SANTA CLARA — The 49ers let a 13-point lead slip away in their 24-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at Levi's Stadium, proving once again that as a whole, the team needs to learn how to finish.
The 49ers appeared to be firing on all cylinders when they went into the locker room at halftime with 23 points on the board and a two-score lead. No one could have predicted the offense would not add points to the scoreboard for the remainder of the game.
Several mistakes, including missed tackles, turnovers and shoddy kickoff coverage, plagued the team in the second half, and not even Nick Bosa would consider himself blameless in the loss.
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“I think as a whole, as a team, we’ve always been an organization and a team that finds ways to win, and we are kind of doing the opposite so far,” Bosa told NBC Sports Bay Area's Laura Britt after the game. “We are finding ways to lose.
“It doesn’t matter how good the players are, it doesn’t matter how explosive the offense is -- if you let teams hang around and not play your best ball later in the game, then you’re going to find yourself in these situations.”
"We're finding ways to lose."
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) October 7, 2024
Nick Bosa candidly explains the 49ers' early season issues to @Laura_Britt_ pic.twitter.com/0jgohbvu6q
The 49ers gave up 14 points in the second half and were unable to score themselves. Cardinals running back James Conner, who was held to six carries for 9 yards in the first half, registered 13 carries for 77 yards in the second half.
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Deommodore Lenoir, who was responsible for six of the 49ers' 23 total points after returning a blocked field goal for a touchdown, doesn't believe there are glaring issues on the defense. The cornerback trusts in his defensive teammates but thinks their chemistry is still developing.
“We just got to get back and iron out the little details,” Lenoir said. “We’re right there. We just need to finish. We got a lot of new additions, so we got to build that camaraderie. I feel like we’re slowly getting there but we just got to punch it.”
There is also no panic from George Kittle, who has been a part of slow starts to the season in years past. The All-Pro tight end believes the 49ers have the right players to get the job done.
“We’ve just got to go out and prove we can do it,” Kittle said. “I’ve started seasons where we’ve won all the games and we’d figure out how to win, dirty, really gross wins that you still win. We haven’t figured out how to do that as a team. We need to do that.
“I think all we have to do is hold on the football, run the ball really well, and we are going to be OK.”
The team's overall mood is that it is still early, and there is a lot of football yet to play. Even with only one takedown of Cardinals quarterback Kyle Murray on Sunday, Bosa believes in the players that are in the locker room.
“I’m still very confident in the team and I’m glad it’s happening early,” Bosa said.
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