Garoppolo’s passes, defense’s woes prove costly

NASHVILLE >> It didn’t take long Thursday night for Jimmy Garoppolo to throw away his and the 49ers’ upbeat, holiday spirit.

That said, Garoppolo rallied. The 49ers’ defense did not.

After squandering a 10-0 halftime lead and eventually pulling even at 17, the 49ers caved to the AFC South-leading Tennessee Titans

and lost 20-17 on a last-minute field goal.

This hurts the 49ers’ egos and holiday spirit more so than their playoff hopes. At 8-7, they remain in the NFC’S sixth of seven playoff spots.

But the 49ers lacked the efficiency that produced wins in five of their previous six games. Next up is a Jan. 2 home finale against the Houston Texans, then a Jan. 9 visit to the Los Angels Rams to close the regular season.

Garoppolo, channeling his December 2017 comeback success against the Titans, produced a game-tying touchdown pass to Brandon Aiyuk with 2:20 to spare.

The 49ers’ defense then allowed the Titans (10-5) to get into scoring range on quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s 23-yard scramble, setting up Randy Bullock’s 44-yard field goal with 4 seconds remaining.

The Titans went on a 17-0 run to take the lead, surging ahead with 13:02 left when A.J. Brown caught an 18-yard touchdown pass against Josh Norman. Earlier that drive, Brown pushed aside rookie cornerback Ambry Thomas for a 42-yard catch to end the third quarter.

The Titans pulled even at 10 by converting their second interception of Garoppolo’s into a 3-yard touchdown run by D’onta Foreman.

Garoppolo’s first half also came with bad throws, starting with an end-zone interception to foil the 49ers’ second series (and shot at a 14-0 lead) to an overthrow of an open Kyle Juszczyk at the 10, as well as a near-interception on the next series.

Garoppolo had gone 84 consecutive passes since last throwing an interception. He finished 25of-34 for 306 yards.