San Francisco 49ers

49ers' Boldin moves within one catch of reaching 1,000 for career

Published Dec. 21, 2015 2:10 a.m. ET

foxsports

The San Francisco 49ers rank last in the NFL in scoring and the struggles were evident once again in Sunday's 24-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

The 49ers were limited to 14 points of fewer for the sixth time in eight games and have surpassed 20 points only once in that span.

#49ers Anquan Boldin has 999 career receptions; 12 players in NFL history have 1,000.
— Eric Branch (@Eric_Branch) December 21, 2015

Wide receiver Anquan Boldin was one of the few bright spots for San Francisco, just missing a major milestone by hauling in eight receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown. Boldin ended the day needing one catch to become the 13th player in NFL history with 1,000 receptions, but that was the last thing on his mind.

“It’s real frustrating,” said Boldin, who had a critical fumble that led to a Bengals' touchdown. “Any time you don’t come out and perform the way you’re capable of performing, it’s frustrating. Too often we get off to slow starts and then try to get it cranking in the second half.

"That shouldn’t be the case. I feel like we should be aggressive coming out and just keep it going throughout the entire game.”

San Francisco still has yet to score an offensive touchdown in the first quarter through 14 games. The 49ers were hanging tough until Cincinnati converted two turnovers - one by Boldin - and a short punt into three touchdowns in a span of under 5 1/2 minutes in the second quarter.

“I felt like the defense kept giving us chances, but offensively we didn’t do anything with it,” said Boldin, who ended a six-game touchdown drought and matched a season high for receptions set on two other occasions.