The 49ers could have come away with a win Monday night against the Giants, but didn’t.
That’s been one of the themes of this disappointing 2018 season for the Niners, who have now allowed four fourth-quarter leads slip away en route to a 2-8 record.
On Monday night, the 49ers took a 23-20 lead over the Giants with less than three minutes remaining, but lost 27-23 as New York put together a long touchdown drive to get the win. The 49ers also were up at halftime, 13-10. As Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group noted, the 49ers under Kyle Shanahan allowed only two fourth-quarter leads to slip away over 16 games in 2017.
Wrote Inman: “Are players not in position to execute, or do they simply lack players (most of whom this regime picked) who can thrive in the clutch?”
Shanahan told reporters after the game he was “extremely disappointed” the 49ers let the game get away.
“It was a number of plays,” said Shanahan. “Extremely disappointed. I thought we put ourselves in a position that we should have won that game. Up 20-10 after the first drive in the third quarter. Gave up a kick kick return right after that, I think, followed by two explosive (plays). Got them right back in it, 20-17.
“I thought we had a chance to step on their throat there and we didn’t. We let them get back in it fast. Kept them around. Kept them around too long and then we didn’t make the plays at the end and we had every opportunity to and just as a team, players, coaching staff, we didn’t get it done.”
Sports
The big part of the equation, of course, is San Francisco’s problems on defense. Without a strong pass rush, opposing quarterbacks – such as Eli Manning Monday night – can be comfortable in the pocket and lead late-game drives while having plenty of time to exploit the weaknesses in the secondary.
The 49ers now will enter their bye week. They will return to action on Sunday, Nov. 25, against the Bucs in Tampa Bay.
