49ers' Offense Humiliated in 37-27 Week 8 Loss to Seahawks
It does not get more embarrassing than that for the San Francisco 49ers as their offense was humiliated in their 37-27 Week 8 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
This was a game that the 49ers should have and needed to put up over 30 points on the Seahawks. It wasn't just because Russell Wilson was going to light up the scoreboard, but because Seattle's defense is not good. They are the No. 32 ranked defense in the league and allow 480 yards per game.
This game was begging for the 49ers to have their way with the Seahawks. It was begging for JaMycal Hasty, George Kittle, and Brandon Aiyuk to breakout. It was begging for Kyle Shanahan to stick to the script of what was working for the offense the last two weeks.
But in typical 49ers fashion in a loss this season, they did not stick to the script.
Shanahan on a handful of plays today made highly questionable play calls that ruined their momentum. No one is responsible for killing the 49ers' offensive drives more than Shanahan has this season so far.
I mean, what on earth was that third-down call on their opening drive? Calling a WildCat formation with Jerick McKinnon was absolutely dumbfounding. It made no sense whatsoever to call that, but Shanahan clearly over-thought it. That play alone would foreshadow how humiliating the 49ers would be on offense.
However, not everything is on Shanahan.
Jimmy Garoppolo, for yet another game, looked atrocious in the loss. And for yet another game, he exits with an injury.
Lets just call him for what he is: a limited, injury-prone player.
The guy just shows no signs of improving, which is something I believed he was capable of. Now it is difficult for me to even see him in that light anymore. In fact, he looks like he has regressed. And yes, you can point out he is likely still playing on an ankle that isn't 100 percent. But that does not influence why he gets happy feet and throws the ball to a wide receiver who isn't open, despite having a clean pocket to operate out of.
Garoppolo fails to see the whole field. Too many times in the game today he completely missed seeing a wide open receiver. Then all of a sudden when Nick Mullens comes in, you start seeing Brandon Aiyuk get a catch, then Kendrick Bourne, then Ross Dwelley. That is just way too coincidental.
Missing wide open receivers is hurting the 49ers, just like their offensive line play, which regressed today. Mike McGlinchey is not gonna like hearing "armchair quarterbacks" on Twitter this week hammer him with slander about getting steamrolled by former 49ers defensive back D.J. Reed. Seattle has a non-existent pass rush, yet they had no issues turning up against the 49ers.
Just humiliating on all fronts for the 49ers offensively.
And I am not even going to criticize the defense because they actually played well, despite what the numbers say. You can only slow down Wilson for so long and it is not like they really have a player who can contain D.K. Metcalf.
You can point to the injuries on offense and how George Kittle went out, Garoppolo went out, no Raheem Mostert and such. But the Seahawks had a ton of injuries going into this game as well. No one is going to sulk over the injuries of the 49ers when everyone is dealing with them.
Seattle was the first elite team the 49ers have faced this season, so it was a measuring stick game for them. And boy, did we learn where they stack up with the Seahawks. This just may be another season where the 49ers are the "little brother" to the Seahawks.
