O’Sullivan’s mistakes send 49ers to desperate crossroad

By Jeff Dickinson  |   Monday, October 20, 2008  |  Comments( 4 )

San Francisco 49ers
Got something to say?

Log In above and share your thoughts on this topic with other fans!
Including the punter and kicker, it takes 24 men to play a football game. A contribution needs to be made by everyone on the team in order to reach the goal of a win each week.

That being said, it is often difficult to point blame at one person when a club fails to reach its goals. For the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, however, it wasn’t tough to find the reason for their failure to beat the New York Giants.

The reason for San Francisco's fourth straight loss starts and ends with quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan.

The 49ers lost by 12 points – 29-17. Guess how many points the Giants scored off O’Sullivan’s turnovers? Twelve. If O’Sullivan holds on to the football and doesn’t throw costly interceptions, the 49ers are at least tied and have a chance to win.

It doesn’t seem like that long ago (to die-hard San Francisco fans, however, it probably seems like a lifetime ago) that the 49ers were 2-1 and tied for first place in the NFC West. Now San Francisco is 2-5 and on the brink of mailing in any playoff hopes.

How bad is it for the 49ers? Not only do they trail first-place Arizona by 2 1/2 games in the division, they are also behind the St. Louis Rams. Three weeks ago, the Rams were 0-4 and looked hopeless. Now St. Louis has won two straight and the only hopeless cases in the NFC West appear to be the 49ers and Seahawks.

In addition to O’Sulivan’s mistakes, the 49ers had absolutely no running game against the Giants. When your quarterback is your leading rusher in a game, it says a lot about your chances to win. O’Sullivan led San Francisco with 27 yards rushing. Frank Gore wasn’t injured; he just played like he was. New York held Gore to 11 yards rushing on 11 carries.

Sunday's game was simply an ugly one for the 49ers. O’Sullivan threw two interceptions, lost a fumble and took a sack in the end zone for a safety. San Francisco also had three other fumbles that interrupted or stalled drives. In case you need more evidence of San Francisco’s futility, the 49ers had 13 penalties and gave up six sacks.

Despite San Francisco’s inept offense, the game was still within reach early in the fourth quarter. After the 49ers blocked a John Carney field goal late in the third quarter and Nate Clements returned it 74 yards for a touchdown, San Francisco was within seven points at 24-17.

Unfortunately for the 49ers, they still had to take possession of the football in the fourth quarter. After Carney hit a 48-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, O’Sullivan helped the Giants pull ahead even more. He fumbled deep in San Francisco territory and the ball was kicked out of the end zone for a safety and a 29-17 New York lead.

If the 49ers are going to have any chance to climb back into the NFC West race, they are going to have to win their next three games against division opponents Seattle, Arizona and St. Louis. San Francisco hosts Seattle this week, plays at Arizona and then travels to St. Louis on Nov. 16.

Three consecutive wins within the division will get San Francisco back in the playoff race. The problem is that after four straight losses, the chances of that happening seem quite slim.
Got something to say?

Log In above and share your thoughts on this topic with other fans! (4)

About Jeff Dickinson

I have been writing and editing professionally for 18 years. I spent the first three years of my career as a sportswriter for a daily newspaper in Alabama and got to cover sports and get paid for it! It was great until I got married and then it wasn't too much fun being away from my wife every...
read more
Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report