Three Takeaways From the 49ers 22-17 Loss to the Vikings

The 49ers have lost a game for the second week in a row.

It's fairly wild to see considering they lost to no better than average teams and looked so elite in their five wins. More aspects of the 49ers are starting to be revealed. Here are the three takeaways from the 49ers 22-17 loss to the Vikings.

The 49ers are missing DeMeco Ryans

I t was always going to be a downgrade no matter who the 49ers were replacing DeMeco Ryans with at defensive coordinator. Hiring Steve Wilks was a solid hire for them as the secondary would benefit from his specialization in that group. He also integrates a ton of more blitzing than Ryans, and even Robert Saleh, ever does. Well, it's so far been a disaster with it as the 49ers are badly missing Ryans now.

Wilks was way too trigger happy and committed to his identity of blitzing against the Vikings. That played a major role in the Vikings and Kirk Cousins carving the 49ers defense up. Look no further than when Wilks dialed up an all out blitz late in the second quarter on third down. Because of that, it allowed Cousins to find Jordan Addison and make a big play touchdown. In the past, the 49ers would have sat and forced the opposition to throw short, but with Wilks he likes to pull the trigger. He needs to reel it and realize not every situation needs to be a blitz.

Where is the pass rush?

Seriously, where is it? Since 2019, the one facet of the 49ers that was always reliable to be dominant was the pass rush. But so far through seven games, they have been irrelevant. That plays into the issues of Wilks and the 49ers missing Ryans. However, defensive line coach Kris Kocurek is still there and so are the same players. They know what is effective and how it is supposed to look like. Why they suddenly have forget to use what works is beyond me.

For Cousins to look like an elite quarterback, especially when he never has against the 49ers, is an embarrassment. The 49ers pass rush has always made Cousins best friends with the grass, yet this game he wasn't sacked once. This unit and defensive coaching staff should be ashamed of themselves. At some point, they need to be making a massive impact and come through on critical downs. Otherwise, this defense will drop to an average or even below average side. Concern should be high with them.

No love for Jordan Mason

Sometimes, Kyle Shanahan just has so much love for a player that even when there is a better option, he doesn't use it. In this case, he went with Elijah Mitchell over Jordan Mason in the relief role for Christian McCaffrey. Now, it was only one carry that Mitchell got, but that is indicative of how Shanahan views his backup running backs. He likes Mitchell over Mason more, and he loves McCaffrey over them exponentially more. Not only should Shanahan give Mason the snaps ahead of Mitchell, but give him a few to relieve McCaffrey.

It's becoming ridiculous how McCaffrey is being ran into the ground. At some point, it is going to cost the 49ers. His heavy usage is starting to show already. McCaffrey has not been running the ball well in the last three games. He's only averaging three yards per carry. For an All Pro caliber running back, that is a pitiful number to average. He would benefit by giving up a few or more of those carries to Mason so that he can garner more explosive runs. McCaffrey should also be used more as a receiver to expose mismatches with linebackers. When that happens, he breaks out for a massive touchdown run like he did in the third quarter of this game. Reel it in and give more to Mason.