Niners end season promising but still lose

I blogged last week about how since the San Francisco 49ers would not have Brandon Aiyuk at wide receiver or Trent Williams at left tackle, among lots of other guys, they had basically no shot to win against division champion Seattle. 

That turned out to be true. But it took a big fourth-quarter comeback by the Seahawks. 

Seattle had 3 total yards in the third quarter as SF went up double digits entering the fourth. The final quarter was very different though as the Seahawks flipped the game to their advantage and won a close one on the road. 

I applaud the effort from the undermanned 49ers. They clearly missed their best players this season. With only rosters of 53 guys, no NFL team can win games consistently with half their roster being out a majority of the games. 

The fact that the Niners finished 6-10 to me is a great accomplishment. I never would have thought they'd get to six wins. And the funny thing is, I think if Kyle Shanahan starts C.J. Beathard over Nick Mullens sooner they may have gotten to 8-8 and into the playoffs. 

Mullens turned the ball over too much and gave them no chance to win games against Philadelphia, Washington and Dallas. That's three wins they might have had with Beathard at QB simply because Beathard showed the ability to just not hurt the team with bad interceptions or fumbles. 

Beathard did lose a fumble after a sack this past Sunday. And it came with the Niners trailing in the fourth quarter with less than 3 minutes to go. But it was the only turnover in the game and the Seahawks had all the momentum because of the comeback. 

Beathard was not outstanding in his starts at the end of the year. But he was 1-1 against .500 or better teams and he took care of the ball much better than Mullens. 

The defense under Robert Saleh was the biggest reason the team was 6-10. The offense had its moments but without a competent QB most of the year, the defense had to be extra good and they were. 

Led by Pro Bowler and future All Pro LB Fred Warner, the defense still ranked in the top 5-10 in most categories even without Nick Bosa and Richard Sherman for most of the year. And they weren't the only guys who missed time. 

Now, as they move into the offseason and try to reset from a season that was plagued by injuries, the question now is, what in-house guys do they re-sign, who do they cut to save salary cap dollars and what do they do at QB? 

They also likely have to replace Robert Saleh at defensive coordinator. 

The loss to Seattle and wins by Minnesota, New England and L.A. Chargers pushed the Niners into the 12th draft pick in this year's NFL Draft. 

Will there by any QBs left to take at that spot? Do they plan to trade up to get their guy? Where will go at DC and will they have to replace Adam Peters in the front office? 

These are things Shanahan and GM John Lynch will be focused on as we move into the offseason. 

Let the rumors fly.