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We’re in the home stretch. Three weeks remain in this harsh 2020 season, starting with a matchup against the 4-9 Dallas Cowboys, who may well have a better chance at the playoffs than the 49ers do.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan joined the Murph and Mac show on Friday before Sunday’s contest, which was initially supposed to be a Sunday Night Football game. It was switched to a 10 a.m. PT start once it became apparent these were not a pair of juggernauts some expected before the season.
The first question is who starts at right guard for the 49ers. They lost Colton McKivitz to the Reserve/COVID-19 list and Tom Compton to injured reserve with a pair of concussions in three weeks. Daniel Brunskill has managed to practice and will discernibly start at center with a sprained shoulder, but Hroniss Grasu is out with a knee injury.
That left… Tony Bergstrom and Dakoda Shepley as starting right guard candidates. But they will not be getting tipped, Shanahan said. Justin Skule, the team’s backup swing tackle, will start at right guard.
“That was his only time being there before in a couple practices,” Shanahan said. “But, throwing him in there this week. He’s gotten two practices. He knows what to do. Looked good in practice and feel good to go with him.”
As for the two big names who may or may not return, in George Kittle and Jimmy Garoppolo, it’s clear Kittle’s in a different boat. The All-Pro tight end returned to practice this week and won’t play Sunday, but has a chance to return.
Shanahan said Kittle ran with the 49ers’ scout team and had a couple encouraging practices, but he’ll lean on team doctors to decide if there’s any risk of re-injury in Kittle returning.
“The way he looked this week gives him a chance in these next two weeks,” Shanahan said. “He was fresh and going and he looks good but you know it’s all about what the doctors say after he goes. He’s got two days in this week and how he feels over the weekend the soreness and stuff like that. Because that’s all the stuff you’re trying to debate whether there’s anything lingering and what the safety issues would be putting him back out there.”
Garoppolo, though… well, we may have seen the last of him in a 49ers uniform. At the very least, his return this season does not sound exceedingly likely, with a “maybe”-type chance to return to practice next week.
“We were hoping the whole time along to kind of get him and George the same plan, but Jimmy’s injury is a little bit different,” Shanahan said. “here’s a little more risk in it, so we didn’t feel good putting him back in practice this week. And it’s also a little harder for the quarterback to get in there. There’s not as many reps for the other guys, so we’ll see how he feels next week. Maybe we can get him into the practice but I think his timeline is at least a week behind George’s.”
Oh, and Nick Mullens?
He could get the hook. Shanahan acknowledged that he’s been losing his mind a bit with the 49ers turnovers. The team has eight interceptions and eight fumbles in the last six games and aside from the first two games of the year, has lost every game with a negative turnover differential and won every game with a positive turnover differential.
Currently, the 49ers have a -7 turnover differential, good for fifth-worst in the NFL. Dallas is tied for second-worst at -10.
“My biggest thing with Nick right now is not turning the ball over,” Shanahan said. “I mean I know he missed him open throws last week which are very obvious to everybody, which stick out a ton. But he also made about nine good plays that I thought where we had nine drops. So I think that ends up being a little unfair to him, but he can throw the ball better there’s no doubt about that and he needs to.
But what I can’t handle anymore are the turnovers. Where we’re at in the league right now, where we’ve been out here these last five weeks with how much we’ve turned the ball over, it doesn’t give you much of a chance to win. And so, first and foremost, we got to protect the ball better. And if we don’t, regardless of how you’re playing, then that’s what will get me to pull the trigger.”