49ers players sound bad, admit 2024 season 'feels weird'

Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco 49ers are in a slump to start the season, sitting at 2-3 after losing three of their last four games. It's not the start this Super Bowl-bound squad envisioned. Part of the problem could be the absence of offensive playmaker Christian McCaffrey, who has yet to play this season due to calf and Achilles tendonitis.

Despite McCaffrey's absence, Jordan Mason performed admirably, although a fumble in Sunday's loss to the Arizona Cardinals proved costly. Mason amassed an impressive 536 rushing yards and three touchdowns on a league-leading 105 carries. He remains on pace to surpass 1,800 rushing yards this season – if he continues as a starter.

McCaffrey is expected to return at some point this season, possibly as early as the Week 7 Super Bowl rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs. For now, he is continuing his rehab with the aim of working his way back into the team.

A team with as much talent as the 49ers should have no trouble knocking off opponents like the Cardinals. Something seems off this season, and the team is hoping to turn things around on Thursday night against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Another loss could be a serious setback.

“It definitely feels weird this year,” cornerback Charvarius Ward told Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle after Sunday’s loss. “It feels really, really strange. I hope it changes, but it's just really weird. We have a lot of talent and are losing games that we should win.”

Ward, who earned a career-high 84.7 defensive grade from Pro Football Focus last season, has seen that number drop to a career-low 53.4 this season. Opposing quarterbacks post a 99.5 passer rating when targeting him, and he allows 15.2 yards per reception, his highest mark since 2019.

“I feel like I’m playing the worst ball of my career,” Warn admitted.

The good news is that the veteran cornerback believes he has identified the problem but did not comment on specifics.

Deommodore Lenoir, who celebrated his birthday on Sunday with a spectacular 61-yard touchdown return after a blocked field goal, is also feeling the strangeness of the season.

“Yeah, losing to Arizona — it feels weird,” Lenoir told Silver. “In my four years here, we don’t do that (often). So I can agree with that.”

Fullback Kyle Juszczyk echoed his teammates' sentiments, saying, “You're telling me we're blocking a field goal for a touchdown? We win this game. I mean, it's weird. It's not like everything is fine, but it's not like the world is crumbling either.”

“Weird” actually seems to be the theme. For the second time this season, the 49ers let a late lead slip against a division opponent.

“As a whole, as a team, we've always been an organization and a team that finds ways to win,” defensive end Nick Bosa said after the loss to the Cardinals. “So far we've been doing the opposite, so to speak. We find ways to lose. It doesn't matter how good the players are. It doesn't matter how explosive the offense is. If you let teams hang around and don't play. If you play your best ball later in the game, then you're going to find yourself in situations like that.”

Nevertheless, Bosa, like Juszczyk, does not overreact. The 49ers have a recent track record of overcoming adversity, as seen last season after a three-game losing streak in October.

“I haven’t lost any confidence in the team,” said Bosa. “It’s still early, it’s a long year. We’ve been through worse and I think we’ll respond well.”