SANTA CLARA -- After a five-giveaway, no-takeaway performance against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, the 49ers rank last in the league in turnover differential.
The 49ers’ minus-eight turnover margin is not exactly a winning formula for a team that is already playing without their two most-important offensive skill players for the season.
“It’s not rocket science,” 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard said. “It’s just little stuff. It’s a game of inches.”
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Beathard has been a central figure in six turnovers in his two starts since taking over for Jimmy Garoppolo, who sustained a season-ending knee injury in Kansas City in Week 3. Two of his interceptions deflected off his intended targets. Another came when he was hit as he was throwing. Beathard could have avoided one strip sack last week if he had moved up in the pocket to avoid Arizona outside pass-rusher Chandler Jones. And he had an interception last week on a fourth-and-19 play late in the game with the 49ers trailing by nine points.
“It’s nothing that can’t be fixed,” Beathard said. “It’s just little stuff.”
So as the 49ers returned to work this week in preparation to face the Green Bay Packers on Monday night, coach Kyle Shanahan has looked at each specific turnover and addressed ways the mishap could have been avoided.
“We’re very well aware that our five turnovers last week cost us the game,” Shanahan said. “That wasn’t just last week. If you ever do that, that’ll be pretty much every week. So we’ve got to get that fixed. We’ve also got to get our hands on the ball a little more too to help us.”
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The 49ers have generated just three takeaways in five games, while turning it over 11 times with seven interceptions and four lost fumbles. After a season-ending knee injury to Jerick McKinnon and Matt Breida getting sidelined last week with a knee injury, reserve running back Raheem Mostert saw action last week and promptly lost a fumble.
“We’ve got to protect the ball better,” Shanahan said. “You can go to your typical five points of pressure, carrying it high and tight. If you go to each one and talk about them individually. That’s what happened with Raheem last week.
“In the pocket, a number of things. C.J. has got to protect that ball better and not let guys get hands on it. I think we can get open faster and I think we can block better to get him a little more time. We can call better plays to get guys open, so it’s not as hard. A little bit of everything.”
Said Beathard, “I don’t think it’s discipline. I think we’re a disciplined team and stay on stuff like that. But, I would just say some of it is just unfortunate events that have happened.”