INGLEWOOD — Here is how the 49ers (1-2) graded in Sunday’s 27-24 loss at the Los Angeles Rams (1-2):
PASS OFFENSE: B
Jauan Jennings delivered a three-touchdown masterpiece by catching 11 of 12 targets for 175 yards. Yet he was not targeted on the final series, and instead it was Ronnie Bell inexcusably dropping a deep pass that would have set up the 49ers to score the winning points instead of the Rams. Brock Purdy was 22-of-30 for 292 yards with no turnovers, and coach Kyle Shanahan acknowledged that “Brock played his ass off, from what I saw. He made a bunch of big plays.” Jennings wasn’t the contract-extended receiver everyone expected to fill the VAST void of Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey. Rather, Brandon Aiyuk figured to deliver better than catching 5-of-10 targets for 48 yards; none was longer than 12 yards, and he rotated out some with Chris Conley. Purdy got sacked just once, but it was a strip-sack fumble on third down to foil a potential field-goal try before halftime.
RUN OFFENSE: C
Running 34 times should translate to a victory. So should Jennings’ massive day. But the 49ers got stonewalled at critical times or, at others, they just didn’t run it. Jordan Mason (19 carries, 77 yards) was unable to post a third straight start over the 100-yard mark. He indeed impresses with power, but he got stopped for a 1-yard loss on third-and-1 to spoil a fourth-quarter drive that ended with a 26-yard field goal. With no McCaffrey nor Samuel, Purdy took it upon himself to run a career-high 10 times, for 41 yards. Isaac Guerendo, after a no-gain carry last Sunday, showed better but not enough in five carries for 19 yards.
PASS DEFENSE: F
It is, to invoke Fred Warner’s word, “unacceptable” to give the Rams so many openings, the most damaging of which was Matthew Stafford’s 50-yard bomb over Charvarius Ward and to Tutu Atwell at the 5-yard line on their game-tying, last-minutes drive. The Rams’ lacked Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, so Stafford (16-of-25, 221 yards, no turnovers) simply threw to whomever found soft spots in the 49ers’ zone, often on crossing routes. So much for the Rams being doomed by a reshuffled, injury-laden offensive line, even though Stafford did get sacked on penetration up the middle by Maliek Collins, Javon Hargrave and Sam Okuayinonu. Nick Bosa played through a week-old oblique injury and tallied just one quarterback hit plus one tackle for loss.
RUN DEFENSE: D
Fred Warner was right in saying the 49ers made it way too easy for Kyren Williams to run for two second-half touchdowns. A 3-yard scoring run pulled the Rams within 21-14, then Williams’ 4-yard touchdown streak tied the score at 24 with 1:51 to go. The 49ers were so sure they had to stop Williams that they often deployed five down linemen, but gaps still existed. Williams ran for 89 yards on 24 carries. There would be no Warner fumble-forcing punch to rescue this unit. As great as it was to see Talanoa Hufanga make a tackle on his first snap since an ACL tear 10 months ago, the run defense wasn’t as tight as needed, all due respect to five tackles for loss.
SPECIAL TEAMS: F
Coordinator Brian Schneider’s unit deserves a ton of blame for this one, starting with a fake punt they supposedly saw coming but still failed to stop on the Rams’ initial touchdown drive. Allowing a 37-yard punt return to midfield set up the Rams’ winning points, when that punt should never have come close to a returner. Jake Moody missing a 55-yard field goal wasn’t surprising, but it sure was damning when the 49ers needed those points. A week ago, a blocked punt sparked the Vikings. This time, a combination of errors led to the 49ers’ demise.
COACHING: F
Unlike the first two games, the 49ers came out hot and built a 14-0 lead with sheer dominance. Then they collapsed in every aspect. All coaching decisions can be questioned. Yes, Shanahan was in a bind fielding an offense without McCaffrey, Samuel and Kittle, but that unit lost its poise down the stretch and there is no way Ronnie Bell should be in a critical situation that yielded a crucial drop. Defensively, Nick Sorensen’s unit was supposed to connect the defensive front with the secondary, yet a lack of pressure allowed Stafford to either pick apart zones or go deep on panicking defensive backs. Schneider’s unit can’t keep making weekly mistakes, otherwise an in-season coordinator change might have to come for the first time under Shanahan.
