San Francisco 49ers: 3 Takeaways vs. Redskins in Week 6
The San Francisco 49ers cannot stop losing in heart-breaking finishes. Here we look at the takeways from another slender defeat in Week 6.
The San Francisco 49ers earned an unwanted place of NFL record books on Sunday as they suffered another close loss, this time at the hands of the Washington Redskins.
San Francisco became the first team in NFL history to lose five successive games by three points or less as Washington held off a 49ers rally to claim a 26-24 victory, though it came in contentious circumstances with the aid of a dubious offensive pass interference penalty on the final drive.
It was a game that saw Brian Hoyer benched and C.J. Beathard replace him as the starting quarterback. As San Francisco moves forward with the rookie third-round pick under center, we look at the three takeaways from another heart-breaker.
3. Beathard flashes his potential
The 49ers’ Hoyer nightmare is over. Head coach Kyle Shanahan waited until the second quarter to make the change after another dreadful performance from the journeyman signal-caller. Hoyer completed just four of his 11 passes for 34 passes, and it is clear now that his time with San Francisco could be even shorter than first thought.
Beathard provided an almost instant spark and, with the help of some very strong play by the defense, guided the Niners back from a 17-point deficit to tie things up. Appearing undaunted by the moment, Beathard was calm in the pocket and was able to make plays outside of the structure, something which, for the most part, Hoyer has been unable to do.
C.J. Beathard finds @AldrickRobinson for the TD! #SFvsWAS pic.twitter.com/EZvcCLiQ9e
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) October 15, 2017
He was far from perfect and completed only 19 of his 36 pass attempts. However, Beathard appeared comfortable running the offense and amde a superb throw to a wide open Aldrick Robinson to pull the 49ers back within two points. Though the penalty prevented him from completing the comeback, Beathard provided plenty to be encouraged by in a season already full of bright spots despite the winless record.
2. Niners can’t stop the short passing game
It was a problem before they cut NaVorro Bowman and, with Reuben Foster still on the sideline, defending the short passing game remained a significant issue for the 49ers. San Francisco virtually shut down Washington’s ground attack, but Redskins running back Chris Thompson still enjoyed a very profitable game, hauling in four passes for 105 yards.
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Linebackers Ray-Ray Armstrong and Brock Coyle were simply unable to cover the speedy Thompson and the less explosive Samaje Perine was also able to haul in three receptions, one of them for a score.
Ezekiel Elliott’s likely absence may limit the Dallas Cowboys’ ability to attack the 49ers in the same fashion in Week 7, but San Francisco will hope Foster’s eventual return, which was expected in Washington, will bring an end to a deficiency that is having a huge impact on their ability to get off the field.
1. San Francisco has the worst luck in the league
When a team has as bad of a record in close games as the Niners do, it is somewhat obvious to say they are unlucky. But it is frankly astonishing just how unfortunate San Francisco has been across this five-game spell. Sunday marked the second time this season that the Niners have been knocked out of field goal range on a potential game-winning drive because of an OPI call.
It happened to Trent Taylor in the the Week 3 Thursday Night Football thriller with the Los Angeles Rams and now it has happened to Pierre Garcon, with both calls extremely questionable. San Francisco also saw a roughing the passer penalty against the Seattle Seahawks not called on a key drive in their Week 2 loss, while a defensive holding flag kept the Arizona Cardinals’ overtime drive alive in Week 4.
Next: 2017 NFL Power Rankings: Week 7
The Niners cannot blame their losses entirely on bad luck and officiating — a contentious fumble call went in their favor in Washington — and this is a team that still needs to learn how to finish. But there is no denying fortune has largely not smiled on the 49ers so far in 2017. At some point, that will have to change.