched last season's total with six goal-to-go drives that failed to reach the end zone.
Stock up
WR Brandon Aiyuk. After being held to 13 catches for 167 yards in the first four games, Aiyuk broke through for the first time since his contract dispute kept him out of training camp. Aiyuk had eight catches for 147 yards for his first 100-yard game in the regular season or playoffs since Week 17 last season against Washington.
Stock down
Tackling. San Francisco had 12 missed tackles Sunday, according to Pro Football Focus, giving the 49ers 29 the past two weeks after having just 14 in the first three games. Rookie safety Malik Mustapha and veteran linebacker De'Vondre Campbell were among the culprits, missing two each.
Injuries
The Niners will bring in four kickers for tryouts after losing Jake Moody to a high right ankle sprain. ... S Talanoa Hufanga injured his wrist in the game and there is no update on the severity. ... LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (calf) will likely miss at least another game. ... WR Jacob Cowing (shoulder) and WR Chris Conley (oblique) are day to day after missing the game. ... First-round rookie Ricky Pearsall will not have his practice window opened this week after getting shot in the chest nine days before the opener. ... RB Christian McCaffrey (Achilles tendinitis) will continue his ramp-up process, but won't play this week.
Key number
10 — The 49ers have scored only 10 offensive touchdowns this season for their fewest through five games since having seven in Shanahan's first season in 2017. After leading the NFL with 3.5 offensive TDs per game last season, San Francisco is averaging just two this season.
What’s next
San Francisco visits Seattle on Thursday night looking to snap a three-game losing streak against NFC West foes.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Josh Dubow, The Associated Press
