If you were a part of the cynical minority of 49ers fans that was shouting doom in August, it’s time to take your victory lap. The Super Bowl hangover unfortunately seems to be very real for the 5-5 Niners. An avalanche of issues have snowballed into a dystopian triplet of the disastrous 2014 and 2020 seasons. If the scarred coaching staff and nucleus of quickly aging star players don’t get things under control quickly, 2024 is toast.
According to Brian Murphy on the Murph & Markus show on Monday morning, it already is.
“I gotta go ahead and call it right now. The season is toast.”
It can be hard to be pessimistic about a team that has enjoyed so much success over the past five years. But even the most fearless optimists can’t deny the ominous cloud that drapes itself over the upper deck of Levi’s Stadium. The Niners have awoken on the couch, fully clothed, with a pounding headache. Ever since they left Las Vegas in February, not much has gone right for the tortured red and gold.
As if the 49ers didn’t do enough to shoot themselves in the foot on Sunday, the officiating crew went above and beyond to ensure San Francisco would cough up another fourth quarter divisional lead. Late in the fourth, Seattle appeared to have called a second consecutive timeout prior to the Niners punting on 4th-and-6. The infraction, if acknowledged by a referee like it was on Sunday, comes with a five yard penalty. That would have made it 4th-and-1, and given field position the Niners would have most likely opted to go for it, if not attempting a long field goal.
Mike Pereira joined Papa and Silver on Monday afternoon and dissected exactly what didn’t and what should have happened on the play. The error wasn’t heavily scrutinized on Sunday, but once Pereira broke it down SF fans piped up about the injustice.
“It is clear that Seattle asked for a second timeout. What you are to do when a team asks for a timeout when they are not entitled to it, what you do is ignore it. Now, it didn’t get ignored, it got granted. So what is the rule? Is it simply a do over? No. It is a five yard penalty (against Seattle) That’s a rule.”
Update from the infirmary wing:
Nick Bosa left the game early in the fourth quarter on Sunday with an aggravation of his pre-existing oblique malady. Unfortunately, it looks as though he worsened the ailment, even injuring the other oblique while he overcompensated. The Niners seemed to dodge a bullet early this week though, as Bosa wasn’t placed on IR. He’s officially questionable for Sunday’s game in Green Bay, but don’t be surprised if he doesn’t play.
Dre Greenlaw continues to progress towards a return that is loosely targeted for some point in December, but that is likely contingent on the 49ers contention. If the Niners lose both in Green Bay and Buffalo and sit at 5-7, why would the organization rush the return of a linebacker whose absence has only proven to increase his value? An uncompetitive December will probably mean no Dre Greenlaw in 2024.
Keep your heads up, Niner fans. This team under this regime has pleasantly surprised us in the winter months before.