The 49ers had the grim task of reflecting on one other mistake-filled loss on Monday, but Deebo Samuel wasn't there to see it.
Samuel, who called in sick to work Sunday morning before the 49ers' 28-18 loss to the world champion Kansas City Chiefs, was within the hospital recovering from pneumonia.
“He had some fluid in his lungs, so technically pneumonia,” Shanahan told local media during a conference call. “He went in last night. It started acting up in the middle of the night on Saturday night or early Sunday morning, and it kind of evolved throughout the day. After the game, when we found out there was fluid in his lungs, they took him to the hospital. I found out Sunday night when I was home.”
Samuel needed an oxygen mask at one point early in the sport and was out of uniform within the second half.
Samuel's illness, combined with a season-ending knee injury to Brandon Aiyuk just before halftime and a hip injury that sidelined Jauan Jennings, caused the 49ers to regulate their receiving plans on the fly.
It's conceivable that Samuel and Jennings may very well be available when the 49ers host the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, but that's not certain.
Despite the missing receivers, Shanahan saw enough while watching the film to imagine that the 49ers' fifth straight loss to Kansas City during his tenure was self-inflicted, just like the losses to the Rams and Cardinals earlier this season.
The players first met with Shanahan to get an outline of all three phases (offense, defense and special teams) after which adjourned for position group meetings where each positive and negative plays were examined intimately. Considering the 49ers cut Kansas City's result in 21-12 and had loads of time to tie inside one rating, the message was the potential for a win moderately than one other tough loss.
“It’s always hard to come in and watch after a game like that,” Shanahan said. “But I thought the boys handled it well. I wanted to show, no matter how bad it felt, how many times we had a chance to win. I'm not trying to take anything away from Kansas City, but we hurt ourselves and there are things we dictate.
“We managed it at times, were close, but made too many mistakes. . . If you don't correct that, it doesn't matter who you play. At the end of the day, you're a .500-type team.
Middle linebacker Fred Warner really wanted to move to Dallas.
“You can do one of two things: You can sulk over a loss or you can see what the reality is, fix the problem, move on and win a game next week,” Warner said. “So much will be said about our current situation and this team. That won't get us anywhere. That won't help us next week. We have to deal with reality, put it behind us, move on and win a game.”
THE BROCK CONVERSATION
Shanahan was talking a few postgame conversation with quarterback Brock Purdy at his locker. Purdy had perhaps his worst game as a 49er when he went 17 of 31 for 212 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions and a passer rating of 36.7, the bottom of his profession.
The two spoke for five minutes in front of a gaggle of reporters.
“I didn’t know you all had my back and were spying on us,” Shanahan said. “I just went back and he was standing right there. . . I didn't know everyone was still in there. Then when I looked behind you, I was afraid of you. I didn't know everyone was feeling so bad.
Commenting on Purdy’s performance, Shanahan said: “Brock has had a heck of a year. He didn't have his best game yesterday.
POST-BYE REINFORCEMENTS
Running back Christian McCaffery continues to make progress as he recovers from Achilles tendonitis in both ankles. He is still unlikely to play against Dallas, although he could be included in the reinforcements after the bye week in Week 9.
“Christian is still making progress in his rehab,” Shanahan said. “He hasn’t suffered any setbacks so it’s only been good news so far. I would be surprised if I got him back this week, but I hope the bye week goes well and we have a much better chance after the bye week.”
Other additions after the bye, although not necessarily in Week 10, include linebacker Dre Greenlaw (Achilles) and place-kicker Jake Moody (high ankle sprain).
Players who left the Chiefs game with injuries included tight end George Kittle (foot) and wide receiver Chris Conley (ankle).
QUICK JUDGMENTS
A take a look at the distribution of playing time within the 49ers' loss to the Chiefs. . .
70: After missing the Seattle game with a knee injury, Charvarius Ward played every snap together with safety Ji'Ayir Brown, cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, Warner and safety Malik Mustapha.
54: Left tackle Trent Williams missed the ultimate nine snaps of the sport, leaving Jaylon Moore after he was sent off for a success on the Chiefs' Bryan Cook. The remainder of the starting lineup, Aaron Banks, Colton McKivitz, Jake Brendel and Dominick Puni, played all 63 snaps.
44: Defensive tackle Jordan Elliott played a season-high in snaps and had three solo tackles and one assisted tackle.
39: Linebacker Dee Winters played the very best variety of snaps of his profession, while Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles didn’t play on defense but had 16 snaps on special teams.
36: Defensive end Sam Okuayinonu played the very best variety of snaps this season. His role increases within the absence of Yetur Gross-Matos with 19, 24 and 32 snaps within the last three games with the Chiefs.
25: Brandon Aiyuk won't play his next snap until 2025 after being injured late in the primary half.
5: Cornerback Isaac Yiadom was coming off a game in Seattle where he played a season-high 77 snaps (99 percent). The rookie Green replaced played a season-low five snaps against the Chiefs.
4: Samuel tried to play but ended up within the hospital.
Originally published:
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