SANTA CLARA — One week after the 49ers' offense was clicking on all cylinders in New Orleans, Jimmy Garoppolo and Co. struggled to put together more than one long drive in the 49ers' 29-22 loss to the Falcons.
Clinching a playoff berth was the last thing on anyone’s mind after another last-minute score changed the outcome of the game for the third week in a row. Garoppolo completed 22 of his 34 pass attempts for 200 yards and one touchdown, nearly 150 yards and three touchdowns shy of his performance in the Superdome last Sunday.
No one in the locker room would admit to a letdown after a 10-day road trip and two emotionally hard-fought games to top-tier opponents. Garoppolo believes it’s just little things that the offense needs to focus on going forward.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
“I wouldn’t say it was one specific thing,” Garoppolo said. “I think it was just things going wrong, us not making plays when we needed to, just little things like that here and there that throughout the course of a game, they add up. Just little mistakes that we can’t make.”
Reading between the lines -- and amid talk of a low-energy performance -- you can see how this loss could be seen as a result of the last two weeks, even though no one will admit it.
“I think we could’ve had more juice in the beginning, but we really can’t rely on just having so much energy,” Garoppolo said. “We have to go execute at the end of the day. When your number gets called, whatever it is, you have to execute your job and I think it’s just the little details like that. Obviously, having the energy and all that comes along with it, but we’ve got to just execute better.”
Regardless, Garoppolo isn’t worried about the focus of the team and knows that most are happy to have a short week after the loss, so that they quickly can get the taste out of their mouths. He also sees each player taking responsibility for their performance as a sign of how special the locker room is.
San Francisco 49ers
“Yeah, I think it speaks to our team, the mindset that we have,” Garoppolo said. “I think, starting with myself, I need to be better. I think a lot of guys in the locker room have that mindset. When we watch the film tomorrow, we’ll all see the same thing. I think if we all have that mindset, it’ll help us get better quickly.”
[RELATED: Teammates don't blame Kittle for 49ers' loss to Falcons]
But Garoppolo wasn't alone. Coach Kyle Shanahan, like his players, took responsibility for the team’s lack of productivity. Like his quarterback, he cited not doing enough right as the reason for the loss -- not any glaring mistakes.
“I think Jimmy played like the rest of the offense,” Shanahan said after the game. “I don’t think anybody stuck out and played bad or poorly, but I don’t think anybody played good enough to win. Definitely starts with me.
"I thought Jimmy had some good plays. Missed a couple like guys always do. I give a lot of credit to them. I thought their guys played hard and did a good job schematically with their plan. I thought they had a hell of a day and we need to be on our stuff to win and we weren’t.”