SANTA CLARA— The 49ers blew a 13-point lead in Sunday’s 24-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals at Levi’s Stadium, demonstrating one again that the squad as a whole needs to learn how to finish.

The 49ers appeared to be on fire as they entered the locker room at halftime with 23 points and a two-score lead. Nobody could have guessed that the offence would go scoreless for the rest of the game.

The squad made several blunders in the second half, including missed tackles, turnovers, and poor kickoff coverage, and not even Nick Bosa would blame himself for the loss.

“I think as a whole, as a team, we’ve always been an organisation and a team that finds ways to win, and we’re kind of doing the opposite so far,” Bosa told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Laura Britt after the game. “We’re finding ways to lose.

“It doesn’t matter how good the players are, it doesn’t matter how explosive the offence is — if you let teams hang around and not play your best ball later in the game, then you’re going to find yourself in these situations.”

The 49ers conceded 14 points in the second half and were unable to score themselves. Cardinals running back James Conner, who was limited to six carries for nine yards in the first half, had 13 carries for 77 yards in the second half.

"We're finding ways to lose."

Nick Bosa candidly explains the 49ers' early season issues to @Laura_Britt_ pic.twitter.com/0jgohbvu6q

— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) October 7, 2024

Deommodore Lenoir, who was involved for six of the 49ers’ 23 total points after returning a blocked field goal for a touchdown, believes there are no major flaws on the defence. The cornerback is confident in his defensive teammates, but believes their relationship is still forming.

“We just got to get back and iron out the little details,” Lenoir told me. “We are right there. We only need to complete. We had a lot of fresh additions, so we got to create that camaraderie. I feel like we’re getting there, but we just need to punch it.”

George Kittle, who has previously contributed to poor beginnings to the season, is likewise unconcerned. The All-Pro tight end feels the 49ers have the proper players to complete the job.

“We’ve just got to go out and prove we can do it,” Kittle told reporters. “I’ve started seasons in which we won all of the games and figured out how to win dirty, extremely ugly wins that you still won. We haven’t worked out how to do this as a team. We have to do it.

“I think all we have to do is hold on the football, run the ball really well, and we are going to be OK.”

The team’s overall mood is that it’s still early and there’s a lot of football to play. Despite only taking down Cardinals quarterback Kyle Murray on Sunday, Bosa confidence in his teammates.

“I’m still very confident in the team and I’m glad it’s happening early,” Bosa told the crowd.