49ers implode in Denver: Good, bad and ugly from brutal loss

Yet another winnable game ended in a gut-wrenching loss as the San Francisco 49ers fell to the Denver Broncos in Week 3.

The one thing we must keep at the forefront of our minds, though, is that the NFL season is a marathon, not a sprint. Heck, as chaotic and frustrating as the first three weeks of the season have been, a win next Monday night at home against the Los Angeles Rams will propel the 49ers into first place in the NFC West.

Before we delve into how the 49ers can do that, let's take one more look backward at the disgusting 11-10 loss they endured at the hands of the forever-hated Russell Wilson and his Broncos. Here's the good, the bad, and the ugly from San Francisco's disasterclasss performance in Denver.

The Good: 49ers defense, special teams are championship-caliber

Everyone wants to pin everything on the quarterback. The truth of the matter is that football truly is a team sport that features three phases of the game -- all equally important: offense, defense, and special teams.

The good news for the 49ers and their fans is that two of the three are looking amazing.

Punter Mitch Wishnowsky recently got a contract extension, and he's already earning his money in a big way. He booted a 74-yarder Sunday night, pinned the Broncos inside their own 20 three times, and executed one of the best punts in NFL history.

So far this season, the 49ers are are second in the NFL allowing just three yards per punt return (h/t Jordan Elliott of Niners Nation).

Field position is such a key factor in every game. It's especially important to the 49ers now, given who is under center. Scoring opportunities will be at a premium. If the special-teams unit continually sets up San Francisco's defense with opportunities deep in enemy territory, they will will come more often.

Speaking of defense, holy forking shirtballs, the 49ers are insanely good.

Following last weekend's huge win at home against Seattle, I highlighted this unit and hearkened back to 2019. After watching the 49ers for three weeks straight, I think I was wrong.

The 2022 San Francisco 49ers feature a defense that is so much better than that. This is a potentially legendary squad, folks. Think 1985 Chicago Bears. Think 2000 Baltimore Ravens.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have CORNERBACKS now. Emmanuel Moseley and Charvarius Ward are both lockdown guys. They've been glue, and opposing receivers rarely have any breathing room at all. Rookie Samuel Womack III has been nails. Deommodore Lenoir is playing so well right now he actually booted Womack to CB4 this past week.

We have Talanoa Hufanga, affectionately dubbed HuBANGA by the Soughdough Squad. Once Jimmie Ward returns, it's not overzealous to say the 49ers could have the best safety duo in the NFL.

San Francisco's linebackers are among the league's best. This is known. The temporary loss of Azeez Al-Shaair (MCL) will challenge the team's depth at the position. However, Oren Burks and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles are both competent backups.

The defensive line is so stacked (come back soon, Arik Armstead). Kevin Givens and Kerry Hyder Jr. are both impact players who are showing up big. Javon Kinlaw looks like the dude the 49ers thought they drafted in the first place. Drake Jackson is a physical freak, and he's starting to put it all together, logging his first ever NFL sack Sunday.

Nick Bosa is...well, he's Nick Bosa.

Through Week 3, the 49ers rank first in pass defense, second in total defense and have allowed just 12.3 points per game.

I blame Kyle Shanahan's decision to not accept the holding penalty in the second quarter on three of the points they allowed Sunday night. I also blame his second-half gameplan on the touchdown they finally conceded late in the fourth quarter. Which leads me directly to what was bad for the 49ers Sunday night against the Broncos.

The Bad: Kyle Shanahan blew it

Momentum is such a fickle mistress. Especially on the road in the NFL. The 49ers had it. They had the Broncos in a headlock and had a chance to step on their throats. With a 7-0 lead near the end of the first quarter, San Francisco's defense had held the Broncos to a grand total of 16 yards and three consecutive three-and-outs.

Then Russell Wilson made one of his few good throws of the night, connecting with Courtland Sutton on a deep crossing route over the middle. The result was a 34-yard gain, and the Broncos went to the sidelines after one quarter with their first taste of positive momentum.

As we've seen so many times, though, the 49ers quickly reasserted their dominance with a defensive stand that almost certainly would have resulted in another punt for Denver. The 49ers stuffed Russell Wilson a handful of plays later on a third-and-long, and they got Cameron Fleming on a holding call, to boot.

Had Shanahan taken the penalty, the Broncos would have been backed up well outside of field-goal range. At that point in the game, the 49ers had the Broncos' number on defense, and they had a chance to force a turnover or create better field position with a sack in an obvious passing situation.

Instead, Shanahan declined the penalty. I'm still furious about that decision. It set up Brandon McManus with a 55-yard attempt, which he drilled through the uprights like it was a 40-yarder.

I'm not a coach. I'm not a player. I'm just a guy with a keyboard who has been a 49ers fan since age 3. So, maybe I don't have enough insight to make a definitive judgement on a situation like this.

That being said, what the hell message does that send to your team? What message does that send to the defense that's been bailing you out for three games straight?

It seemed like pure folly. Perhaps he knew it, because Shanahan made another awful decision just a few minutes later, at the end of San Francisco's following offensive possession.

This was the possession that, I believe, broke the 49ers on Sunday night. It's the one that drove fans absolutely crazy, because it should have ended on one play. Jimmy Garoppolo had Deebo Samuel WIDE open streaking down the left sideline. All he had to do was put the ball in front of Deebo, and it would have resulted in an 85-yard touchdown.

That was one of three game-changing missed opportunities that Garoppolo was responsible for (more on Jimmy in a bit).

It was a frustrating moment for us fans, and I have to imagine it was frustrating for everyone in the organization, too. But that's not on Shanahan. It's what happened next that really turned the tide, to my eyes.

A holding penalty on first down put the 49ers in a hole. But they were able to claw their way into Denver territory when Garoppolo hit Samuel for five yards to set up fourth-and-4 at the Broncos' 47-yard line. Remember, this was the play that sent Samuel into the blue medical tent for a brief moment.

With momentum hanging in the balance, Shanahan made what I consider to be a cowardly decision and opted to punt. It's the kind of decision that tells everyone you don't trust your offense to execute in critical situations. We've seen that other teams with coaches who empower their offense to go for it tend to have great success.

I think Shanahan needs to grow a pair. Playing conservatively will only get you so far. Sometimes you have to throw the dice.

In this case, the result of the play was the punt of the century, but it also led to San Francisco's defense being on the field for 11 plays and nearly seven minutes of game time. At altitude.

Momentum was gone. A game that should have been over by halftime was, instead, allowed to devolve into another Russell Wilson special against a 49ers defense that could barely breathe.

Shanahan never could get into his bag after that. He engineered one amazing drive in the first quarter, and it looked like the 49ers were going to cruise. Then, a couple of bad decisions gave the Broncos hope. Ultimately the led to the 49ers' demise.

One final note about Shanahan: His second-half gameplan was a disgusting mess. It's like he forgot who he was. The silver lining is, he admitted as much following the game.

I would expect Shanahan to make some changes and re-establish the run against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night. And I appreciate his willingness to take the blame for the team's putrid performance.

The Ugly: Take some responsibility, Jimmy G!

All it took was one start by Jimmy Garoppolo for crickets to appear all over social media as it relates to the Trey Lance conversation.

But that's a whole other conversation that I'm not going to delve into right now.

Garoppolo was bad, bad, bad. It started early with a tipped pass that we're absolutely lucky WAS tipped, because if D.J. Jones hadn't gotten a paw on this ball it was probably going for six the other way.

It only got worse from there. My brain nearly exploded after the rep where Jimmy was literally looking toward Deebo, who was streaking wide open down the right side, and then threw to a covered Brandon Aiyuk instead.

Then there was the unconscionable safety Garoppolo took, which was actually a huge blessing because it negated a pick-six. And then there was the obligatory interception thrown into triple-coverage. And then there was....you get the picture. It was one of the worst games we've seen in a long time from a 49ers quarterback.

That isn't what grinds my gears, though. It's what Garoppolo said, and did not say, after the game during his press conference. Not once did he take personal responsibility for his poor performance. Not a single time. He blamed the lack of reps with the offense. He blamed the strange offseason, of which he is at least halfway responsible for. He blamed "a tough situation" on the passing play in which he took two steps out of the end zone for a safety. He blamed a lack of rhythm.

Juxtaposed with what we heard from Trey Lance after his first and only loss this season, Garoppolo gave off a bad vibe.

Buckle up, folks. It sure looks like we're in for an up-and-down, week-to-week season.

I personally expect the 49ers to win nine or 10 games and likely earn a wild-card spot in the playoffs. But it's going to be quite the roller-coaster unless the new leader of the offense sharpens up and owns up to his part when he screws up.