The San Francisco 49ers had an inconsistent offensive performance against the Green Bay Packers on Friday night.
This assessment was shared by Chip Kelly after his team dropped to 1-2 on the preseason with a 21-10 home loss to the NFC North foe.
Blaine Gabbert and Colin Kaepernick split time with the first-team offense. Gabbert made his third start of the preseason; Kaepernick made his 2016 debut.
"(We) shot ourselves in the foot a couple times," said Gabbert, who led San Francisco on its only touchdown drive of the game. "And when you're inconsistent on the offense side of the ball, you don't execute at a high level. It shows when you don't move the ball, you don't score points, drives stall. We put our defense in some tough positions and ultimately, you lose the game."
Gabbert and Kaepernick both finished the night with two completions and 14 passing yards, apiece.
Kelly said he wanted to split playing time and give each signal-caller an opportunity to work behind the first-team offensive line.
Gabbert completed 2-of-3 pass attempts in two possessions. The lone incompletion was on a deep ball he overthrew Quinton Patton. Gabbert later threw a backwards pass to Patton, who ran it the rest of the way for what was scored as a 3-yard touchdown run.
The scoring drive capped Gabbert's night on a positive note.
"Being a competitor, I wanted to play more," said Gabbert, who has not been sacked or turned the ball over in the preseason. "It was just kind of how that first quarter panned out. They ate up a bunch of the clock there and we only had two drives.
"(We) ended on a high note, scoring a touchdown in there on the second drive was good for the offense."
Kaepernick said his right shoulder felt strong after he made his preseason debut.
"I don't think there was rust," the sixth-year pro said. "It just felt good being back on the field. I was excited to be out there. Wish we would have done a little bit more, but it was good to get out there and get my feet wet."
Kaepernick finished the night 2-of-6 passing for 14 yards with four carries for 18 yards on the ground. The veteran was taken out of the game at halftime.
"I think we should have done a better job on first and second down," the quarterback said when summing up his performance. "We got put in a lot of third-and-longs, trying to make something happen there. I think overall I felt confident in my reads, felt confident with what the offense was doing."
Niner Notes
-- Pierre Garçon suffered a concussion against the Packers and is now in the league's concussion protocol. Wide receiver Bruce Ellington (hamstring), defensive tackle Quinton Dial (knee) both left the game due to injuries.
-- Garrett Celek's growth at outside linebacker continues to be one of the best defensive stories of the preseason. The converted defensive tackle recorded two tackles and a sack in his first start of the preseason.
"We've been pleased with his transition," Kelly said.
-- Anthony Davis made his first NFL start in any game at right guard on Friday. First-round draft pick Joshua Garnett joined the first-team offensive line at left guard on San Francisco's third drive of the game. Both linemen have impressed their teammates, including Gabbert.
"They've been doing a tremendous job," the QB said. "Those guys are battling up front. There's a lot of competition there in the offensive line room, but the depth we have there is phenomenal and all those guys can step in and play. Josh is a rookie. AD's new at guard and they're just working their tails off, coming in every day with that mindset of just trying to get better, learn the position and help this team moving forward."
-- Third-round draft pick Will Redmond made his preseason debut against Green Bay. The Mississippi State product recorded five tackles (two for loss) and one of the team's three sacks of Green Bay quarterbacks.
"I just went out there ready to have fun," said the rookie corner, who suffered a late-season ACL tear in college. "It was my first game back. I just went out there to clear my head and ready to have fun and get back to doing what I do."
