49ers news: Brock Purdy and the Niners are broken a month into the season

Since we established that each game was just homework for the postseason test, and since football games typically last three hours, I remembered some of the three-hour courses I took in college .

The topic would determine how enjoyable the three hours would be. My favorite three-hour class was a communications class where the teacher had us watch an episode of the fourth season of The Wire each week and then we discussed it. I particularly enjoyed these three hours.

But then there was the three-hour class in Greek mythology. At times it was fun, but at some point things dragged on, making it three hours that were long, miserable and tiring.

The San Francisco 49ers' 24-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals made me feel like I was back in my Greek mythology classroom.

We learned more from the 49ers on Sunday than we did in the previous four games. We learned some good things, like Brandon Aiyuk's death was greatly exaggerated, but most of what we learned were the bad things about the San Francisco 49ers. We have learned so much about the negative that it can all be summarized in one category:

The 49ers are broken

What's broken doesn't mean it can't be fixed, and perhaps it's a silver lining that they broke in October and not December or later. The 49ers, now 2-3, still have plenty of time to resolve the issues that have plagued them through the first five weeks of the season, but getting there will be difficult.

The first and most important issue to address is the red zone violation. The 49ers' offense was phenomenal in terms of yards allowed this season, ranking second in the league with 407.4 yards per game, but it was the final 20 yards that gave San Francisco the biggest problems.

After scoring a touchdown on a best 67.2 percent of red zone possessions last season, the 49ers offense scored a touchdown on a dismal 40.9 percent of red zone possessions in five games, the third-worst percentage in the league. The problem came to a head against Arizona, where the 49ers managed just one touchdown in six red zone trips.

Three field goals, a touchdown, a turnover and a turnover on downs. Put two points on any of those five non-touchdown drives and the 49ers leave Week 5 with a win. Instead, the offense trembled at the mere thought of gaining the final 20 yards of the field.

It was a team effort to eliminate any problems in the red zone on Sunday. Brock Purdy made it 7:13 with a touchdown inside the Arizona 20, but collected two sacks that derailed drives, including one that knocked the 49ers out of already limited field goal range. Purdy also missed George Kittle high on a ball that, had it been thrown better, would have been a touchdown.

Jordan Mason had just four runs inside the red zone for four yards, losing four and the ball on his final run, setting up Arizona's game-winning field goal. Rookie Isaac Guerendo had more red zone touches (two) than Deebo Samuel (one) – the player most similar to red zone scorer Christian McCaffrey.

Kyle Shanahan — armed with an offense that included Purdy, Mason, Samuel, Aiyuk and Kittle — opted for a field goal at the two-yard line in the second quarter, missing a chance for six points. The 49ers' three field goals yesterday came from 28, 20 and 26 yards on fourth downs that required six, two and seven yards to score touchdowns, with Mitch Wishnowsky being the kicker on the 26-yard attempt.

At one point, Shanahan had to trust his offense to convert one of those fourth downs — especially the two — but opted for three points instead of attempting six in a game that San Francisco would ultimately lose by a margin of one.

The red zone issues weren't the only lingering issue that emerged on Sunday, as the defense proved that its Week 4 performance against the Patriots had simply taken advantage of a poor offense. The defense wasted no time in making its presence known, and Trey McBride was eliminated with a lead of 22 on the first play of the game.

The second play of the game was much worse for the 49ers, as Talanoa Hufanga ran an option hard, giving Kyler Murray a runway from green to the end zone. With a bang and a bang, Arizona had a quick lead.

The defense just felt bad from there. The 49ers defense missed a total of 12 tackles, with James Conner forcing eight missed tackles and gaining 74 of his 86 rushing yards after contact. Even though Conner wasn't able to slow him down – especially in the second half – the pass defense also had a lot of problems. The pass rush was again lacking, forcing Murray to be pressured nine times and sacked once on 32 dropbacks.

The back end of the defense wasn't much better: Charvarious Ward, Fred Warner, De'Vondre Campbell and Ji'Ayir Brown combined for 15 receptions on 18 targets for 159 yards and a touchdown. Ward continued his poor form, allowing three receptions on four targets for 67 yards. After allowing a 63.7 passer rating and leading the NFL with 17 pass breakups, Ward started slowly with a 99.5 passer rating on targeted pass breakups and just two pass breakups.

Put the red zone issues in the mix with a struggling defense and you get the 49ers' second-half collapse against Arizona. San Francisco entered the third quarter up 23-10 and only had to watch as the Cardinals gradually gave way. The offense's second-half drive charts on Sunday might be the scariest sight of October:

• Interception
• Sales at Downs*
• Fumble*
• Interception

* drive has reached the red zone

But even though the offense went scoreless in the second half, San Francisco had a ten-point lead late in the third quarter. Arizona's offense completed two consecutive scoring drives that totaled 26 plays and covered 148 yards, including a conversion on third and fourth downs that resulted in 11 points, just enough for Arizona to escape with a win.

Sunday marked the second time this season the 49ers blew a second-half lead against an NFC West opponent, while just two weeks ago they lost a 14-point lead against the Rams. The 49ers are broken right now and unlike previous years of slow starts, there are some real issues that need to be addressed.