Kyle Shanahan discusses 49ers following seventh-straight loss

You were able to take away the positives of recent losses. Anything positive in this loss?

"No, not right now. It was disappointing. I think all three phases, players and coaches, we've got to play better than that, a lot better to give ourselves a chance to win."

Did you see any questions about the competitive level of your guys at any point during this game?

"I didn't. I could answer that better when I watch the tape. I felt there was a time there late in the fourth quarter, I think when things were going real bad, guys were close. I thought a few guys pulled the guys together and I thought they finished. But based on the result on the field, I'm not going to question effort, but we definitely didn't play well."

It was 20-3, you had fourth-and-four at the 28. You didn't kick a field goal. What went into the thinking there?

"I thought the game was getting away from us. I thought we needed to get a first down there and go and score a touchdown. Ran the ball the play before that. I was expecting to have two calls. That's why I ran it there on third-and-four I believe it was, then came up short. I think they had a screen the next play that got all the way down there. Went the distance. Obviously, a big turning point in the game."

Was WR Kendrick Bourne the primary target?

"Yes. Yeah."

It seemed like both offensive line and defensive line got physically dominated this game. What'd you see there?

"Yeah it looked like we struggled. I know from an offensive standpoint, we had a few key plays in that game, especially at the end of the second quarter. We had a guy alone in the end zone with a chance to score and they beat us off the ball protection-wise. Just from what I saw, the defense too, it looked like they were running the ball pretty well versus us and got some pretty good push on their O-Line."

The outburst on the bench, did you talk to the players about that? Did you address that afterwards?

"Outburst with who?"

Just little tempers flaring. Throwing their helmets down. Did you talk to them at all about that afterward?

"No, I actually didn't see it, but it's kind of expected when things go like that. As long as you don't lose your composure on the field and guys end up talking it out and staying on the same page. I know the guys were frustrated. They've been putting a lot into this and definitely we're extremely disappointed today."

It's a rationalization, but at some point do you and [GM] John [Lynch] take starting a rookie quarterback for the first time, have a rookie middle linebacker who hasn't played a full game in the NFL. Something like this might happen to you here and there along the way.

"Every single team in the league, there's a very fine line between being in a game, winning a game and getting your butt kicked. It's not as big of a distance between all three of those as sometimes it seems. Thought we came out pretty strong and I thought we had a chance early in that game. I thought our defense did a great job on the first three-and-out. Sent a punt, we fumbled the punt on the return and they went in and scored, 7-0. I know they held us in our first series and the next one I thought we stopped them. I think we stopped them. Ended up getting a defensive PI call, which kept them going. They got up 14-0, got in a little bit of a hole. I thought we had a chance to recover on offense. Especially there at the end of the half and missed that opportunity when we got inside the 10, which I thought should have made it 20-10 going into the half and then we come out and get the ball. We came up short. That's why it's 20-3. Started with the ball. Moved it pretty good. Came up short on third-and-four and then fourth-and-four and then it got out of hand after that. So, I know it doesn't look good, but it's a very fine line between all that stuff. When you turn the ball over like that and you miss opportunities, whether you have a young team, a rookie quarterback, a rookie, regardless when you turn the ball over like that and you miss those opportunities, that is the result in the NFL."

How do you evaluate QB C.J. Beathard even though he was under so much pressure in that first half before everything was out of control?

"Yeah, good or bad, playing, C.J. will learn from it. He's a tough kid. By no means was he perfect. He did make some plays in the game and there were some he missed too. It was similar to last week. I think he'll learn from those. I think he came out early, got settled down a little bit as we got going. Unfortunately, we didn't keep the score close to keep them in it and stick with some of the stuff we wanted to. But the type of kid C.J. is, the type of competitor he is, it's going to be good tomorrow to get to sit down and watch the tape with him and really coach him up."

What did you see from LB Reuben Foster today, maybe the shorten version on his return? Is there any update on the rib injury?

"No, there's no update on the rib injury. I know he wanted to go back in the game and he was cleared to go back in the game late in the fourth, but that was me. I held him out just at the end. It was too important. I wanted to make sure we have him next week. The fact that he was good to go there, I'm assuming he'll be good to go next week. But, you never know. We'll see what happens tomorrow when he wakes up."

Did he have an X-Ray on the rib?

"I'm not sure if he did or not."

It's not broken?

"Yeah, I'm not sure. I didn't get the details. I just know he was good to go at the end of the game."

* Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers