The San Francisco 49ers lost Monday night’s dramatic game against the Seattle Seahawks in part because their wide receivers dropped a lot of catchable passes.
The Niners endured nine drops on Monday night. Kendrick Bourne dropped two catchable passes, one on a key 3rd down and another that led to an interception. Dante Pettis also had two key drops, including one late in overtime that should have set up a shorter third down as the 49ers tried to win the game.
These issues did not go unnoticed by coach Kyle Shanahan, who did not hold back when discussing his receivers, subjecting Pettis to some blistering criticism.
Kyle Shanahan was very stern talking about the 49ers WRs today. Said point blank that passes off the hands should be caught.
Then on Dante Pettis: “He’s had his opportunities. The more he doesn’t take advantage of his opportunities, the less opportunities he gets."
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) November 12, 2019
It’s hard for a coach to be more blunt than this. It’s also a pretty stark warning for Pettis, as it sounds like he either needs to step it up or risk losing his role in the San Francisco offense. And Shanahan is right to be angry, too: had even half of the catchable passes been caught, the 49ers might have won and remained unbeaten.
This is also a reminder that Shanahan can be quite irascible when he wants to be.
