Four turnovers costly as 49ers lose 39-10 to undefeated Rams.
S.F.’s four turnovers are big factor in loss against Los Angeles
In a 3-minute, 10-second stretch Sunday, the 49ers lost a fumble, allowed a rushing touchdown, fumbled a snap, surrendered a sack and had a punt blocked that resulted in a safety.
They played about 57 other minutes against the Rams, but that 190-second span perfectly summarized their Keystone Kops afternoon at Levi’s Stadium. Final score: Rams 39, 49ers 10. “It’s always embarrassing,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said, “when you lose like that.”
With their 1994 all-white throwback uniforms on for alumni day, the 49ers (1-6) left the locker room looking like the franchise’s last Super Bowlwinning team.
And then they spent four quarters resembling many of the recent teams that have contributed to their 14-41 record since 2014. Needing a near-
perfect performance to beat the Rams (7-0), the NFL’s only unbeaten team, the 49ers committed four turnovers that led to 24 points, allowed a season-high seven sacks and surrendered a 36-yard punt return that led to a 13-yard touchdown drive.
Said left tackle Joe Staley of the offensive line: “Bad effort. … That was a poor job today.”
Said Shanahan of the four turnovers: “It’s inexcusable.”
Said running back Matt Breida after the 49ers’ sloppiness meant the Rams drove 21, 60, 27 and 13 yards for their touchdowns: “I feel like we’re the reason we’re losing these games.”
Summarized right tackle Mike McGlinchey: “We just piled mistake after mistake on top of the other. It’s a complete team effort.”
After the defense forced a punt on the game’s opening possession, the 49ers’ offense set the tone for the nightmare to come.
Their first possession included a false start by tight end Garrett Celek, which set up a fumble in the pocket from quarterback C.J. Beathard, who accounted for three turnovers.
Beathard has 10 turnovers in his four starts, which, for comparison’s sake, is three fewer than Steve Young had in the entire 1994 season. Beathard’s errors are a big reason the 49ers, who haven’t forced a turnover in their past 15 quarters, have an NFL-worst minus-15 turnover margin. They are on pace to break the NFL record of minus-30 held by the 1965 Steelers.
Shanahan was asked whether he would consider starting backup Nick Mullens, a 2017 undrafted free agent with no regular-season snaps. Shanahan said he wouldn’t because “C.J. is the best quarterback we have in our building.”
Shanahan is probably correct, but Beathard has a 1-8 career record and has committed 17 turnovers in those starts, which suggests one of the 49ers’ biggest issues might not be properly addressed until 2019.
“We have to fix the turnovers,” Shanahan said. “Once we fix the turnovers, then we have a chance to start playing football.”
The Rams, who are trying to become the first California team to win a Super Bowl since the 1994 49ers, are certainly playing some football.
But the 49ers’ charity meant the NFL’s top-ranked offense didn’t need to get out of second gear en route to scoring 39 points. The Rams had a seasonlow 331 yards, quarterback Jared Goff had his second-fewest passing yards (202) of the season and Todd Gurley, the NFL’s leading rusher, had his second-fewest rushing yards (63) — but scored three touchdowns.
We did “a lot of good things against a tough opponent,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “I don’t care what their record says. You watch the film, they’re a very well-coached team in all three phases.”
Not Sunday. At one point, Beathard, standing behind center Weston Richburg, had the snap carom off his shoulder. Beathard had to scramble to recover the loose ball.
“I was trying to audible,” Beathard said. “I was midway through the cadence ... but we weren’t on the same page there.”
The 49ers’ worst performance of the season could be attributed partly to their short week of preparation: They returned home early Tuesday morning from a crushing 33-30 loss in Green Bay on Monday night.
“I didn’t feel like we were flat,” Shanahan said, “but it’s hard to defend much when you have results like that.”
Sunday’s game was recently flexed out of its prime-time slot by the NFL based on the 49ers’ disappointing record.
And that resulted in the only positive to come out of their season-worst performance: It wasn’t witnessed by a national audience.