49ers news: Instant reaction to the 27-24 loss to the Rams

The San Francisco 49ers dropped to 1-2 on the season with a close 27-24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on the road, blowing a 14-point lead in an embarrassing defeat.

It was a rough day for the 49ers, who started off strong, but never did enough to put the game out of reach before penalties, poor coverage, drops, and special teams miscues hurt the team, with the Rams capitalizing to ultimately win on a go-ahead field goal with two seconds remaining in the game.

Following the game, 49ers analyst Rohan Chakravarthi shared his instant reaction to the team’s 27-24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, pointing out the major takeaways for the team moving forward.qqqqq

Offense

If you saw that Brock Purdy completed 22/30 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 41 yards, you’d expect the 49ers to win the game.

While Purdy did have a fumble, which was more Colton McKivitz’s fault than his own, the 49ers quarterback had a strong outing, looking to propel his team to a victory.

On the ground, Jordan Mason rushed for 77 yards on 19 attempts, with the efficiency waning more in the second half when the Rams looked to stop the run playing from behind.

In the air, Jauan Jennings was the star of the show, catching 11 of his 12 targets for 175 yards and a whopping three touchdowns in what was easily a career game for the 49ers wideout.

Brandon Aiyuk came second with five catches for 48 yards, but did have a drop that came on a ball thrown slightly behind him, forcing a tougher grab that the wideout couldn’t come down with.

But, the offense had timely mistakes that ultimately ended up hurting the team.

Ronnie Bell had two ugly drops, with the last one likely putting the game away for the 49ers late in the fourth quarter. Colton McKivitz was routinely beaten, working a lot against rookie Jared Verse, and he was primarily responsible for the lone turnover of the day for San Francisco. Penalties were killer too, as a Kyle Juszczyk hold on the second-to-last drive led to a 55-yard field goal attempt for Jake Moody, which the kicker missed, allowing the Rams to come back in the game.

Overall, the offense did well enough to win for the most part, but then had some costly errors that helped lead to the team’s demise in Week 3.

Defense

The defense had its worst game of the season against the Rams, with the 49ers struggling to stop a Matthew Stafford-led passing attack that didn’t have either Cooper Kupp or Puka Nacua.

Instead, the Rams looked to pick on matchups in the passing game, primarily targeting cornerback Isaac Yiadom, who gave up catches on all five of his targets in the loss, while also giving up a 48-yard pass interference penalty that led to the first score for Los Angeles.

DeVondre Campbell also struggled in pass coverage, giving up a 15-yard touchdown pass to Kyren Williams on the same drive as Yiadom’s penalty, cutting the lead to 14-7. Then, on the final drive of the game, the linebacker was flagged for a 25-yard pass interference penalty that set Los Angeles up at the 49ers 25-yard line, giving them great field position for the game-winning field goal.

Defensively, while the 49ers had three sacks, it seemed like Stafford got comfortable in the pocket in the second half, leading to a masterclass that had Los Angeles score 20 points over the final 30 minutes. The Rams quarterback diced up the 49ers coverage, creating questions for defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen.

Even top cornerback Charvarius Ward was picked on, as Stafford hit TuTu Atwell on a 50-yard deep ball on the first play after the 49ers missed a field goal. Ward was in coverage on the play and was well out of position, leading to the major explosive play. The Rams scored a touchdown shortly after, tying the game at 24 a piece.

Ultimately, the defense wasn’t up to task against an opponent missing several key pieces. They needed more pressure, as Stafford had 3.13 seconds to throw on average. The coverage struggled, with the Rams creating timely explosive plays that led to scores. And the penalties were killer, allowing Los Angeles to move up the field and set up red zone drives.

Heading into Week 4, the 49ers have a number of questions that need answering.