For the third time this season, the San Francisco 49ers held a fourth-quarter lead only to see it slip away in heartbreaking fashion. Each collapse has come during NFC West matchups, starting with a late loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3 and then a defeat to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5.
The latest setback occurred on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, as quarterback Geno Smith orchestrated a game-winning drive in the closing minutes of the Week 11 clash. The 49ers' 20-17 defeat drops them to 5-5 on the season, with their postseason aspirations dimming rapidly.
"[We] let them hang around," head coach Kyle Shanahan said of Sunday's disappointing outcome. "And when you let people hang around, that's what happens."
San Francisco has managed just one division win this season, a victory over the Seahawks at Lumen Field on October 10. However, the three late-game collapses have marked an unfortunate milestone that hasn't been reached in nearly 25 years.
Josh Dubow of the Associated Press noted that the 49ers are the first team since 2000 to lose three division games when leading by four or more points in the fourth quarter. The team squandered a 10-point lead against the Rams, another 10-point lead against the Cardinals, and a four-point edge against the Seahawks on Sunday.
#49ers are 1st team since 2000 to lose 3 division games they led by 4+ points in 4th quarter. Cowboys and Patriots both did it in 2000
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) November 18, 2024
Linebacker Fred Warner, who was on the field as Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith scrambled into the end zone for the game-winning score in the closing seconds, called the repeated late-game collapses "infuriating."
While Warner maintains confidence in his teammates and coaches, he acknowledged that the 49ers have yet to prove they're better than their record suggests.
"It's not like us," Warner declared. "But that's just what we've shown this year, so I guess, until we stop doing that, then that's who we are."