The San Francisco 49ers have lost three games in a row. And they've been sloppy doing so, losing the last two by 28 and 25 points. The team that played in the Super Bowl earlier this year looks nothing like the team that is playing right now. Sure, they are missing several players from that team, but even some players who did play in that game don't look the same. It's been an ugly brand of football, and everyone knows it.
So how do they turn things around and avoid losing a fourth in a row? Greg Papa, of NBC Sports Bay Area, sat down with the 49ers' Head Coach Kyle Shanahan on Friday and asked the coach how the 49ers could beat the Chicago Bears.
"I think it's how you'd beat anyone and how we would've lost to anyone these last couple of weeks. We got to fix those problems first," Shanahan said. "We have to stop the run. We can't let people run on us like they have in the first half of both of these games. And when you do that, our offense can't turn the ball over along with our special teams three times in the second half of both of those games. And when you do turn it over, you better make sure you're getting some or it's going to look bad.
"We've had six in the second half over these last two weeks and we've gotten zero, and we've been up all those rushing yards. First things first, let's stop the run, and let's protect the football. If we do that, now we got a game, and it's always going to come down to the end."
The 49ers have struggled to stop the run for much of this season. But it's been worse the past two weeks. As Papa points out during the interview, the 49ers did not allow a 100-yard rusher for 55 straight games, which was the longest streak in the NFL since 1955. But in Buffalo and Green Bay, they gave up 100 yards to a running back in both games. Asked what he's seeing with his run defense, Shanahan said, "Oh, we gotta obviously play a lot better. Whoever we go against, the running back is gonna have a good game and [DeAndre] Swift is a good one. So, I mean, if we give him the lanes that we've given these last two weeks, then he's gonna have a big day.
"But I believe we can play a lot better than these last two weeks, obviously. The way we've started out these two first halves in the run defense just alone, is gonna put you in a huge hole. You're gonna have a lot harder time getting turnovers when teams feel they can run the ball on you every play and it kind of goes simultaneous with that. The same way people have been running the ball on us, that's also why I think we're eight to one turnovers here in the last four games. So that is not a formula to winning football. As it's shown, that starts with stopping the run. If we can stop the run, I think we can start getting some turnovers."
The 49ers defense surrendered 169 yards rushing (in Green Bay) and 220 yards on the ground (in Buffalo) the past two weeks. The Bills gained 5.8 yards per rush, and the Packers picked up 4.0 yards per attempt. That's not a formula for success.
Turnovers and penalties have also been issues. The team continues to shoot themselves in the foot just when things are starting to work. For example, last week, the 49ers were at the goal line ready to score when FB Kyle Juszczyk fumbled the ball away. Shanahan noted the 49ers have lost the turnover battle 8-1 in the last four games. That is a recipe for losing football.
Other times, it's a back-breaking penalty that keeps a drive alive for the other team, or stalls a drive for the 49ers offense. Whatever it is, this team is too talented to continue beating themselves. Shanahan is aware of what his team needs to do.
"I want to get back to playing good football that I can be proud [and] our team can be proud of," Shanahan continued. "And that starts this Sunday versus Chicago. When you play that way, I think the right things will happen. I think that will lead to a W. But I'm not sitting here looking to the next week or how to get into the playoffs. I want us to play the right way, I want to put good stuff on tape, I want our fans to be proud of how it looks. And when you take care of all of that stuff, it leads to good things."
Watch the full interview with Shanahan here: