© Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
SANTA CLARA — The 49ers’ biggest defensive issue is not hard to identify. Just ask Kyle Shanahan, Robert Saleh, or Richard Sherman what first needs to be solved, and they will all tell you the same thing: tackling.
Through three games, the 49ers lead the league with 43 missed tackles. Last week, in their 38-27 loss at Kansas City, they had 17 missed tackles.
“It’s going to sound trivial, and it’s going to sound very elementary,” Saleh said Thursday, “but it comes down to, obviously, tackling, which needs to get better and needs to get better. It’s not very good, obviously.”
Unlike many aspects of football, poor tackling is easily spotted from miles away. The 49ers already had a tough matchup, playing against the league’s most prolific offense in front of its home fans for the first time in 2018. But San Francisco’s mistakes — from missed tackles to untimely penalties — fueled the fire, giving the 49ers little chance for an important road win.
The Chiefs converted seven of their 11 third-down opportunities into first downs. On each of their first four offensive drives, all of which resulted in touchdowns, they picked up an important third-down conversion.
On their opening drive, the Chiefs had a third and 15 situation on the 49ers’ 28-yard line. They ran a screen to running back Spencer Ware, and he ran for the first down with little resistance.
On the second drive, the Chiefs had a third and 11 situation on the 49ers’ 32-yard line, K’Waun Williams was flagged for a questionable defensive pass interference call in the end zone, putting the ball at the San Francisco one-yard line.
On the third drive, the Chiefs scored a four-yard touchdown on third and goal.
And on the fourth drive, 49ers defensive linemen Arik Armstead jumped offsides, giving the Chiefs the first down.
If the 49ers were able to get off the field on any of those drives, the game would have been much more manageable. Instead, they entered halftime trailing by 25 points.
“It comes down to tackling and third down,” Saleh said. “It is that simple because if we take care of those third-and-long situations, as a defensive unit, coaches included, I feel like there’s three field goals and a non-touchdown and the outlook is a completely different deal.”
Adding linebacker Reuben Foster, who was suspended for the first two games of the season, to the lineup figured to help. But he had as many missed tackles (six) as tackles last Sunday. He missed many of the plays he normally makes, including a potential tackle for loss on first down in the first quarter. Chiefs receiver Sammy Watkins eluded several tackles on a reverse play to pick up the first down.
Foster’s misplay feeds into Saleh’s explanation for the team-wide tackling issue: lunging and ducking. Saleh said he and the 49ers coaching staff teach their players to step on an opponent’s toes, make contact with the body, and drive through to the ground.
“(These are) all things that can be fixed in a second,” Sherman said. “I think guys are getting it fixed, and the coaching staff is doing everything in practice to make sure guys are practicing better.”
The tackling is part of a bigger issue, which the 49ers need to rectify if they hope to give C.J. Beathard a chance to win some games. The 49ers are allowing 29.7 points per game. From the fourth quarter of Week 2 to the end of the first half in Week 3, they allowed seven touchdowns in eight drives. The 49ers did, however, hold the Chiefs to just three points in the second half.
But the San Francisco defense has yet to play a full 60 minutes of good football. One of the first steps in doing so is eliminating what is controllable: poor tackling.
“Somewhere along the line, there’s a disconnect,” Saleh said. “And so, as coaches, we’ve got to do a better job getting that message across. Again, this week, trying to emphasize step on their toes, get your body on a body and wrap up. Hopefully, that translates into a better tackling performance on Sunday.”