Breaking Down 49ers' Penalty Issues After Loss in Home Opener

Head coach Jim Harbaugh put it best after the San Francisco 49ers' 28-20 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday night.

It was a collapse from all angles. Four turnovers, 118 penalty yards, three drives into the red zone that did not end in a touchdown...it all added up to blowing a 17-point lead in the regular-season opener at Levi's Stadium.

Of all San Francisco's mistakes, the penalties arguably hurt the most. Three of them extended Chicago drives that were about to result in a punt. A fourth came on a 2nd-and-15 incompletion. In all, six of San Francisco's 16 penalties gave Chicago a first down. 

Currently, the 49ers have committed the most penalties and allowed the second-most penalty yards in the NFL. Maybe more importantly, San Francisco leads the league with 10 first downs allowed via penalty.

	1st Downs Allowed	Differential
1. 49ers	10	-7
2. Patriots	9	-6
3. Buffalo	8	-8
3. Pittsburgh	8	-5
11. Arizona	5	+5
18. Seattle	4	+1

Are there trends we can discern from the Niners' infractions that extended drives? Let's take a look.

Against Dallas

In the first quarter against the Dallas Cowboys, Ahmad Brooks committed consecutive hands-to-the-face penalties (only one photo needed to prove the point):

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Both occurred on first down. Dallas would go on to score a field goal on the drive. 

In the third quarter, Craig Dahl pushed Devin Street on a 3rd-and-21 play:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Dahl's push actually gave Street more momentum to run his out-and-up route. Soft illegal-contact call or not, Dahl had no reason to do it. Tony Romo ended up overthrowing DeMarco Murray, who was 18 yards short of the first-down marker.

A few plays later, Jimmie Ward was called for illegal contact when he bumped Cole Beasley on 3rd-and-7:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Ward nearly intercepted the pass, which fell incomplete. It's hard to tell for sure, but it looks like Ward didn't need to nudge Beasley, considering the 49ers defensive back already had inside leverage on the deep in (Beasley went to his right on the play).

The Cowboys went on to score a touchdown to cut San Francisco's lead to 28-10. 

Against Chicago

The first two first-down yielding penalties did not come back to bite the 49ers against the Bears.

In the first quarter, Jimmie Ward was called for a hands-to-the-face penalty on third down that had no bearing on Jay Cutler's incomplete pass. Nonetheless, it was the correct call:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Justin Smith was also caught with a defensive-holding penalty on first down a few plays later. The Bears would go on to punt. 

The last four first downs allowed via penalty aided Chicago touchdown drives. 

With 1:12 to go in the second quarter, Alshon Jeffery beat Perrish Cox on a double-move. Cox bumped the Bears wide receiver, which warranted the flag in today's culture of soft penalty calls in the secondary:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Antoine Bethea was in good position over the top, and he hit Jeffery right after the ball sailed past the receiver. It looks like Cox's penalty wouldn't have made a difference with Bethea there. 

A few plays later, Cutler overthrew his intended target on 2nd-and-15. He took a big hit right after he released the ball. Quinton Dial was called for a personal-foul penalty for hitting Cutler with the crown of his helmet:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

And it's precisely when Cutler found his groove. 

I feel for Dial here. He didn't hit Cutler too high or too low. The hit is clean anywhere else on the field (and would've been clean on the quarterback a few years ago). 

Three plays later, Cutler connected with Brandon Marshall for a touchdown to cut San Francisco's lead to 17-7 right before halftime. 

With 4:20 to go in the third quarter, Cutler's third-down pass to Marshall was overthrown. But the zebras once again intervened, calling Corey Lemonier for a hands-to-the-face penalty on Jermon Bushrod:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Though it had no bearing on the result of the play, it appeared to be the correct call.

The Bears offense was aided by one more penalty, though it might have been a touchdown-saving infraction. 

Alshon Jeffery beat Dontae Johnson on a double-move, and this time there was no safety over the top:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

It's hard to say whether Cutler's throw would've been catchable, but the zebras decided Johnson made contact before the pass was thrown, thus the illegal-contact call. 

The Bears would score a touchdown on this drive, and from there the wheels fell off for the Niners. It's not crazy to say that if the Niners had not committed just one of the four penalties mentioned directly above, they would've won the game. Instead, the Bears offense and defense used the momentum of the two scoring drives to dominate the fourth quarter. 

Correctable Issues

Of the 10 first-down-yielding penalties in San Francisco's first two games, four were of the hands-to-the-face variety. Four more were contacting receivers down field, and of those four, at least two of them were unnecessary and had no impact on the play's result. 

Eight of the 10 penalties helped the opposing team come away with points, and five occurred on third-down incompletions. 

Those facts are what make this so frustrating for the 49ers. But the silver lining is their penalty issues are mostly correctable. 

As long as coaches emphasize hand placement in practice this week, hands-to-the-face infractions should come much less frequently. And though illegal-contact penalties are inevitable, the 49ers can limit them by anticipating double-moves better and keeping their hands off receivers completely when not jamming them at the line of scrimmage.

Whether football fans like it, the soft calls in the secondary are here to stay for the 2014 season. 

Last year, the 49ers also started the season with too many penalties. After three games, they had allowed 11 first downs via penalty. They allowed just 15 more in the final 13 regular-season games. 

Maybe it's part of a young player's learning curve. Of the 10 penalties, six were committed by players with two career starts or fewer. Maybe it's adjusting to the speed of regular-season football. 

Whatever it is, the 49ers have to solve it. They won't make the playoffs if they allow five first downs per game via penalty. 

Joseph Akeley is a San Francisco 49ers featured columnist. Follow @Jakeley_BR on Twitter.