What San Francisco 49ers Can Do to Salvage Rest of 2014 Regular Season
The San Francisco 49ers found themselves officially eliminated from the 2014 playoffs following their Week 15 loss.
Falling 17-7 on the road to their division rival Seattle Seahawks, the 49ers now have two meaningless games left on their schedule.
Home matchups against the still-postseason-viable San Diego Chargers and playoff-bound Arizona Cardinals are all that remain.
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Worse yet, a bevy of key members are either already on injured reserve or are battling injuries that, for all intents and purposes, shouldn’t be exacerbated over this final stretch.
The All-Pro linebacker tandem of Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman headlines the former, while Frank Gore (concussion), Chris Borland (ankle), Carlos Hyde (ankle/back), Ahmad Brooks (thumb) and many others are currently listed as questionable for Saturday’s game versus San Diego.
CSN Bay Area's Matt Maiocco reports that Borland and Hyde are scheduled for MRI examinations this week.
Oh, and a certain Jim Harbaugh is the lamest of all lame-duck head coaches in the NFL.
So, the question is, “What can the 49ers do to salvage the rest of the regular season?”
Call it simple, call it tired, but unimaginative or not, there exists a three-pronged approach that will infuse meaning into these last two games for the Red and Gold.
It involves pride, future assets and some good ole football home-wrecking.
Niners, Remember that You’re Better than 7-7
Make no mistake—the 49ers showcased some legitimate heart Sunday in unfriendly confines.
Scoring a red-zone touchdown and owning a lead late into the third quarter against the defending champions in the toughest of all road venues are no small feats.
The Seahawks’ No. 1 defense and near-unbeatable record of 23-2 at CenturyLink Field since 2012 speak for themselves.
Plus, if Ed Hochuli doesn't make the incorrect call and award Seattle with an easy touchdown opportunity instead of a 33-yard field-goal attempt, the 49ers could very well have erased a three- or six-point deficit and won this game.
Notwithstanding Colin Kaepernick’s failed execution to a wide-open Anquan Boldin or streaking Quinton Patton downfield, San Francisco executed well enough to win. It simply couldn’t overcome the loss of its starting two running backs and best defender.
Now, any reasonable logic would dictate that such an emotionally draining defeat would quash all motivation for the 49ers moving forward.
Why exert any real effort against the Chargers or Cardinals when the playoffs are no longer a possibility? Why risk injury when a coaching overhaul is all but guaranteed for next season?
Because most teams, if placed in the injury-plagued and chaos-filled circumstances the Niners endured this year, would have collapsed underneath the pressure.
A 7-7 record would have been an absolute pipe dream; 4-10 or even 3-11 would have been much more likely.
The fact that the 49ers indeed sport that .500 mark speaks to their team unity, strength and overall resilience. It speaks to their pride.
Beating the first-place Dallas Cowboys on their home turf, making a red-zone stand in a win over the high-flying Philadelphia Eagles and gutting it out in overtime against the New Orleans Saints on the road are all tremendous accomplishments.
Sure, losing to the miserable Chicago Bears at home, scoring just 17 points against the hapless Washington Redskins and falling to a historically awful Oakland Raiders club all qualify as considerable black eyes on this unfortunate season.
But if the 49ers front office had given Harbaugh his rightful extension and avoided this needless drama, even with the extensive injuries, the Niners would still be fighting for the playoffs.
That they’ve won seven games in spite of the failed leadership at the highest levels is the equivalent of a 9-5 or even 10-4 overall record.
So, to all you red-and-gold-clad gridiron warriors, remember that you are better than 7-7 and have earned a more favorable outcome to this 2014 campaign.
Now go out and play the role of postseason spoiler.
January Home-Wrecker, Crushed Playoff Hopes
The Chargers are currently two spots out of a playoff berth at 8-6.
Both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens sit in the driver's seat for the wild-card slots, while the Kansas City Chiefs rank above San Diego in seventh place.
If the Chargers win out and move to 10-6, including a divisional victory in Week 17 over Kansas City, they’ll have a legitimate shot at making the postseason.
Plenty of factors are out of their control, but the point remains if they win these last two games.
The 11-3 Cardinals, meanwhile, are in total control of their January fate if they emerge victorious over these final two weeks.
Finishing 13-3 would earn them the NFC West title and the conference’s No. 1 seed, if not the entire NFL.
Operating with a third-string quarterback necessitates Arizona notching home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. That is, if it wants to move out of the second round.
Of course, both of these aforementioned outcomes include the Chargers and Cardinals quashing the 49ers in respective weeks.
So in order for the 49ers to prevent these aforementioned outcomes from coming to fruition, they’ll need to do their own quashing against San Diego and Arizona.
And that’s how they’ll fulfill clause two of their three-pronged salvaging of this 2014 regular season.
When San Diego travels to Levi’s Stadium, the 49ers must concentrate all their defensive strength at defending the pass.
This Philip Rivers-led squad owns the 31st-ranked rushing attack. It relies solely on Rivers connecting with all-time tight end Antonio Gates and dangerous pass-catchers Keenan Allen, Malcom Floyd and Eddie Royal.
Offensively, San Francisco must let Kaepernick air it out. The Chargers have recorded the third-fewest interceptions (seven) while giving up the seventh-most passing touchdowns (23).
Give the green light to Kap and let him utilize his rocket arm downfield to Brandon Lloyd, Vernon Davis and any other deep weapons who might want to contribute.
As for Arizona, the 49ers must implement a much different game plan, at least on defense.
Down both Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton, the Cardinals have given the quarterback reigns to former sixth-round pick Ryan Lindley. Even without No. 1 running back Andre Ellington, they’ll rely exclusively on their ground game in Week 17.
San Francisco must stack an eighth or even ninth man in the box. Whether it’s safety Antoine Bethea, Eric Reid or someone else, the Niners must flood the line of scrimmage with extra personnel until Lindley proves he can beat them with his arm.
And on offense, a similar approach to the Chargers matchup applies.
Arizona has been an impenetrable force against the run all year long. It ranks sixth overall and has allowed the third-fewest touchdowns on the ground (six).
To the contrary, the Cardinals have surrendered the fifth-most passing yards per game (259.6) and fourth-most gains of at least 20 yards (53) and 40-plus yards (11).
Seeing that both Gore and Hyde could conceivably miss the rest of this season, the 49ers must place their offensive trust in Kaepernick.
He produced one of his better passing performances against Arizona earlier this year, and his once go-to target Michael Crabtree has enjoyed career-long success versus this division foe.
San Francisco’s injury-depleted backfield, Kap’s season-best 78.4 completion percentage in Week 3 and Crabtree’s seven career touchdowns against the Cardinals should give rise to this pass-first approach on offense.
The same goes for Arizona’s top cover man Patrick Peterson coughing up the second-most touchdowns in the NFL (eight) from the cornerback position, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
The Niners faithful can only hope these game plans materialize in home-wrecking fashion against a couple playoff hopefuls.
Showcase Future Assets…or Not
Play with pride, ruin the opposition’s postseason aspirations and, for this franchise’s own playoff livelihood down the road, the 49ers must showcase their future assets.
They must put the ball in the hands of their young playmakers and give playing time to less experienced personnel, including a certain member of the practice squad.
The Niners must allow Quinton Patton and Bruce Ellington to show why they’re key cogs in the passing game moving forward. They must also continue utilizing Tank Carradine along the defensive front.
It’s not like Justin Smith’s heir apparent compiled two sacks and two tackles for loss in Week 15 or anything.
And as long it doesn’t seriously compromise their chances of winning, why not trot out former Olympian and big-time rugby player Lawrence Okoye?
The 6’6”, 304-pound athletic marvel received 42 snaps in the preseason and recorded a tackle and two quarterback pressures. Albeit in highly limited action against suspect competition, he also earned a plus-0.9 in run defense from Pro Football Focus.
At the very least, why not set him loose with the sole purpose of clobbering quarterbacks Rivers and Lindley in front of a home crowd with little to cheer for in these final two games?
Look, it’s not as if the 49ers need to change anything on their No. 3-ranked defense or can “fix” their offensive woes under a staff that will be coaching elsewhere in 2015.
Wait, what’s that coach Harbaugh?
You say you won’t give “more playing time to some of the younger players?” (per CSN Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco).
OK, then just go ahead and win these remaining games.
Please end this 2014 campaign by “playing for a winning season…for each other…for the team…[and] for the honor of the game.”
Make this three-sided approach a dual-faceted one—battling with heartfelt pride and a genuine competitive spirit is fine with us.
With said coach’s regrettable fate all but sealed, honoring the game by playing it the right way just might salvage this all-time ill-fated season for the Red and Gold.
All team and player statistics courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference, ESPN and NFL.com unless otherwise noted. Advanced metrics provided by Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Joe Levitt is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, waxing academic, colloquial and statistical eloquence on the San Francisco 49ers. Follow him on Twitter @jlevitt16
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