Golden Nuggets: Pain

49ers falter in fourth quarter, Seahawks come back for 20-17 win after Nick Bosa exits (paywall)

"They are a game behind the Cardinals for first place in the NFC West and tied with the Seahawks (5-5) and Rams (5-5), but they have a 1-3 record in the division."

Hutchinson: The 2024 49ers don't have another gear

"Despite all of that, we're supposed to believe this injury-ridded, error-defined team is destined for greatness? That our eyes deceive us week after week? Enough.

This team has been at this for a very long time, and that comes with a price. 2020 was a reckoning. So is 2024. The attrition has caught up with them. They had a joke of a training camp, and it showed from the start of this season. They came out slow and have treaded water ever since.

The last two weeks were supposed to be get-right games. Come out of the bye week refreshed, sharper, with Christian McCaffrey fixing the offense. That was the pitch.

Their relative silence at the trade deadline — Khalil Davis, the defensive tackle they traded a 2025 7th-round pick for, was inactive Sunday — was a firm reflection of their season-long swim within the waters of tepidity."

A lost season? The 49ers' latest collapse pushes them to the bri...

"They're not the 2022 team that bounced back from a slow start by winning their last 10 regular-season games. They're not the 2023 team that steadied itself after a three-game midseason losing streak to grab the NFC's No. 1 seed. They're not the team we're used to seeing. They're not the team they're used to being. There are explanations for this. But there's no denying it. "

49ers' lack of knockout punch haunts them again vs. Seahawks: 'It's not like us' (paywall)

"After 10 games, it's now clear the 49ers are lacking something, something that goes beyond the personnel that has been missing from various contests."

"Seattle finished with Smith ripping off big runs, of 16 and 13 yards, on two of their final three offensive plays. On his game-winning scramble, Smith eluded pass rushers Robert Beal and Leonard Floyd and outraced safety Malik Mustapha and Yiadom to the left corner of the end zone.

"We're in man coverage, so that means it's going to be hard to get to him if he escapes because everybody had their back turned from him," Warner said. "So, yeah, we've got to be better."

Smith completed 7 of 8 passes for 54 yards on the game-winning drive with 29 rushing yards. He had an 8-yard completion on 3rd-and-5 and a 15-yard completion on 3rd-and-3.

"They just made plays in critical moments," Campbell said. "Hats off to them. They played their best when their best was required."

As for the 49ers? Their defense was at its worst when it mattered most. Again."

"The lack of George Kittle cannot be discounted, but San Francisco has had these issues even with Kittle available. The 49ers doubled up the Seahawks penalty count, committing nine of them for 64 yards, mostly on offense.

No matter what talent they have, there are far too many errors to take this offense seriously. And by seriously, we mean Super Bowl caliber. Anything less is a waste of time for this team, and week after week, it becomes clearer they are probably wasting our time."