The San Francisco 49ers’ season came to an end with yet another disappointing loss as they fell 47-24 to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. The once stout 49ers defense allowed the Cardinals to score six touchdowns on them, capping off the year with a game that sums up their unfortunate 6-11 season.

San Francisco defensive end Nick Bosa, who is one of the team’s captains, admitted after the loss that it’s hard to look players in the face after another underwhelming performance.

“It’s hard to look guys in the faces as the leader on the team and that’s the product that we kept putting out game after game,” Bosa said Sunday. “It’s pretty embarrassing.”

Tight end George Kittle, another one of the 49ers’ captains, did not agree with Bosa’s approach on facing their teammates after the season didn’t go their way.

“I can look all my teammates in the face,” Kittle told the media on Monday. “I put my all out there. A lot of the guys, they put their all out there as well. I have no shame in that. You can go check the tape, and if you’re okay with your resume which is on the tape, then you should be okay with your season.”

“Our standards for this organization are significantly higher,” Kittle said. “Our expectations for ourselves were higher. Our goals were higher and we didn’t achieve any of them. It’s disappointing.”

As two of the 49ers’ best and most experienced players, Kittle and Bosa will hold some of the responsibility for helping this team right the ship and attempt to become Super Bowl contenders once again next season. The 49ers have advanced to at least the NFC Championship Game in four of their last six seasons, but fell off from their winning ways in 2024 amid injuries, regression and turmoil off the field. How captains like Bosa and Kittle respond next season should play a role in determining whether the 49ers can truly rebound in 2025.