49ers' Kicker Woes Continue as Shanahan Offers No Solutions

The San Francisco 49ers are facing a significant special teams challenge, particularly at the kicker position, as the team heads into its bye week. Following the 49ers' 26-20 defeat against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, head coach Kyle Shanahan admitted he lacked concrete answers regarding potential changes to address the struggling kicker.

"I don’t know, I haven’t talked to anybody about that, we’ll probably discuss on the plane," Shanahan stated when asked if the team would work out other kicking options. The recent loss saw kicker Eddy Piñeiro miss his fourth extra point of the season after Kyle Juszczyk scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter, bringing the 49ers' deficit to 26-20.

During the broadcast of Piñeiro's attempt, Fox color commentator Greg Olsen initially remarked on the miss, then quickly corrected himself, attributing a previous miss to the Falcons' kicker, Nick Folk. Despite Olsen's brief gaffe, Piñeiro ultimately failed to convert the extra point. "You jinxed him," play-by-play commentator Kenny Albert told Olsen, who responded by calling it an "ultimate jinx" and a "prophecy."

This latest miss comes after a previous incident where Piñeiro missed an extra point attempt in the first quarter of the 49ers' Monday night victory against the Washington Commanders. In that instance, Shanahan told reporters, "got to make them."

Through seven games this season, Piñeiro has missed a total of seven kicks, including three field goals and four extra points. Shanahan acknowledged his frustration with the team's special teams performance, though he characterized it as being "about equal with the rest of our team right now."