Saying kicker Eddy Piñeiro is struggling in his second season with the San Francisco 49ers would be an understatement. Entering Week 7's matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, the veteran had already missed three field goals and three extra points.
Piñeiro missed another extra point on Sunday, a costly late-game mistake after the 49ers cut the Falcons' lead to six points. Atlanta then kicked a field goal to extend its lead to nine.
Had Piñeiro converted the extra point, the Falcons would have led by eight instead of nine, giving the 49ers a chance to tie with another touchdown and a two-point conversion.
Instead, the missed kick left San Francisco needing two scores, and the 49ers ultimately fell 29-20, suffering their first loss of the season.
With Piñeiro continuing to struggle, will the 49ers work out other kickers during their bye week?
"I don't know. I haven't talked to anybody about that," Shanahan said. "We'll probably discuss on the plane."
That doesn't necessarily mean the 49ers will actively seek a replacement for Piñeiro, who signed a four-year, $17 million contract extension in March. However, the team may need to consider its options if his struggles continue.
After the game, Piñeiro said he felt he was kicking well in pregame warmups, but that success didn't carry over. He declined to speculate on the reasons for his struggles, emphasizing that he needs to review the film first.
"Just part of the game," Piñeiro said of his misses this season. "Just got to make kicks and, yeah, just part of the game. Just got to go back [and watch the] tape, and get this by week, and just figure it out."
Piñeiro added, "Nobody likes to lose, obviously, and just got to get through this by week, and reassess, and start over."
Shanahan was also asked about his level of frustration with the 49ers' special teams performance.
"It's not over the top," Shanahan said. "I'm just about equal with the rest of our team right now. I thought they gave a big kickoff to open up the game.
"We got to kick that where it's supposed to be, and then I think Jordan missed a tackle on it, which opened it up. Eddy did a good job not allowing them to score and get him out of bounds there.
"But yeah, it's not too frustrated—but we need to play better."
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