San Francisco 49ers' 'Progress' Doesn't Mean Much in Week 8 Blowout Loss

At least the San Francisco 49ers scored six points.

Sure, the St. Louis Rams scored 27 and blew out the Niners by 21—no getting around that. But we expected the Niners to lose this game, didn’t we? San Francisco had no chance to win without running back Carlos Hyde and wide receiver Anquan Boldin, both of whom were inactive because of injury.

The Niners aren’t playing for this season anymore. This season is over. They are playing for the future, and Sunday afternoon they made some steps in a “positive” direction—like on offense. At least the Niners doubled their scoring output from last week. Against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 7, San Francisco scored just three points. Six points is a major improvement.

Tom Gannam/Associated Press

More “major” improvements: At least the Niners gained 189 yards in this game. At least they converted three third downs. At least they had the lead during the second quarter. Last week, they gained 142 yards, converted one third down and never led. This is a team on the rise.

Take the quarterback, Colin Kaepernick. He completed less than 49 percent of his passes, threw for only 162 yards and posted a grotesque passer rating of 59.2.

But, at least he didn’t throw an interception. At least he got sacked only three times. At least he missed only one wide-open receiver in the end zone. At least he didn’t hit a trainer in the head with a wild pass. At least he didn’t get benched.

Focus on the positives.

Billy Hurst/Associated Press

At least Boldin didn’t play and further injure his pulled hamstring. Now, the Niners can trade him before the trade deadline on Tuesday.

At least Hyde didn’t play and further injure his broken foot. Hyde is key to the Niners’ future.

At least wide receiver Jerome Simpson played. Simpson may or may not be key to the Niners’ future. But he’s signed through next season, and the Niners need to know what they have in him. At least they got a glimpse on Sunday.

At least center Marcus Martin only gave up one safety. Martin may be the weakest center in the NFL—it’s remarkable the Rams didn’t bully him more often.

And at least fullback Bruce Miller dropped only one pass in the end zone and committed only three penalties on special teams before halftime. He could have been much worse.

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

The 49ers defense definitely struggled too, but at least it held Rams starting running back Todd Gurley to 69 rushing yards on 19 carries if you don’t count his 71-yard touchdown run.

And at least it allowed the Rams to convert just one third down. At least rookie safety Jaquiski Tartt forced a fumble, and rookie outside linebacker Eli Harold recovered it. At least defensive end Quinton Dial blocked a field goal.

The Niners have so much to build on.

After the game, head coach Jim Tomsula spoke about that building process and potential changes he could make to the team. “Obviously I haven’t gotten to the right answer yet,” he told the media, “but we’ll find the right answer.”

See, at least Tomsula will figure it out eventually. By then, the Niners’ record may be 2-12, but Tomsula will have the answers. The Niners are in good hands.

Billy Hurst/Associated Press

After Tomsula spoke, Kaepernick came to the podium and explained why he still is confident in this team. “We’ve seen the players come in, work hard and make plays in practice,” Kaepernick told reporters. “It’s something that we have to be able to put a complete game together, and go out and show those things on the field.”

Why haven’t they been able to show those things on the field?

“The biggest thing is our execution,” Kaepernick said. “We have a penalty here, we have a mishap here or there and we get backed up. It’s something that we can’t do that against the defenses that we play against in our division.”

Kaepernick is absolutely right—penalties were a problem Sunday. The Niners committed 13. But hey, at least they didn’t commit 14.

Baby steps.

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