Still a work in progress

San Francisco could have easily led the Broncos 28-0 at halftime, instead of just 20-0, had they not settled for a pair of first-half field goals after two promising drives stalled. For all his offensive “genius,” head coach Kyle Shanahan still gets fairly predictable when they get the near the goal line.

They finally converted inside the 20-yard line when quarterback Nick Mullens hooked up with Dante Pettis for a one-yard score, but converting earlier in the game would have meant they wouldn’t have had to sweat out the second half as much as they did.

Which leads me to my second point. For all the talk of the 49ers needing to learn how to win, the same could be said for their head coach. It’s not like Shanahan has a great track record of closing out games — see Super Bowl LI (51) when, as offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, Shanahan helped build a 28-9 lead going into the fourth quarter, only to see the New England Patriots come roaring back with 25 unanswered points for a 34-28 overtime win.

Sunday, the 49ers put together arguably their best half of the season. They rolled up more than 300 yards of offense in the first and second quarters. Tight end George Kittle, who had seven catches for 210 yards in just one half, was most certainly going to set a new tight end receiving record.

But as has been the case for the 49ers, they could not back up that impressive first half with even a good second half. Or vice versa, as the case may be. Kittle was targeted only once over the final two quarters and he’ll have to settle for the second-most receiving yards by a tight end. Mullens, who threw for 261 yards in the first half, had only 71 over the final two quarters as Shanahan, once again, played not to lose and tried running out the clock beginning in the third quarter. Which did not go well as the 49ers rushed for only 84 yards on the day, with very few coming in the second half.

Mullens, to his credit, picked up a pair of clutch first downs on the final drive of the game to close out Denver — but not without a little drama, as Mullens kneeled on fourth down before time ran out, giving the Broncos one last play, which really went nowhere.

It took a far worse coaching job by Denver head man Vance Joseph for the 49ers to pull out the win. Joseph decided early in the third that he was going to go for it on every fourth down. On two of those drives, the Broncos could have booted routine field goals and with their two touchdowns, could have easily forced overtime.

***

First, the Raiders got rid of Reggie McKenzie draft picks. Now, the Raiders have gotten rid of the man himself.

One day after rumors floated that McKenzie would be let go at the end of the season, Oakland decided there was no need to wait and handed McKenzie his walking papers Monday.

He was reportedly given the choice of staying on until the end of the year or leaving now and McKenzie chose the latter.

Say what you want about McKenzie, but he turned around the Raiders franchise. It took a little while — see the Dennis Allen years — but he always seemed to learn from his mistakes and get better. McKenzie is responsible for the team that went 12-4 two seasons ago and qualified for the playoffs. He’s also responsible for bringing the organization into the 21st century of professional football.

With McKenzie gone, Jon Gruden is now the face of the franchise. Now any successes — or failures — fall directly on his shoulders. Being a successful head coach and general manager has proven to be difficult. Not many before Gruden have succeeded.

Only time will tell if Gruden will get it right. Luckily for him, he has eight years left on his contract.

Nathan Mollat can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: 344-5200 ext. 117.