Is Kyle Shanahan starting to lose the locker room?

Last week after the 49ers lost to the Falcons, George Kittle publicly questioned their effort. This week after a blowout loss to the Chiefs, it was Brandon Aiyuk who was calling out his team.

“I just feel like we’ve got too many people - too many, too many people that can change the game to score 23 points. People can ask about the defense but at the end of the day we’ve got to score more points than the other team, so, that’s how I feel.”

That’s a dig at someone. Either Kyle Shanahan, Jimmy Garoppolo, or both, but obviously, Brandon is upset. Kittle’s statement questioning the effort last week was surprising because he almost never criticizes anyone. Aiyuk’s comments are notable because he rarely says anything to the media at all - praise or criticism. When Jimmy Garoppolo was taking heat last season, Aiyuk was one of the only offensive players that didn’t defend him publicly. Garoppolo and Shanahan have both talked about how quiet Aiyuk is during training camp. He wasn’t quiet yesterday.

The frustration is understandable. The defense definitely didn’t do their job against the Chiefs, but the 49ers' offense also came up small far too often. All five real drives in the first half either started or moved inside the Chiefs’ 30-yard line. They came away with 13 total points on those possessions. You aren’t going to beat anyone with that kind of production, and you definitely aren’t going to beat a team as good as Kansas City.

The only thing you could always say about Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers teams is that the locker room was always united. Even when they started his tenure with nine straight losses or two straight 10+ loss seasons, the team always looked like they played for each other and really enjoying playing for Kyle.

Now there are players publicly calling out their team in each of the last two weeks. One questioned the team’s effort, and the other questioned their offense.

Who is in charge of those two things again?

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