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SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- 49ers coach Chip Kelly has gone out of his way this season to be supportive of general manager Trent Baalke, who has come under serious fire as his club has fashioned the second-worst record in the NFL. But Kelly finally said something in the wake of Sunday's 23-17 overtime loss to the New York Jets that sent a different message.
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This isn't my fault; it's Baalke's.
Coincidentally, the damning comment was intended to take the blame of the club's 12th consecutive loss and drop it upon his own shoulders.
"I just really wasn't confident," Kelly said of his (and in turn, Baalke's) personnel, which prompted a conservative offensive approach in the second half and overtime of Sunday's defeat.
After Colin Kaepernick recorded a "perfect" first quarter -- 7-for-7, 95 yards, one touchdown -- Kelly saw his quarterback throw only 19 passes the rest of the way.
With several of his top offensive players -- left tackle Joe Staley (hamstring), center Daniel Kilgore (hamstring), wide receiver Torrey Smith (concussion) and tight end Vance McDonald (shoulder) -- out of action, Kelly admitted he didn't trust Baalke's backups enough to try to build on a 17-3 lead.
"With those guys out, they were loading the box, so we were trying to run the ball a little bit obviously just to take some pressure off the receivers and the offensive line," Kelly explained. "That's on me."
Kelly's biggest -- and arguably most conservative -- call of the game came on what turned out to be the 49ers' final offensive play.
Facing fourth-and-11 at the New York 36 and opting not to give Phil Dawson a shot at a 53-yard field goal, Kelly sent Carlos Hyde into the middle of the Jets' defensive line.
Running behind a replacement center (Marcus Martin) and a replacement guard (Andrew Tiller), Hyde barely made it back to the line of scrimmage.
"That one's on me," Kelly insisted. "I made the call for us to go for it, so I made the wrong decision."
For what it's worth, Kelly once again said he had Baalke's back when it was mentioned that a CBS Sports report Sunday indicated the GM might be fired at season's end.
"I have tremendous confidence in Trent," Kelly insisted.
Just not his players.
--Hyde will be remembered Sunday as the guy stopped on fourth-and-11 at the New York 36 on the 49ers' first possession of overtime, handing the ball over to the Jets for their game-winning drive.
But before that, Hyde's 193-yard rushing performance on just 17 carries earned several distinctions:
The 193 rushing yards were a career-best, eclipsing the 168 he put up in the 2015 opener against the Minnesota Vikings.
The 193 yards were the sixth-most in franchise history. Frank Gore owns the top two marks: 212 against Seattle on Nov. 19, 2006, and 207, also against the Seahawks, on Sept. 20, 2009.
The 193 yards were also the fifth-most in an NFL game this season. Pittsburgh's Le'Veon Bell rolled up the top mark -- 236 yards on 38 carries -- earlier in the day against the Buffalo Bills.
One hundred and forty one of the 193 yards came in the first half, the most in a first half by a 49er since Gore went for 148 against Detroit on Nov. 12, 2006.
Hyde's 11.4 yards per carry were the fifth-highest in franchise history with a minimum of 10 attempts. Joe Perry has held the record of 13.4 for 58 years, having set the mark (13 carries, 174 yards) on Nov. 2, 1958.
The 49ers' 248 rushing yards in the game were their most in almost two years, dating back to a 355-yard explosion against the San Diego Chargers on Dec. 20, 2014.
--Few things size up the 49ers' season better than a 48-hour stretch tight end Vance McDonald endured over the weekend.
First, the 49ers announced Friday that they had signed their top receiver to a five-year contract extension through the 2021 season.
Terms of the agreement were not made public, but it was worth a reported $35 million, with $16 million guaranteed.
Through 11 games, McDonald had accumulated 24 catches for 391 yards and four touchdowns. Among his two scores were 65- and 75-yard catches, helping boost his per-catch average to 16.3 yards.
But shortly after the ink had dried on the contract, McDonald suffered a shoulder injury on the 49ers' third offensive possession of Sunday's game. He left the contest before making a catch, and never returned.
After a medical review Monday, McDonald was put on season-ending injured reserve.
NOTES:
QB Colin Kaepernick had a perfect passer rating (158.3) in the first quarter Sunday, going 7-for-7 for 95 yards and a touchdown. It was the eighth perfect rating for the quarter in his career. Kaepernick also rushed three times for 23 yards in the game, helping push the team total to 248, the club's most since going for 355 on Dec. 20, 2014 against the San Diego Chargers.
LT Joe Staley (hamstring) did not play Sunday, ending a streak of 92 straight games. Staley was replaced at left tackle by Zane Beadles, who moved out from left guard. On Monday, Staley learned he'd been selected as one of eight finalists for the NFL's annual Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award. Former 49ers RB Frank Gore is another of the finalists.
OT Josh Allen was claimed off waivers from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday to replace TE Vance McDonald on the 53-man roster. Allen played three games for the Buccaneers during the 2014 season.
