This one play vs. the Chargers shows how bad the 49ers are at tackling

Melvin Gordon is a talented running back. He is coming off of his first 1,000-yard season rushing the football and already has 276 yards rushing this season, which ranks seventh among all NFL running backs and puts him on pace for 1,104 rushing yards.

While Gordon has a bright future in the NFL, it should not take six or seven San Francisco 49ers defenders taking shots at the running back to bring him down. That's what happened on one play on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers, and NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger posted the embarrassing video on Twitter.


That's linebacker Malcolm Smith and defensive lineman DeForest Buckner trying to make the initial hit. Then defensive lineman Earl Mitchell gives it a shot. Safety Antone Exum is up next as Gordon makes his way through the second level of the defense. Linebacker Reuben Foster tries to deliver the knockout blow, and it may have worked if not for Gordon doing some sort of spin and being able to stay on his feet. It's finally defensive back Jimmie Ward who knocks him to the ground with a little help from defensive end Arik Armstead.

That play posted by Baldinger wasn't the only time in the game Gordon embarrassed the 49ers defense. There was this play, too. All of this was with the 49ers defensive coming off a game against the Kansas City Chiefs where it missed 17 tackles, according to Pro Football Focus. Yes, 17.

Gordon finished the game with 104 rushing yards on 15 carries while adding seven receptions for 55 yards with a touchdown.

"I don't take it lightly," Foster said last week via Bay Area News Group. "That's uncalled for, missing tackles like that. Just getting up all over again and missing another tackle? That's not like us as a team, and that's not like me."

Pro Football Focus has credited the 49ers defense with 50 missed tackles this season, which unsurprisingly is the worst in the league.

"It's very clear when you turn on the tape that we're actually lunging and ducking our heads at the point of attack," defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said in the week that followed the 49ers' loss to the Chiefs. "When you teach tackling, everything that we talk about is you've got to run your body through their body. Get a body on a body, step on their toes, wrap up, keep your feet moving, drive for five and get them to the ground. So, when you look at all our missed tackles, it's more people lunging, head down, grasping and launching at feet trying to make arm tackles, and that's not what we teach, obviously.

"But, somewhere along the line, there's a disconnect. 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."

It didn't translate against the Chargers and tackling will likely be emphasized again this week as the 49ers prepare for running back David Johnson and the Arizona Cardinals.