Getty Kyle Shanahan looks on during the 49ers' 31-17 home loss to the Cardinals on Sunday, November 7.
The San Francisco 49ers not only fell to the Arizona Cardinals 31-17 on Sunday, November 7 in Santa Clara, California but lost to a Cardinals team without some of their top playmakers.
Kyler Murray? Inactive due to an ankle injury.
De’Andre Hopkins? Out as well because of a bad hamstring.
Inactives for Week 9:
Meanwhile, Kyle Shanahan welcomed back prized tight end George Kittle and the Niners re-established some momentum from Week 8’s 33-22 road win over the Chicago Bears. With no “KM1” or “D-Hop,” this looked like a day where Shanahan and S.F. were primed for their first consecutive winning streak in 2021 since starting the year 2-0.
But even though the skies were sunny and pristine at Levi’s Stadium, the Cards clearly brought their own version of the “bomb cyclone” that drenched the venue during the last time the 49ers played at home.
That wasn’t the only storm. National NFL analysts rained down on Shanahan afterwards on Twitter.
‘Ugly’ & ‘Embarrassing Loss’ Part of Verbiage
The 49ers on NBC Twitter account summed up the 14-point loss in three words:
That was ugly
Former San Francisco safety Donte Whitner didn’t mince words, saying outright that the 49ers “aren’t a good football team.”
.@dontewhitner says the 49ers “aren’t a good football team.”
David Lombardi, who covers the 49ers for The Athletic, called the ‘Niners loss “the most embarrassing loss of the Shanahan era.”
Lombardi’s colleague, Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, who nearly has more than two decades worth of covering the 49ers, simply called it an “out-coaching” moment for Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury over Shanahan.
Kliff Kingsbury out-coached the hell out of Kyle Shanahan today. You can’t just say it was the DC. It’s Shanahan’s staff. He’s involved with all strategies. And Kingsbury’s staff dominated.
Staying with The Athletic, Marcus Thompson pointed out these coaching errors Shanahan made.
Kyle Shanahan just:
*Ran out the final 27 seconds of the third with the offense in a groove (and defense probably tired)
*Started 4th with a nice gain and huddled instead of going hurry up
*Then handed off on 1st down to eat more clock
*And punted on 4th Down in the AZ territory
And then came this quote that Thompson posted on Twitter the 41-year-old Shanahan said, “I was very surprised we didn’t play well today.”
Shanahan: “I was very surprised we didn’t play well today.”
He said they had a good week of practice and this performance caught him off guard
During the first half of the game, which saw the Cards race to a 14-0 lead, former NFL lineman and ESPN personality Damien Woody posted a telling gif.
If Kyle Shanahan doesn’t win against AZ w/o Murray, D-Hop at home….
Then came this one:
Kyle Shanahan….
Sacramento Bee 49ers writer Chris Biderman labeled the game an “absolute stinker” and “the low point of Shanahan’s career.”
#49ers had to have this game with no Kyler Murray or DeAndre Hopkins. Instead they have an absolute stinker and get thumped by double digits. They haven’t won a game in their home stadium in over 12 months. They’re 3-5.
This is a low point of Kyle Shanahan’s tenure.
Doug Farrar of USA Today’s Touchdown Wire explained a big difference between 2019 Shanahan to now.
If you had said in 2019 that Kyle Shanahan got himself seriously outcoached by Kliff Kingsbury, the laughter would have been something.
And yet… here we are.
Back to the Bay Area media, Kate Rooney of KRON 4 News came across some Jim Tomsula references from Twitter users for Shanahan.
The amount of Jim Tomsula jokes I’ve seen on my timeline today tells you everything you need to know about the way Shanahan has coached this game. 📉
John Dickinson, radio personality on 95.7 FM The Game, gave an honest take.
This is 100% on Kyle Shanahan.
Speaking of honesty, Brett Kollmann of “The Film Room” on YouTube has made this prediction about Shanahan’s future:
Shanahan ‘Real Disappointed’
Shanahan thought the spirits were lively and the focus was high during the week leading up to the Cardinals showdown.
But Shanahan, after taking his swig of water and hearing question No. 1, immediately expressed his discontent toward the ‘Niners defeat.
“We didn’t play very well at all today. I was real disappointed,” Shanahan said.
Kyle Shanahan is “real disappointed” with the 49ers’ performance today
Not only was he disappointed, he was disappointed for the 49er fans who paid to watch the game…and witness the 49ers remain winless in home games this season. The ‘Niners are one of three NFC teams along with the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions who have a zero underneath home victories this season.
But the disappointment stretched to the analysts and other national/local media personalities who witnessed Shanahan getting out-schemed and out-coached by a head coach who was without his most dangerous weapons on offense — and still put up 31 and won by two touchdowns. Shanahan and the ‘Niners were washed away by a different “bomb cyclone.”
This one was a “red sea” from Arizona.