Sure, after that long cross-country flight, a tired coach Jim Tomsula could still point to some improvements in yet another disappointing defeat.

His San Francisco 49ers were in it until the very end this time on the heels of three lopsided losses. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick found a groove in the second half and succeeded several times passing into traffic to go without an interception, while Anquan Boldin topped 100 yards receiving and Carlos Hyde ran for nearly 100 yards in a balanced offensive attack.

“I can’t say like my old self, but I thought the team played well,” Kaepernick said afterward. “Offensively I thought we came out, we got a rhythm, we had players make big plays for us.”

Then, the Niners (1-4) lost it Sunday night to the New York Giants on Eli Manning’s 12-yard touchdown pass to tight end Larry Donnell with 21 seconds left. That sent San Francisco to a fourth straight loss.

“The record’s the record. That’s just the fact and the reality of it, and that’s not good enough,” Tomsula said Monday. “We’ve got to change that.”

There are still some glaring concerns, most notably defensively after surrendering 525 yards of offense Sunday to the Giants. That included 41 completed passes by Manning for 441 yards and three touchdowns while allowing New York 30 first downs.

Not that linebacker NaVorro Bowman sounded overly concerned after the game or his teammates a day later — even considering the 49ers have given up 127 points during this skid after opening the season with an impressive 20-3 victory against the Minnesota Vikings.

“Over the past couple weeks I think we’ve progressively gotten better as a unit. Overall, we’ve got to continue to build on this last performance,” defensive lineman Quinton Dial said at Levi’s Stadium. “Real heartbreaker there, man. We can’t hang our heads. It’s a long season. … It tests your manhood as a man and as a team as well. That’s what we signed up for.”

“It’s one of those games you kind of feel like you got kicked in the gut,” left guard Alex Boone added. “Offense did some good things, did some bad things. I thought we played well, though. Defense, they were in there the whole game. We shouldn’t have left the game in their hands. It’s one of those tough games because you feel like you did some really good things but you look back and you remember you lost, which is always hard.”

Cowboys could replace Weeden at QB

Dallas Cowboys coaches are evaluating whether to replace quarterback Brandon Weeden, and Matt Cassel could start at quarterback for the team’s next game, which comes after a bye week

Weeden had his worst game since replacing Tony Romo, who fractured his left collarbone in the Week 2 victory over Philadelphia. Weeden completed 26 of 39 passes for 188 yards with no touchdowns, an interception and a 67 passer rating in losing his 11th consecutive game as a starter.

Chiefs RB Charles done for season with knee injury

Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL in his right knee.

Charles hurt his knee in the third quarter of Sunday’s loss to Chicago. An MRI on Monday confirmed the tear.

He tore the ACL in his other knee four years ago, missing most of that season.

Reid said the Chiefs would split carries between backups Knile Davis and Charcandrick West, and wide receiver De’Anthony Thomas played running back at Oregon.

Cardinals staying out east after Monday game

The Arizona Cardinals rolled into White Sulpher Springs, West Virginia, on the heels of yet another blowout victory, staying in the East to prepare for Sunday’s game at Pittsburgh.

Rather than fly back to Arizona, then have to fly to Pittsburgh a few days later, the Cardinals opted to stay in the Eastern time zone, settling in at The Greenbrier resort in the Allegheny Mountains, where the New Orleans Saints hold their training camp.