The San Francisco 49ers lost their fourth straight game Sunday, falling 30-18 at home to the Indianapolis Colts in a game played in a monsoon.
Despite the latest struggles from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, coach Kyle Shanahan wasn't ready immediately after the game to consider a quarterback change for Week 8 versus Chicago.
"I would guess so," Shanahan said when asked if Jimmy G would remain the starter. "I'm going to watch this tape and see if guys are healthy first of all. I don't even know where our guys are at. It was good for Jimmy to be able to get healthy enough to play in this game today."
Garoppolo finished 16-of-27 passing for 181 yards, one TD and two interceptions for a 60.9 passer rating. It's Garoppolo's third straight game with at least one interception.
The heavy rain that didn't abate all game clearly played a significant role in the Niners' struggles, as Garoppolo had issues finding a grip and keeping his passes on target.
"I think we struggled to throw and catch a lot more than they did, that's what it looked like," Shanahan said of how the elements impacted the Niners more than the Colts.
Trey Lance missed Sunday night's game due to a knee injury suffered in Week 5. Garoppolo dealt with a calf injury that forced him to miss that last game before the club's bye in Week 6.
While Shanahan wasn't ready to make any declarations immediately after the loss, Lance's injury status will likely play a factor. Given how much Jimmy G struggled in the elements, if the rookie had been healthy Sunday night, he'd have likely seen the field in some capacity.
"I got a whole team to worry about," Shanahan said. "Not just thinking about what the quarterback situation is right now. I'm going to evaluate everything, see where our team's at, see what gives us the best chance to beat Chicago, and see what our options are. That's what you go into each week, finding out your options. We had two quarterbacks who were hurting this week. Jimmy was able to come back and play. We'll see if Trey can (play) next week, we're still not sure yet, but I got a lot of things to figure out."
Sunday night's loss was the lowest point of the Shanahan era. After trading up to draft Lance, the Niners were viewed as a team close to winning a championship. Instead, after a fourth straight loss, they're a club that looks lost in the wilderness.
"It's pretty down in there right now," Shanahan said. "Losing four games in a row, it's been a month. That's tough. It was tough, really, the last two weeks, losing three in a row. We just added another to it. Doesn't make it any easier. I told the guys they got to be tough-minded. They got to stick together. We got guys with high character in there. I think we've got good enough football players. We have to handle whatever we're going to get and come back and play better next week versus Chicago."
