3 Takeaways from 49ers' Week 9 Loss

The rematch of last season's NFC Championship Game did not go as well for the San Francisco 49ers this time around.

On Thursday night, the 49ers lost to the Green Bay Packers 34-17 at Levi's Stadium, falling to 4-5 this season. It was San Francisco's second loss in a span of five days, and it fell to 1-4 at home this year.

The Packers scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the game, and they controlled it the rest of the way, building an 18-point lead by halftime. The 49ers trailed 34-3 with five minutes to go in the contest before scoring two late touchdowns to make the score a bit closer.

It's been a tough season thus far for San Francisco, which entered with high aspirations after winning the NFC title last season and playing in Super Bowl LIV. But it's starting to run out of time to get things back on track if it hopes to make the playoffs again this season, especially because the NFC West is currently the toughest division in the NFL.

Here are three takeaways from the 49ers' loss on Thursday night.

The Backups on Offense Aren't Likely to Get It Done

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Who exactly were the 49ers missing on offense? Get ready, because this is a long list.

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (high ankle sprain), running backs Raheem Mostert (high ankle sprain) and Jeff Wilson Jr. (high ankle sprain) and tight end George Kittle (foot fracture) are all on injured reserve. Running back Tevin Coleman was out with a knee injury. Wide receivers Kendrick Bourne, Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel and left tackle Trent Williams were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list and sat out. Samuel would have missed the game regardless because of a hamstring injury.

So, as you might expect, San Francisco's offense didn't perform great against Green Bay. Its first eight possessions resulted in four punts, an interception, a lost fumble, a turnover on downs and a first-quarter field goal by Robbie Gould, which was its lone points for the first 55 minutes of the game.

"We knew it was going to be a challenge," head coach Kyle Shanahan said, according to Josh Dubow of the Associated Press. "We knew at the start of the week it would be a challenge. Losing those three guys [to the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday] would be a bigger challenge. I still thought we could have a game. ... I know we could have done better."

But if the 49ers don't get healthier, there's a chance things won't look much better. They had only 337 yards of total offense, 155 of which came on their final two drives that resulted in touchdowns when the game was out of hand. They went 3-for-10 on third downs. They rushed for only 55 yards. And they had the ball for only 23 minutes, 30 seconds.

Even if San Francisco gets some key players back, Garoppolo and Kittle are likely to miss substantial time, so things may continue to be tough for this offense moving forward.

This Isn't Quite the Same Dominant Defense from 2019

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

If you recall, it was the 49ers' defense that powered them to the NFC title last season. In its victory over Green Bay in the conference championship game, San Francisco forced three turnovers and held a potent Packers offense to 358 total yards in a 37-20 victory.

On Thursday, Green Bay racked up 405 total yards of offense, powered by a huge night from veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who went 25-for-31 for 305 yards and four touchdowns. San Francisco forced no turnovers, allowed 21 first downs and had only one sack.

Just like the offense, the defense is also missing some key players. Defensive end Nick Bosa is out for the year with a torn left ACL. Neither defensive end Dee Ford (back) nor cornerback Richard Sherman (calf) have played since Week 1. So a key reason why the 49ers don't look quite as strong on defense at times is because of these losses.

But make no mistake about it, San Francisco's defense is still a solid unit, especially when it's healthier and not facing offenses quite as strong as Green Bay's. Despite Thursday's tough showing, the 49ers are allowing 324.7 total yards per game, which ranks seventh best in the NFL.

It just might not be fair to expect the same type of dominant defensive performances that the 49ers so frequently had in 2019. San Francisco's offense did it no favors by forcing the defense to be on the field for so long, and that could continue to be an issue that causes both units to struggle moving forward.

More Tough Matchups Are on the Way

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Here's the good news for the 49ers: They have only one game in the next 23 days, so there's plenty of time to get healthy. The bad news: Their next three games are against the New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills, a trio of teams with a combined record of 16-7.

Perhaps San Francisco's results will be better, though, once it gets some rest. It has a tough road matchup at New Orleans on Nov. 15, but then its next game isn't until Nov. 29 at Los Angeles.

"You can tell we're a little bit tired," wide receiver Richie James said, per Dubow. "We'll be all right once we get a couple of days to recover and regroup and get your mindset back where we need to go."

The 49ers may have a tough time getting to the postseason, though. According to ESPN Stats & Info, San Francisco is the 22nd defending conference champion to have a losing record after nine games. Of the first 21 teams to be in this position, only three have gone on to make the playoffs—the 2018 Eagles, the 2015 Seahawks and the 1995 Chargers.

With three games against their NFC West rivals remaining, the 49ers can still make up ground. But they face the 5-2 Cardinals and the 6-1 Seahawks in Weeks 16 and 17, respectively, and they've already lost to both teams this season. If San Francisco is going to turn this season around, it's going to take victories against quality opponents down the stretch.