It may seem like there was nothing good to take away from last weekend's embarrassing 43-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins, but that's not how head coach Kyle Shanahan sees it.
"There was so much stuff that we did bad that is fixable," Shanahan told NBC Sports Bay Area this week. "And surprisingly, there was a number of encouraging things. (I know) that would be hard to believe, and I know people don't totally want to hear that."
An embarrassing defeat like that is challenging for any fan to overlook. This week has seemingly been about placing blame via social media. The 49ers, however, are moving forward. Shanahan didn't review much of that loss with his team this week. He left that to his assistant coaches. But there were encouraging things upon which the team can build.
One of those encouraging things was Raheem Mostert's performance. The running back had missed two games with an MCL sprain and looked like his regular self against the Dolphins.
Once again, Mostert had an absurdly high average yards per carry. He averaged 8.18 yards per attempt on his way to 90 rushing yards on 11 carries.
Mostert also had three receptions for 29 yards, bringing his total yards up to 119. He has racked up over 100 total yards in each of his three game appearances this season.
"He was very impressive," Shanahan said of his featured running back. "He looked like he picked up right where he left off. I mean, he's got a chance to take it the distance every time when we give him a good lane, and he was going for that every time. And he was running physical too, breaking tackles and going. I'm sick that I didn't get him the ball more.
"But yeah, I was happy with our run game. I have our analytics people tell me stuff all the time. They give me a printout. They said, for whatever it's worth, that was the most efficient run stats in situations we've had since like 1980-something. I know we've ran the ball pretty well here in the last few years. So whatever that stands for, I don't know, but it felt that way."
Shanahan didn't have an opportunity to continue his ground assault. By halftime, the 49ers were down 30-7, and the coach had pulled quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who struggled with the ankle injury he sustained weeks earlier.
"I felt like we could run the ball pretty well, and I definitely got away from it for some obvious reasons," Shanahan continued. "I can't do that. We've got to make sure no matter what the score happens (to be), I balance it out, and give us a chance to do what we do best, and also take some of that pressure off the O-line and the quarterback."
Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch believe Nick Bosa can become an Aaron Donald-type player for 49ers
By David Bonilla
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Defensive end Nick Bosa hit a setback in his development. The reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year suffered a torn ACL during Week 2 against the New York Jets.
Who knows what kind of difference Bosa's presence might have made for the struggling San Francisco 49ers? They probably would have more than just two wins at this point.
Bosa hasn't been the only injury, but his loss may have been the most impactful for the defense. The pass rush hasn't been as effective without the second-year defender. Also missing is veteran Dee Ford, who is out indefinitely with a back injury.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan knows what a good pass rush can do for a defense, and the loss of Bosa has crippled the efforts to frustrate quarterbacks this season. The young pass
49ers-Dolphins: Kyle Shanahan explains why it took so long to replace Brian Allen with Ahkello Witherspoon
By David Bonilla
Oct 11, 2020
Were you wondering what took so long for San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan to pull Brian Allen after it was clear the Miami Dolphins were targeting and embarrassing the cornerback early?
Shanahan explained his reasoning after the 43-17 defeat that left the 49ers still winless at home.
"Just because of how down we were (with the cornerback numbers) going into the game," Shanahan told reporters. "We got him off of practice squad this week with the injuries that we had. (Ken) Webster was his backup."
Ahkello Witherspoon eventually replaced Allen, but much of the damage had already been done.
"Ahkello, he tried to go this week," Shanahan continued, "but he was too tight to go throughout practice this week. Because of our low
Kyle Shanahan discusses benching Jimmy Garoppolo, O-line, cornerbacks, pushing forward after Dolphins beat 49ers
By Site Staff
Oct 11, 2020
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with reporters after Sunday's 43-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins. Here is everything he had to say.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
Why did CB Brian Allen get the start and more to the point is why did it take so long to pull him from the game after four series?
"Just because of how down we were going into the game. We got him off of practice squad this week because of the injuries we had. [CB Ken] Webster was his backup. [CB] Ahkello [Witherspoon], he tried to go this week, but he was too tight to go throughout practice all week, but because of our low numbers, we still dressed him for emergency. So, we were trying to hold out, see how
