The 49ers' loss to the Cardinals deepens what has been a hellish season

At least Kyle Shanahan, Brock Purdy, Fred Warner and the rest of the 49ers fully understand and realize it now. At least they don't have to spend extra time or energy trying to deny or refute it.

It's early October and the long regular season is still months away, but this has already been a year of hell for the 49ers.

Or rather, it's been a collection of little hells, from summer contract tensions to Christian McCaffrey's ongoing injury to the Week 3 collapse against the Rams, a spate of new injuries, some general defensive lapses and the torturous journey through fiery purgatory on Sunday.

The 49ers had a 23-10 lead over the Cardinals at halftime. They could have ended this game ten different ways. They could have ended the day with a smile with a big game coming up in Seattle on Thursday night. But instead, the 49ers trudged off the field as 24-23 losers, looking as stunned and burned as the Levi's Stadium fans who stood around during the sun-drenched celebrations.

After that, the 49ers' leaders didn't make up elaborate excuses or pound the table with false admonitions. They spoke plainly. They uttered no battle cries. Mostly they sounded like people who know they've entered the inferno and realize it's going to take a lot of work to get out.

“I’m extremely frustrated,” Shanahan said of his 2-3 team.

“Yeah, I’m worried because we want to win football games,” Trent Williams said. “We have goals. But there is no need to panic. We’ll find out.”

“We haven’t won these tough little games yet,” George Kittle said. “We just didn’t do that.”

Of course the season is not lost. It's still early. If they recover quickly this week and beat the Seahawks 3-2 on Thursday, the 49ers will move into a tie for first place in the NFC West. The 49ers had problems in the last months of September and October and were only able to make it into the playoffs late. It's also looking increasingly likely that a number of mediocre teams will make it to the NFC postseason this time around.

But something feels different in the losses to the Rams and Cardinals. The games can be overcome, but the way the 49ers collapsed cannot be ignored. This is not how a good team – or a team that can work its way up to it – plays at any point in the season.

On Sunday, Purdy had a pass set up for an interception in a crucial moment of the third quarter and threw another INT in the final seconds when he was hit on the throw. Jordan Mason lost a fumble deep in Arizona Territory as the 49ers pushed for the game-winning win. Kicker Jake Moody was ejected from the game when poor kick coverage forced him into a saving tackle – changing the way the 49ers' offense could play. And the 49ers defense couldn't stop Kyler Murray and James Conner in the fourth quarter, even though a stop would have won the game.

Good teams win this game every time. The 49ers are not a good team right now. They are prone to errors. They fold late. They have been a good team for several years and have won almost every one of those games under Shanahan. But now they have already lost a few this season.

“The standard here is excellence,” Purdy said. “And what we have proven over the last few years is the level at which we can play. That's what we want to achieve. But every year is different, just the team, the chemistry and bringing the guys together.

“It’s early in the season. We are still trying to find our true identity as a team. We're getting there. It's a few games and a few rides away from gelling and sticking together. But I’m confident we’ll find it.”

Of course, there are some brighter signs. Brandon Aiyuk, who missed all of training camp due to his contract dispute, looked like a galloping old man on Sunday, catching eight passes for 147 yards after totaling just 167 yards in the previous four games. And at some point over the next month or so, the 49ers should bring McCaffrey back to jumpstart their faltering red zone offense (just one touchdown in six appearances on Sunday). And after that, Dre Greenlaw should be flying around on defense again.