The San Francisco 49ers had an ugly 42-26 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in a game that they trailed by at least two scores for over 40 minutes.
It was an ugly start for San Francisco, one they couldn’t overcome as the defense struggled and the offense had some costly turnovers that led to the ugly finish.
With the loss, the 49ers took a big step back in the loaded NFC West, falling to 6-4, while the Rams and the Seattle Seahawks improved to 7-2 on Sunday with wins.
Here are three quick takeaways from the 49ers 42-26 loss to the Rams in Week 10.
Turnovers
In the keys to the game, I highlighted how important turnovers were going to be in this game. I shared how 49ers didn’t even need to win the turnover battle; they just couldn’t afford to lose it and make costly mistakes. The defense was already in a precarious position with the number of key injuries, and this team isn’t built to win from behind multiple scores.
Well, the 49ers lost the turnover battle on Sunday and had a really costly early turnover with a Jauan Jennings fumble.
Jennings, who had an ugly start to the day, fumbled as San Francisco was finally getting some offensive momentum down 14-0, driving well into Los Angeles territory. After a 13-yard catch, the wideout fumbled at the Los Angeles 26-yard line.
The Rams recovered the ball, and safety Kamren Kinchens returned it to the Los Angeles 41-yard line. A couple of minutes later, they scored another touchdown on a nine-play, 59-yard drive that made it 21-0. There was still a ton of game time left, but it felt like the game was over at that point.
San Francisco’s second turnover came in the fourth quarter on Mac Jones’s lone blemish of the day: an interception that sealed the day on a 4th & 4 with the Rams up 35-20 with 8:36 to go. That led to another Rams touchdown, and the game was out of hand at 42-20 at that point.
More importantly, the 49ers didn’t force any turnovers, but the early Jennings fumble was very costly in their demise.
Leaky defense
We’ve seen the 49ers defense struggle a bit over the last few weeks. Against Houston, they just couldn’t generate any pressure and get stops, which led to a 26-15 loss as the offense couldn’t get enough going.
Last weekend, San Francisco was able to reach the 30-point mark, winning 34-24 against a then 2-7 New York Giants team. But, their defense had absolutely no answers for the Rams offense, which totaled over 400 yards of offense and 42 points.
Los Angeles started the game with no resistance, scoring touchdowns on each of its first three drives. Then, they scored touchdowns on all three of their second-half drives (except for kneel-downs to end the game).
We saw what the 49ers thought of their current team when they stayed pat at the deadline this past week. And we saw the results of that this weekend, as the defense just lacked all-around in an ugly performance.
Unfortunately, the current reality is that the 49ers defense just isn’t talented enough. And that will hinder them if their offense isn’t at their A game. That definitely wasn’t the case on Sunday, and San Francisco got blown out.
Third downs
I pointed out the importance of third downs in my keys to win ahead of the game. Well, the Rams were 5/9 on third downs on Sunday, but it was really the lack of third downs that stood out.
On the Rams’ first three drives, they had only two third downs. Two. Which they converted (one was a 3rd & 3 and the other was a 3rd & 6). It wasn’t like Los Angeles had quick drives that led to touchdowns either.
They had a 10-play, 64-yard drive to open things up with a touchdown, having only one third down on the possession. Then, they went 86 yards on seven plays for their second touchdown on the next possession, not even getting to a third down once.
Then, on their third drive, which was nine plays for 59 yards, they had only one third down, which they converted before scoring a third touchdown to go up 21-0.
In fact, a common theme on Los Angeles’s scoring drives was the lack of third downs, given how well they executed on first and second downs. In the second half, the Rams had a 12-play, 64-yard touchdown drive to retake a two-score lead. On that drive? Only one third down (which wasn’t converted, but the Rams got a fourth-down conversion instead).
On the following drive, the Rams didn’t even need a third down, going five plays and 64 yards for another touchdown.
They finished the day 5/9 on third downs, which was impressive on its own, but they also were dominant on early downs, gashing the 49ers early and often en route to a 40-piece.
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