The San Francisco 49ers suffered a heartbreaking collapse in Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams. After seemingly controlling much of the contest, they watched their division rivals score three unanswered times at the end, including a game-winning 37-yard field goal.
The 49ers lost 27-24, marking their second straight loss. They dropped to 1-2 and now face an uphill battle in the NFC West. It's not the start to the 2024 season that the defending NFC champions envisioned.
Brock Purdy completed 22 of 30 pass attempts for 292 yards and three touchdowns—all to wide receiver Jauan Jennings. The third-year quarterback did everything he could to carry the team to victory, but miscues on special teams and defense ultimately cost the 49ers in Week 3.
"It seemed like Brock played his ass off, from what I saw," head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game. "He made a bunch of big plays. He took some good shots down the field. It was tough to not come up with that one on that last drive (the Ronnie Bell drop), especially after missing that field goal.
"When stuff wasn't there, he did a hell of a job scrambling, making some off-schedule plays, and from what I saw, I thought he played his ass off."
Purdy was clearly frustrated by the outcome, knowing the team faces a crucial week of reflection and correction if they hope to get back on track.
"It's pretty high," Purdy said of his frustration level, "with all of us and the standard that we have of, obviously, winning and closing out games. When you've got a 14-point lead, obviously, anything can happen, but for us, it's like, 'All right, we have the momentum. Let's run with it.' We have a good enough team to finish out a game pretty early and put up points every drive, offensively.
"So, we're all pretty frustrated. We just gotta watch the film, get better from it, and we win and lose as a team. Everyone has their moments, but, more than anything, I just feel like it comes down to complimentary football. Once defense gets a stop, we have to score, and we have to be hard on ourselves with that, and just everything, altogether, tied in.
"It's four quarters of that. You miss out on an opportunity, give the other team life, it's the NFL. The other guys on the other side are really good, and they'll make you pay for it. We had to learn the hard way today."
Purdy entered Sunday's game without several key offensive playmakers. Running back Christian McCaffrey is on injured reserve, wide receiver Deebo Samuel is nursing a calf strain, and tight end George Kittle was sidelined with a hamstring issue. Despite these absences, Purdy still delivered an impressive performance.
"I'm not surprised at all," linebacker Fred Warner said. "I've always sang his praises. I'm not surprised. I think he had a heck of a game. Same with Jauan. Even though I'm focused on the defense, I'm still on that sideline watching the offense and seeing him fight for every single bid out there and put on the performance he did. That's exactly why he's the guy leading us at that position."
The 49ers will return home to prepare for their matchup against the New England Patriots at Levi's Stadium next weekend.
