49ers Notebook: Jauan Jennings makes big promise after fumble; Players look at the bright side after loss; Kittle reflects on highlight catch

The mood was a little mixed among San Francisco 49ers players following their loss to the Rams on Sunday, with a number of players expressing optimism at what happened in the game and what lies ahead, while also showing some dejection at how the game unfolded.

Technically, the 42-26 loss to the Rams at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara wasn't the end of the world. The team is still in the playoff hunt at 6-4 and has a number of favorable chances for wins over the next two months. But given how soundly the 49ers were beaten, as well as the fact it came to a division rival, the loss wasn't exactly easy to take.

"It's not an easy one to flush," left tackle Trent Williams said Sunday. "It's a rivalry, and we lost at home. It should stick with you. We still have got a lot of season to play... Of course we've got to stay confident and stay in it. It's definitely not over by any stretch of the imagination, but this one definitely stings a little bit."

We have a roundup of some of the notable quotes from the 49ers' locker room on Sunday, among them containing some silver linings from Sunday's loss as well as some thoughts from tight end George Kittle on his fancy touchdown catch. Plus, wide receiver Jauan Jennings responded to a question about his fumble in the best possible way -- by promising it won't happen again. Here's a rundown of that and more in the latest edition of 49ers Notebook.

Always keep fighting

Perhaps the most common bright spot cited by 49ers players after Sunday's loss was the continued effort from the team throughout the game, even when falling into an early 21-0 hole.

The 49ers looked outclassed early after surrendering three touchdowns to the Rams to start the game, but they were able to fight back and get themselves in the thick of it by cutting the lead to 21-14 in the third quarter. The Rams kept the points coming from there, which made it impossible for the 49ers to complete their rally, but the fact they never kept fighting was something the team was able to hang their hat on.

"I think when you look at just the trajectory of this year and the adversity that we've faced, I'm proud of our guys' effort and our resilience and the character in those rooms," running back Christian McCaffrey said. "It's tough losing the guys that we have, but we never believe we're out of the fight and we never will. And so I'm proud of our guys in that way."

Fullback Kyle Juszczyk told NBC Sports Bay Area that in spite of the lopsided final score, the game wasn't that far away from being much closer.

"Obviously it was a tough game and the score definitely doesn't look good," Juszczyk said. "But there were so many moments that we were so in that game. Football's such a situational sport, and if you just do better in those critical situations -- usually it comes down to third down conversions, offense and defense -- flip the script on one or two of those and it's a totally different game. They played great, we could have played better, but we still feel like we can hang with anyone."

The 49ers will need to pick themselves up for another divisional game next week in Arizona against the Cardinals. Given the fact the Cardinals are reeling after a blowout loss to the Seahawks and are playing without quarterback Kyler Murray, the game presents the 49ers with an opportunity for a win that they need to cash in on. One thing they won't be short of heading into that game is confidence in their ability to get up off the mat.

"(Today's comeback) just shows the resilience and the fight in this team. We still believe that we can win the division," cornerback Deommodore Lenoir said. "So we're just going to have to lock in."

Another bright spot

The Rams have a talented group of pass rushers, and they did make their impact felt during the game at times, particularly on Mac Jones' late-game interception when he threw the ball to the defense after being pressured. But the game ended with a zero in the sack category for the Rams, which the 49ers were happy about after having thrown the ball 39 times.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan gave credit all around on offense for that result.

"Yeah, that's everybody," Shanahan said. "I thought the O-Line did really well, especially versus that group. I thought Mac did a really good job getting rid of it and I thought all of our eligibles did a good job getting to the spots... When you throw it that many times versus that type of pass rush, everyone's got to be doing a pretty good job to not give up any sacks."

Looking for answers on D

While there were positives to take from the game on offense, there wasn't much on defense that the 49ers could hang their hat on Sunday.

The defense gave up 401 total yards and 31 first downs, while quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 24-of-36 passes for 280 yards and four touchdowns. It was a showing that suggested the key injuries the defense have taken their toll, but players weren't about to blame that for the performance.

"We believe everybody, even backups, here is a starter," cornerback Deommodore Lenoir said. "So next-man up mentality."

Still, while injuries are an issue, the players who were on the field Sunday have shown they can do better, and Shanahan let them know that's what would be expected from them in the future.

"We all know that it's a challenge with how many guys that are missing on D, so we truly understand that," Shanahan said. "I know we can do better than what we did today though and I believe the offense can do better than what they did today."

What went wrong? The word "execution" came up a number of times from defensive players after the game. Linebacker Tatum Bethune cited that as an issue, as well as being consistent week in and week out and showing that they want to win more than their opponent.

"It's just effort, execution, wanting it more, playing hard," Bethune said. "We show it game in and game out, but it's got to come in every week. Sometimes we do it one week, and the next week we don't do it. We've just got to find that line where we just keep it going every single time. I feel like when we do that, we'll get things going and play fast and get off the field."

The last fumble, ever?

Jauan Jennings usually doesn't fumble. But that changed on Sunday when he put the ball on the ground in the first quarter, killing a drive that might have resulted in points for the 49ers.

The fumble was Jennings' first since 2022, and not surprisingly, he wasn't happy about it.

"Tough one, tough one," Jennings said after the game. "Just super tough. I take it very hard on myself."

How does he plan to respond? He told a reporter that he doesn't plan on fumbling again.

"You won't see another fumble, how about that?" Jennings said.

The fumble loomed large in the big scheme of things, but Jennings was able to bounce back the rest of the way, finishing the day with six catches for 71 yards and one touchdown.

Catch of the day

Tight end George Kittle had multiple highlight moments on Sunday, with the biggest one unfortunately coming when the game had gotten out of hand. But it was a play that will go on the career highlight reel nonetheless.

With the 49ers down 42-20 late in the fourth quarter, Kittle hauled in a pass from Mac Jones near the sidelines, barely stayed in bounds, then jumped to hit the pylon with the ball while sailing out of bounds to score a touchdown.

"Yeah, he's dope," wide receiver Kendrick Bourne said. "George is always making plays. He always has his head high even when we're down and we need that energy."

Kittle spoke about his touchdown after the game, explaining what went through his mind during the catch. It turned out to be quite a lot.

"I knew that Mac kind of floated it and I was like, 'Please just don't go out of bounds,'" Kittle said. "And then I thought I was in bounds and I saw I was close enough and everything in me, you know, I've watched so much Kyle Juszczyk film that he dives every time and extends the football every time he's close to the end zone, even though you're not supposed to. But I was like, 'Yeah, I'm just going to go for this one,' and it turned out really, really well.

"It was actually funny because back in it was my senior year in college, we were playing at Purdue and I had a very similar play on the sideline. I went in to dive and my back foot hit out of bounds as I was entering the end zone and so they call me out of bounds on the one-inch yard line and I literally was thinking of that as I was diving. I was saying like, 'Keep your feet up,' which is a wild flashback just nine years ago."

The touchdown was the 48th of Kittle's career. He held onto the ball afterwards, not because it marked any sort of particular milestone but because he and his wife like to collect them, for various reasons.

"I like to keep my touchdown balls because they're very difficult to score," Kittle said. "I've learned that over the course of my career. So they're fun, and my wife likes them for decorations."