Kyle Shanahan Made An Atrocious Coaching Decision That Could Have Cost 49ers

I know most people won’t care, but I have to rant about the terrible coaching decision made by San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan on Sunday against Jacksonville. 

With 2:47 left in the game, trailing 26-21, the Jaguars strip-sacked 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and recovered the ball. San Francisco had one timeout remaining, plus the two-minute warning, so the game wasn't over. Jacksonville needed a first down to cement the victory. 

On the first play, Travis Etienne took a handoff from Trevor Lawrence and the 49ers defensive line stuffed him for a loss of 1 yard. That's when Shanahan inexplicably called a timeout, with 2:43 left on the clock. 

Some of you probably understand why this was an awful decision, but for those who don't, allow me to explain. The 40-second play clock starts immediately following the conclusion of the preceding play. This meant Jacksonville could only run the clock down to about 2:03 left before snapping the ball on second down, had Shanahan not called a timeout. 

I understand the counterargument: With 2:03 on the clock, Jacksonville could call a pass play because the two-minute warning was going to hit regardless. However, allowing Jacksonville a free pass play is a much better option than what could have happened next. 

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan made a terrible coaching decision at the end of a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

(Imagn Images)

This didn't ultimately matter because, somehow, Trevor Lawrence made an even worse decision on second down, running out of bounds to stop the clock. Lawrence should have gone down in-bounds to keep the clock running down to the two-minute warning. 

At that point, San Francisco would have been out of timeouts. So, in a best-case scenario, they're getting the ball back with under 1:10 left after Jacksonville likely runs the ball on third down to bleed the clock. 

However, had Shanahan preserved the timeout, and the 49ers forced a third down, the two-minute warning would then have been triggered. Thus, Jacksonville would face a third-down play with exactly two minutes left and San Francisco still holding a precious timeout. 

If Jacksonville chose to run the ball and was stopped, San Francisco calls its final timeout and gets the ball back with around 1:50 on the clock. Essentially, Shanahan's poor clock management should have cost his team 40 seconds. 

In a game where they were going to need a touchdown to win, those extra 40 seconds would have been extremely valuable. It didn't matter because Jacksonville picked up a first down on the next play and ran out the clock to win 26-21. 

Even though it didn’t change the outcome, Shanahan should still be held accountable for poor clock management.

OK, rant over.