Deebo Samuel has had a very quiet season. He complained about not getting the ball on social media this week.
The San Francisco 49ers clearly made a point of targeting him more, and on a key third down in the second half Thursday night, Brock Purdy hit him with a pass that probably should have been a touchdown. In every previous season of his career, Samuel would have taken that to the end zone. We’ve seen it before.
And Samuel dropped Purdy’s perfect pass. Simple and clear. You can’t complain about not getting the ball and then letting it bounce out of your hands when it comes your way in an important spot.
If there’s one thing to sum up the 2024 49ers, that game was it. A star player from the past, who had a surprisingly bad season, got the chance to be the hero. And the ball went right through his hands.
The 49ers are back to two games under .500 after a loss to the Los Angeles Rams, who are tied in the NFC West with an ugly but important 12-6 victory. Purdy struggled, and a crucial fourth-quarter interception with the 49ers in range for a long field goal virtually ended San Francisco’s chances. It also likely ended their slim chances in the playoffs.
The Rams were a little more difficult on Thursday night. They executed better. Like the rest of the 49ers’ losing season, when they should have been competing for a Super Bowl title, they were a disappointment.
Scoring was difficult
Here were the results of all first-quarter possessions for both teams: punt, punt, field goal, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt. The only decent drive and points came only from the 49ers, who led 3-0 after the first quarter. According to the Amazon Prime Video broadcast, it was the first time a Sean McVay team had ever started a game with four consecutive drives without a first down.
In other words, it was the kind of game that Thursday night viewers complain about when they talk about teams playing below their standards on short rests.
The 49ers defense got off to a good start and linebacker Dre Greenlaw helped. Greenlaw, who tore his Achilles tendon in a freak injury while walking onto the field during last season’s Super Bowl, made his season debut and his presence was immediately felt. Nick Bosa’s return from injury was also a key for the 49ers.
The defenses played well, and then the rain came. The rainstorm started in the second quarter, making things even more difficult for the struggling offenses. The Rams got a drive going near the end of the second quarter, moving it mostly along the ground, and got a field goal to tie the score before halftime. There were fewer than 200 yards in the first half and more punts (11) than first downs (nine).
Week 15 is the start of the fantasy football playoffs for most leagues. Anyone who had 49ers or Rams offensive players in the lineup had to be shocked in the first half.
Both teams have trouble finding the end zone
In the fourth quarter, Amazon showed off a stunning statistic: In 152 meetings between the 49ers and Rams, Thursday night marked the first time no touchdowns were scored for three quarters.
The 49ers should have had a touchdown in the third quarter, but Samuel had a bad drop over the middle on a third down. The Rams finally got an explosive play on the field from Puka Nacua, but once again they couldn’t get a touchdown. They kicked a field goal and took a 9-6 lead.
The 49ers’ season was on the line. When 6-7 came in, they probably had to win. They hadn’t orchestrated a single touchdown drive all night. But if they wanted to stay alive in the playoff hunt, they had to figure out a way. The ball moved. Then Purdy got impatient, and on second-and-11 he threw a deep ball poorly to Jauan Jennings, and it was picked off by Rams corner Darious Williams with 5:14 to play.
The 49ers were buried afterwards. The Rams went on a clock-eating drive and within the two-minute warning, the Rams hit a huge third-down pass to tight end Colby Parkinson as he got a free release off the line. When the 49ers needed that stop to keep any realistic hope alive, they couldn’t get it. The Rams kicked a field goal with 18 seconds left.
The 49ers have lost four of their last five games. It’s a team that should still be in a Super Bowl window, and could potentially resume next season. Injuries have certainly set San Francisco back. But being 6-8 in mid-December isn’t what the 49ers expected. If there was hope for a late-season turnaround, it melted away in the rain Thursday night.
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