SANTA CLARA – The 49ers’ problems with turnovers have reached epidemic proportions.
The 49ers been bad at holding onto the ball. And to make matters even worse, they could reach an historic level of futility with taking the ball away, too.
“We can’t run away from it,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “We keep talking about it, keep harping on it. We just go back to work and keep trying to get better.”
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The 49ers have committed three or more turnovers in three consecutive games for the first time since 2008, when the club went four games in a row with three or more giveaways. The 49ers had five turnovers in 28-18 loss to the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium in Week 5. The teams meet against on Sunday in Glendale, Ariz.
The 49ers’ defense and special teams are on a current streak of three straight games with no takeaways. The team has never gone four consecutive games without a takeaway in franchise history.
At practices, the 49ers’ defense works on generating turnovers, while the emphasis on offense is making sure to not give it up.
“Our defense rips it out on our guys as hard as you can in practice to the point where they hurt our guys’ fingers,” Shanahan said. “We feel that’s as good of training as you can get. Obviously, it hasn’t worked so far.”
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers’ minus-15 in turnover margin is the worst in the NFL. Turnovers have led to 64 points for the 49ers' opposition, compared to just 10 points generated from takeaways.
Six different players are responsible for the 49ers’ eight lost fumbles. Quarterback C.J. Beathard has lost three fumbles and thrown seven interceptions in his four starts since replacing injured Jimmy Garoppolo.
“I think a lot of stuff goes into that,” Beathard said. “We do what we do in practice, focus on trying to take care of the ball and watching film and seeing their tendencies, and which players are good at getting their hands up and reaching for balls and kind of having that in the back of your mind.”
Since the 49ers’ last takeaway – Antone Exum’s interception return for a touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers – the club has committed 14 consecutive giveaways without getting the ball back.
“A lot of them aren’t bad reads, they’re just unfortunate plays,” Beathard said. “But, obviously, I’m going to work on taking care of the ball better, whether it be in the pocket or throwing the ball.”