Blaine Gabbert met with the Bay Area media on Wednesday to preview the San Francisco 49ers Week 15 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals at Levi's® Stadium.
The 49ers offense is working this week to rebound from a 24-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns, a game in which the group struggled to gain any momentum throughout the contest. San Francisco's lone touchdown came with just minutes remaining in the fourth quarter with the score already out of reach.
As Gabbert and the offense search for answers, here are the top five things the quarterback had to say in his press conference. 1. Short memory
As they say, what's done is done. Gabbert said as much during the presser. The 49ers have no time to dwell on the disappointing performance in Northeast Ohio last week and must immediately set their focus on what's ahead.
San Francisco only accumulated two first downs in the first half and ended the game with just 221 total yards. Fixing those issues is at the forefront of everyone's mind right now.
"That's the beautiful thing about the NFL," Gabbert said. "You've got a game in seven days and you can't spend too much time on the previous game, but at the same time, you do have to learn from it. Learn from your mistakes and apply them to this week."
2. Turning preparation into execution
One of the most frustrating aspects to this season for the 49ers has been their inability to translate a strong week of practice into successful performances on Sundays.
The ingredient that continues to be missing is that elusive "E" word.
"Well, it boils down to execution on gameday," Gabbert said. "But the one thing I can tell you, if you don't have a great week of practice, there's no chance that you're going to play well on Sunday. So we just have to keep doing what we're doing throughout the week and translate it gameday."
3. Stopping the sacks
Jim Tomsula said after the game that everyone on the team, players and coaches included, owns a part of the loss to the Browns. Gabbert owned his piece of the blame for the nine sacks that the 49ers surrendered in Cleveland.
"I've got to find a way to not take those," Gabbert said. "Those are drive killers but at the same time, we've just got to not put ourselves in those situations."
4. Evaluating the Bengals
Cincinnati enters the game with a 10-3 record and a two-game lead on the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North. The Bengals defense ranks second in points allowed (17.6 ppg.) and 10th in total defense.
Safety Reggie Nelson leads the NFL with eight interceptions and Geno Atkins paces the Bengals with 10.5 sacks.
"They're a talented team," Gabbert said. "We know what they bring to the table. They're sound. They're well coached. They have great players. But at the same time, it boils down to us executing against it. They're going to bring us a bunch of different looks on third down."
5. Having Kilgy back in the huddle
Daniel Kilgore has made his return to the lineup after missing the first 11 games of the season with a leg injury. After playing six snaps in his debut against the Chicago Bears, Kilgore saw 42 snaps against the Browns.
Now with Alex Boone expected to miss the Bengals game, Kilgore should get his first start of the season at center with Marcus Martin filling in at left guard.
"It's great to have him back," Gabbert said. "What he had to get through to get back on a football field is amazing. The surgeries that he had to go through, the rehab process that he had to go through just to be able to start running again and playing his first football in a year-and-a-half, it's a tremendous accomplishment just to get out there. Daniel's a great friend and I'm happy for him. We're fortunate to have him back in the huddle."
