Nick Mullens and the San Francisco 49ers offense practically let the reigning NFC champions down to stay in the playoff race.
Mullens made two turnovers that Washington turned into defensive touchdowns and the 49ers lost their second straight game at their temporary home in Arizona 23-15 on Sunday.
We weren’t clean today on offense, said coach Kyle Shanahan. Either way, we would have found a way to win if we hadn’t returned the ball. That was a number of things today from an execution standpoint. … You can’t expect to win many games when you play like this.
After finding out that they would not be able to train or play in their stadium and facilities due to COVID-19[feminine[feminine With rules banning contact sports in Santa Clara County, the Niners rallied to a 23-20 Rams victory two weeks ago to keep them in the wild-card race.
San Francisco arrived in Arizona with hopes of staying in the running long enough for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and 2019 All-Pro tight end George Kittle to return for the stretch race, only to fall flat in losses. consecutive.
The defense was slashed last week in a 34-24 loss to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, then the offense self-destructed against Washington, wasting a strong defensive game that saw the Niners allow just three. Washingtons offensive field goals and just 3.11 total yards per play.
The Niners have returned the ball several times in seven straight games, the team’s longest streak for eight players in 2018.
We won’t beat anyone on our schedule by handing the ball away like we’ve done in recent games, said left tackle Trent Williams.
The game turned on Mullens’ two turnovers which turned into touchdowns. DaRon Payne dropped the ball to a sack with San Francisco protecting a 7-6 lead late in the first half. Rookie Chase Young picked it up and ran for 47 yards for the score that put Washington for good.
Then in the third quarter, Mullens missed Kyle Juszczyk on an out pass as Kamren Curl returned 76 yards for another TD.
You’re just trying to play to get rid of the ball, Mullens said. It’s just an accident that happened. I just have to protect the ball and I can’t make that kind of mistake. It changes the game.
The Niners still had a chance after Mullens threw a TD pass to Juszczyk and a 2-point conversion to Kendrick Bourne to make it an eight-point game. But San Francisco kicked off their next two practices before missing their last chance after a detention penalty on Mike McGlinchey wiped out a 22-yard pass to Bourne at Washington 22.
Two games later, Mullens connected with Bourne on an 11-yard pass in the fourth and 12 and the San Franciscos game and maybe the season was essentially over.
This is extremely disappointing, sad Shanahan. The way our defense was playing against that attack, you have a very good chance of winning as long as you don’t return the ball. For us, returning the ball and giving them 17 points, two without our defense even having to go on the field, was on the back breaker limit.
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