What we learned from 49ers’ loss to Rams squandering Jennings’ career game originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Box Score
ENGLEWOOD — The 49ers started strong and had multiple chances to extend their lead.
But the 49ers faltered badly, with special teams errors, dropped passes and defensive collapse.
Just how good are the 49ers?
It doesn’t seem good at all.
At the very least, the 49ers have a lot of work to do going forward, especially after their woeful and embarrassing 24-27 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
The 49ers had plenty of chances to end this game early.
But they showed no signs of killing and succumbed to the pressure against the previously winless Rams.
The 49ers simply failed, that’s all.
Here are some lessons learned from the 49ers’ Week 3 collapse.
Succumbing to the pressure
Two players from the 49ers’ 2023 NFL Draft class had a chance to be heroes.
But Jake Moody missed a 55-yard field goal that would have sealed the game, and then, after the Rams tied the score, wide receiver Ronnie Bell casually dropped a pass deep down the field that would have given Moody another chance.
It was a day of dropped passes and special teams collapse for the 49ers.
The Rams took advantage of the 49ers’ poor special teams with a fake punt in the second quarter. The 49ers were leading 14-0 at the time, and their fourth-down conversion paved the way for the Rams’ first touchdown of the game.
Moody’s missed field goal prevented the 49ers from taking a 10-point lead late in the game. After the Rams marched down the field for a tying touchdown, the 49ers’ offense stalled after a dropped pass by Bell.
Then Rams rookie returner Xavier Smith made a 37-yard punt return to set up the game-winning field goal.
Purdy asks Jennings to fill in the gap
The 49ers turned to the receiver, who signed a multi-year contract extension during the offseason, to get off to a strong start Sunday.
That wasn’t Brandon Aiyuk. That was Jauan Jennings.
Jennings had the best game of his career, catching 11 passes for a career-high 175 yards and three touchdowns.
Quarterback Brock Purdy played big despite the absence of Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle.
Purdy completed 22 of 30 passes for 292 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. His passer rating was 137.1.
Purdy also rushed 10 times for 41 yards.
While much of the attention during the offseason was on Aiyuk’s tumultuous contract situation, Jennings signed a two-year, $15.3 million deal as a restricted free agent.
Aiyuk didn’t catch two catchable passes in the first half, including one that would have been a third-down conversion in Rams territory. He caught five passes for 48 yards in the game.
Lack of pass rush and pass coverage
The Rams were without their two top receivers as Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua were out with injuries.
That didn’t seem to matter to veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, who beat the 49ers defense in key moments, completing 16 of 25 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown.
Tutu Atwell caught four passes for 93 yards, including a 50-yard pass that led to the Rams’ tying touchdown.
With the score tied, the 49ers were called for three fouls on the same play: cornerback Deomodore Lenoir was fouled for defensive holding and illegal use of the hands.
But it was a 25-yard gain on a pass interference foul by Devondre Campbell that sealed the win on Joshua Carty’s 37-yard field goal.
It was clear who the Rams were targeting for much of the game, with Stafford successfully stalking cornerback Isaac Yiadom in nickel situations.
Yiadom gave up some competition and was called for a pass interference penalty while covering Atwell in the third quarter, resulting in a 48-yard penalty.
The play led to a Rams touchdown, cutting the 49ers’ lead to 21-14 late in the third quarter.
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