49ers Must Fix Discipline Issues During Bye Week

Even after a deflating loss, the Niners head into their bye week at 6-1, a record any team would be very happy about. Against the Atlanta Falcons, they missed their top four receivers and lost running back Christian McCaffrey for stretches of the game, so heading into the break with one of the best records in football is desirable.

Many of the game's stats were solid. The running game averaged over 5 yards per carry, and the offense gained more than 100 yards than the Falcons' offense.

So what happened? Why was the game so frustrating for the Faithful to watch? It comes down to two things.

Discipline

Every skill-position player's first responsibility is ball protection. As the axiom goes, it's hard to win when you turn the ball over.

The offense committed four turnovers—two interceptions and two fumbles.

In the first four games of the season, the offense turned the ball over twice and outscored its opponents 122-64.

In the past three games, they have turned the ball over eight times and scored 75 points, with their opponents also scoring 75.

Even though they were 2-1 in those games, they have to fix this.

The other thing that kills winning is penalties. It is fundamentally impossible to score a single point on a play in which you commit a penalty. Against Atlanta, the defense committed seven penalties for 55 yards.

In the Rams game, the Niners committed two penalties for 21 yards. Against Seattle, they committed eight penalties for 70 yards. Against Washington, they committed 11 penalties for 88 yards. With those numbers, winning is not sustainable.

In the past few weeks, the wins have been nail-biters, but they shouldn't have been. When not killing their own drives or extending the opponent's possession, the Niners have dominated.

Timing

Not all penalties and turnovers are equal. When and where they happen says a lot about the strength of the team.

In the Rams game, quarterback Brock Purdy threw an interception early in the second quarter. The Niners were neither deep in their own territory nor in the Rams'. As it turned out, the defense bailed out the offense, so the mishap cost no points.

Against Atlanta, Kaelon Black fumbled at the Atlanta 29. Even if the offense had gained no more yards, Black not turning the ball over would have kept it well within field goal range. Instead, Atlanta drove for a field goal. That is a 6-point swing.

Brock Purdy's first interception came late in the third quarter. The Falcons picked it off at the Atlanta 11-yard line (thrown from the 25). Again, at worst, that's likely another three points.

In other words, without those two turnovers, the Niners would have added 6-14 points to their tally. That would have changed so much of what happened later.

On the other side of the ball, the defense committed numerous penalties at inopportune times. Down by only 5, the defense committed two penalties that extended what would become a touchdown drive for Atlanta.

The term "clutch" is one of the most significant in sports. When things happen determines how one is judged. Jordan Watkins has potential. The talent is there. Every player drops passes, but Watkins dropped two when he couldn't control the ball on the way to the ground. Both would have been big gains, one of them a touchdown that would have cut the lead to one score. Instead, the offense turned the ball over on downs.

This was a game of woulda, coulda, shoulda in many ways. But the 49ers are not a rebuilding team looking to feel good about potential, looking to feel like they were close and with just a few changes, the outcome might have been different.

No, this is a very good team that, with more discipline, would have won the game and perhaps easily.

The concern now is reinstilling that discipline. Make sure games in hand don't slip away (as they nearly did against Washington) or that they don't give away games they should be able to control.

The players' response is hopeful. Tight end George Kittle said, "It's definitely going to sour our entire bye week, and I think that's good, because I think when we get back next week, I think our guys are going to be incredibly focused."

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said simply the Niners were "too sloppy to win."

It is a bye week. Hopefully, some players who are out will return, and the team can tighten up their loose play.

When the San Francisco 49ers are healthy and play disciplined football, they are as good as any team in the league. They are a team even the other great teams do not want to play.