There have been times when the San Francisco 49ers did popular to seethe in the aftermath of defeat. After the Week 2 loss to the Rams, Nick Bosa suggested his teammates needed to “feel the loss.”

But on Sunday afternoon, when the 49ers blew a 13-point lead en route to a 24-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, this was not the case.

In the locker room, head coach Kyle Shanahan encouraged the players to leave as soon as possible and rest at home. There is little time for thought as a game against the Seattle Seahawks – with first place in the NFC West on the line – awaits on Thursday evening.

“We’d like to sit here and get angry,” Shanahan said. “But there’s nothing you can do about these games once they’re over. I told the guys that the next time we can do something is Thursday, and it’s better to just wait until Thursday than until next Sunday. It will come soon.”

So hydration and recovery are paramount for the 49ers, who were clearly exhausted at the end of a game played in temperatures that reached 97 degrees.

For example, Arizona running back James Conner managed just 9 rushing yards in the first half before racking up 77 yards after the break — including 51 yards on 5.7 yards per carry in the fourth quarter.

The Cardinals also showed clear signs of fatigue, but they didn’t turn the ball over down the stretch. The 49ers did that three times, after a pair of tipped interceptions from quarterback Brock Purdy and a fumble from running back Jordan Mason, during the scoreless second half that overexposed their defense.

Sunday’s failures only increased the urgency of the upcoming challenge against Seattle (3-2), which lost 29-20 at home to the New York Giants on Sunday.

“I think we need to turn the page,” said 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa, who struck a different tone after the latest loss to a division opponent. “It’s pretty clear what happened and why we lost. It’s a blessing in disguise that we’re playing on Thursday.”

Still, one wonders how the 49ers (2-3) can right the inconsistent play that marred all three of their losses this season.

Against the Cardinals, the 49ers’ 32nd-ranked special teams unit delivered a positive splash play for a change. That came when defensive tackle Jordan Elliott blocked an Arizona field goal, allowing cornerback Deommodore Lenoir to return for a touchdown in the second quarter.

“I was offside earlier in that drive and I felt like I had to make up for that,” Elliott said in the locker room. “So I feel like I did what I had to do to block that out.”

But in that same quarter, 49ers kicker Jake Moody was knocked out of the game. He suffered a high ankle sprain while trying to make a tackle in punt coverage. The special teams unit was predictably hamstrung from that point on. As a result of Moody’s absence, the 49ers even went for a fourth-and-22 in vain instead of attempting a field goal.

The 49ers started looking for kickers on Sunday evening. Moody’s predecessor, 41-year-old Robbie Gould, is not a realistic option. He announced his retirement in December and is now the head football coach at Rolling Meadows High School in suburban Chicago, which happens to be the alma mater of former 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo.

“With kickers, they’re almost independent contractors, so we’ll bring them in as quickly as we can and get the best guy we can,” Shanahan said. “I’m sure it will take a few more weeks.”

The 49ers hope their new signee helps them finally solve the current Whac-A-Mole game on special teams. But that’s not the only part of the operation where one problem is improved, only to see another problem arise.

The 49ers offense — which had been good but not great through the first four games — recorded its worst performance of the season against the Cardinals, who don’t have a good defense. Arizona ranked No. 30 in expected points added in this game. But the 49ers failed to capitalize, especially in the red zone, where they ranked No. 20 in the NFL with a 50 percent touchdown rate entering the game.

On Sunday, the 49ers scored just one touchdown in six trips to the red zone.

“We were in the middle of the pack before the day started and we were doing a lot worse today,” Shanahan said bluntly.

The continued absence of running back Christian McCaffrey has hurt the 49ers’ ability to create space in the tighter parts of the red zone. But Purdy blamed himself, particularly on a play where he failed to finish George Kittle wide of the goal line.

“If we have a match and we’re looking good, I just have to rip it,” Purdy said. “So I have to be better and more aggressive there.”

While it may be fair to chalk up the 49ers’ battle against heat-related fatigue, other issues can’t be considered aberrations. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray rushed for a 50-yard touchdown, the longest of his career, on Arizona’s second play from scrimmage. The score came on a zone read, which the Cardinals used successfully again late in the fourth quarter for a crucial Murray gain.

This is defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen’s first year on the job, and the 49ers have looked unusually vulnerable to big plays at inopportune times this season. They haven’t done particularly well from the safety position either, with Talanoa Hufanga leaving Sunday’s match with a wrist injury that threatens to cause more instability in the short week ahead. Rookie Malik Mustapha and sophomore Ji’Ayir Brown may have to form the starting duo in Seattle.

But it was Murray’s engineered runs that most exposed the 49ers’ defense against Arizona.

“They gave us a different view of the reading zone,” Bosa said. “Despite all our losses, the preparation we have had has been great. But teams do things a little differently and we have to adapt a little better. They just show a different look than what we saw on tape, so we just have to adapt.”

Another chance to customize looms. Such is the nature of this short-lived competition, which the 49ers have learned through their staggering mid-season turnaround, huge wins and heartbreaking losses over the past half-decade. The excitement of victory may not last long in the NFL, but neither can the disappointment of defeat – especially when a Thursday game rolls around.

“We just have to go back to the drawing board and finish the 49ers defensive tackle,” Maliek Collins said in the locker room. “I still feel like it’s still early in the season. We are entering week 6. We have a short week 6 ahead of us. I have not lost any faith. Everything we want is still ahead of us.”

Bosa said: “Finishing and playing complementary football is something we have been good at over the years. I still haven’t lost any confidence in the team.”