The 49ers didn’t just lose to the Jaguars, 26-21; they gifted the game away in a bizarre storm of self-inflicted errors, a mess captured in one moment that reportedly ended with the refs apologizing directly to HC Kyle Shanahan

Midway through the 2nd quarter, pressure from Williams-Huff drew back-to-back holding penalties, backing up Trevor Lawrence and the Jags. After the 2nd flag, Shanahan had a simple choice: decline the penalty and make it 3rd & 12. A gettable down, sure, but a third down. Instead, in a baffling sequence, the refs accepted the penalty, creating a bizarre 3rd & 17 situation. Shanahan, visibly incensed, burned a timeout.

The reason for his fury became clear when 49ers & NFL News tweeted that the refs had apologized to Shanahan for their “mess up,” confirming he “wanted to decline to make it 3rd down and the refs messed up!” Great. But an apology doesn’t get you the ball back. It was a perfectly strange moment in a game defined by them.

That single gaffe, however, didn’t happen in a vacuum. It was merely the weirdest drop in a bucket already overflowing with blunders. 

It started with a promising 13-play opening drive that stalled in the red zone for a field goal and devolved from there. Luke Farrell, a former Jag, fumbled away a drive. Then Christian McCaffrey—the most reliable player in the league—had a pass clang off his hands for Purdy’s first interception. That giveaway set up a 48-yard Travis Etienne TD run, where shoddy tackling was the main reason for the touchdown.

It was a systematic breakdown (here’s everyone who was out).

Shanahan’s team is amidst a comedy of errors

Purdy’s second pick gave him the dubious honor of being the 1st Niner QB with multiple interceptions in 3 straight games since JT O’Sullivan in ’08, a name that sends a shiver down the spine of the faithful. The defense, despite holding the Jags scoreless in the 1st quarter for the 4th straight game, couldn’t snag an interception when Trevor Lawrence gave them chances (here’s what  Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen had to say about his TE before the match).

Fred Warner missed a tipped ball he’d normally catch in his sleep. All told, the Niners coughed up the ball 4 times and watched 2 goal-to-go situations result in chip-shot field goals.

17 combined penalties, 1 lonely pressure on 32 dropbacks from the 49ers defensive line, and a punt return for a TD. Linebacker Fred Warner broke Patrick Willis’s franchise record with his 17th career forced fumble.

San Francisco didn’t execute well enough to earn a victory despite making the game competitive in the final stages. The 49ers couldn’t overcome critical mistakes across all three phases – offense, defense, and special teams – that accumulated throughout the contest.