49ers’ fourth-quarter collapse looks too familiar for a finale
For the second straight year, the 49ers blew a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead to end their season.
Sunday’s closing act paled in comparison to the pageantry and pain of last season’s Super Bowl loss, however.
“Yeah, pretty different,” tight end George Kittle said.
The 49ers capped this 6-10, injury-marred season with a 2623 loss to NFC West champion Seattle at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., where the 49ers relocated a month ago because of Santa Clara County’s COVID-19 regulations.
“I’m very happy the season’s over,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “Once we were eliminated from the playoffs, we were ready to move on a little bit and get on to next year.
“But we had to finish it. I was real proud of the guys today. They competed their ass off in all aspects. Told them to hold their heads high. Wasn’t a moral victory because I felt we should have won the game. There were a couple plays at the end we didn’t make, and that was disappointing.”
A 10-point, fourth-quarter lead wasn’t enough to hold off the No. 3-seeded Seahawks (12-4), just like a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead wasn’t enough to down the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV.
Sunday’s loss locked the 49ers into the No. 12 overall draft spot, just one aspect of perhaps the most important offseason in Shanahan’s tenure.
Seattle pulled ahead with
2:20 remaining, when Russell Wilson’s fourth-and-goal touchdown pass found Tyler Lockett against cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon. That ruined the 49ers’ bid to repeat last season’s Week 17, goal-line heroics that beat Seattle and secured the NFC’S No. 1 seed.
The Broncos closed the Raiders’ margin on their first possession of the second half on Mcmanus’ 37yard field goal to make it 17-13. The attempt was set up by a questionable 27-yard pass interference penalty against Nevin Lawson, who was covering Daesean Hamilton along the sideline.
Following a Carr interception which glanced off the hands of Waller and in to the hands of Justin Simmons, Denver got a 20-yard pass on a back shoulder fade from Lock to Noah Fant, setting up a 27-yard field goal to make it 17-16 with 3:07 let in the third quarter.
The Raiders took a 17-10 lead at halftime with some complementary football the likes of which were seen far too infrequently through 15 games.
First, the Raiders forced a Denver punt with 1:52 to play, which was returned 21 yards by Hunter Renfrow to the Las Vegas 44-yard line.
With the defensive and special teams having set the table, the Raiders converted the sequence in to points when Carr threw a 26-yard strike to Edwards on third-and-15 with 26 seconds to go in the half.
It was the first career touchdown for Edwards, a third-round draft pick out of South Caroliina who had a strong training camp, was injured in Week 2 and has been struggling to become a target for Carr all season.
Trailing 10-3, the Raiders tied it with 11:15 left in the half when Carr hit Waller for a 23-yard touchdown play on third-and-2 in about the same place Edwards made his touchdown reception.
A 57-yard Carr to Nelson Agholor pass had the Raiders set up at the Broncos’ 7-yard line on their second possession, but a touchdown pass to Agholor was erased on Zay
Jones’ offensive pass interference. The Raiders ended up settling for Carlson’s 33-yard field goal following a false start penalty.
The Broncos opened with Mcmanus’ 22-yard field goal after Denver stalled on its opening drive and took a 10-3 lead on a 1-yard flip from Lock to Fumagalli, who was open in between linebackers Nicholas Morrow and Raekwon Mcmillan.
Carr finished the first half 12 of 19 for 207 yards with the two touchdowns. The running game was non-existent, with Jacobs gaining 12 yards on six carries and rushing for 22 yards overall.