The 49ers season may have peaked in Week Four.
At that point, San Francisco was 3-1, Arizona was 1-2 (on a bye), and 49ers fans thought they were settling in for their first relevant season since Steve Mariucci was in town.
Four consecutive losses later, including Sunday’s 34-27 loss at home against the Titans, and this 49ers season is starting to look familiar. They are two games behind Arizona in the NFC West and don’t look like a team strong enough in any area to go on a prolonged winning run. They are 0-5 outside the NFC West.
Alex Smith threw three interceptions in the loss, but this isn’t a 49ers team built to win shootouts. They gave up 135 yards rushing and two touchdowns to Chris Johnson. Vince Young connected on two vertical passes to Justin Gage, and avoided any major mistakes while completing 12-of-19 passes for 172 yards and rushing for a score.
The Titans, meanwhile, are 2-0 since Jeff Fisher tried on Peyton Manning’s jersey. With a healthier secondary helping out the defense, Tennessee could be a tough out for would-be contenders down the stretch. They face Buffalo next week, then head to Houston after the Texans’ bye.