SANTA CLARA, Calif. — And ultimately, after one other postseason heartbreak, after an emotionally exhausting offseason, after the drama-filled holdouts and the gnarly wave of accidents and the private tragedies, after a star participant’s lash-out and, with a crew’s hopes hanging within the steadiness, an infuriating and surreal tap-out, the San Francisco 49ers’ 2024 season lastly collapsed underneath its personal weight.
Buried underneath the wreckage, barely capable of communicate at an audible quantity, was Kyle Shanahan — the person who had probably the most to do with the 49ers’ failings, and the most important wrongdoer behind a last-gasp try to increase an period that appeared doomed from its inception final February.
Shanahan, the Niners’ eighth-year coach, was standing at a lectern after the defeat that every one however mathematically eradicated the defending NFC champions from playoff competition, one which got here courtesy of his fiercest skilled rival. With a 12-6 victory at Levi’s Stadium on Thursday night time, Sean McVay’s Los Angeles Rams (8-6) boosted their playoff hopes whereas exposing the 49ers (6-8) as a crew that lacked the aim, precision and unity to play past the primary weekend in January.
In the long run, with desperation within the rain-filled Northern California air, Shanahan’s offense couldn’t produce a single landing, San Francisco’s particular groups had been sometimes sloppy and an uncharacteristically robust defensive effort was marred by veteran linebacker De’Vondre Campbell Sr.’s beautiful refusal to enter the sport when summoned within the third quarter.
All of that falls on Shanahan — that’s why he sits within the huge chair — and he made no try and run from it.
“Not adequate,” Shanahan stated of the offensive effort he coordinated Thursday, although the phrases utilized to every part about this defeat and to this difficult season.
These phrases additionally served as an epitaph to a six-season stretch through which the 49ers suffered two excruciating Tremendous Bowl defeats to the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs, misplaced a pair of wrenching NFC Championship Video games (together with one to McVay’s Rams) and assembled a loaded roster stacked with a few of the league’s most gifted and resilient gamers.
Collectively, they constructed a formidable basis, gained lots of huge video games and at instances felt indomitable.
What we witnessed Thursday night time was the NFL’s equal of rubble — and the group charged with cleansing it up, and rising from it, will look a lot, a lot totally different in 2025 and past.
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“There’s been a darkish cloud over us all season,” veteran cornerback Charvarius Ward informed me after the sport. “This will likely be a great offseason for this crew to regroup, refocus and attempt to rekindle the spark.”
Ward, a second-team All-Professional in 2023, is headed for unrestricted free company subsequent March and is among the many marquee 49ers who may not be on subsequent yr’s roster.
“I don’t know if I’m gonna be again,” Ward continued, “however I do know this crew continues to be gonna be nice, with or with out me.”
That is still to be seen, as a result of Thursday’s faceplant — and, actually, this whole season — has underscored how totally different this 49ers crew is from its speedy predecessors.
As soon as once more: Not adequate. Realistically, not even shut.
The NFL is a manufacturing enterprise, and Shanahan — who together with common supervisor John Lynch assembled this group, and was charged with teaching it up — must put on the stain of his crew’s persistently substandard performances. The Niners have simply two victories over opponents with successful data (the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and suffered three brutal defeats to division foes after squandering late leads.
On Thursday, with an opportunity to remain within the NFC West race, they fell woefully brief, and produced a lowlight reel within the course of.
Vast receiver Deebo Samuel Sr., who complained on social media earlier within the week that he wasn’t getting the ball sufficient, had a brutal drop that possible value him an opportunity to achieve the tip zone for a game-changing rating. The 49ers had been penalized for 2 unlawful formation penalties on punts. Shanahan, after Brock Purdy linked with tight finish George Kittle on a 33-yard go early within the recreation — in opposition to a protection that had given up 42 factors to the Buffalo Payments 4 days earlier — bought weirdly conservative, calling three consecutive runs in Rams territory and settling for a 53-yard area purpose by Jake Moody. And Purdy, coming off his greatest recreation of the season, struggled within the rain (a recurring theme) and later threw a brutal end-zone interception with 5:20 remaining and the 49ers in vary for a game-tying area purpose, primarily killing their possibilities.
Deebo Samuel had an opportunity to make a game-changing play for the 49ers. As an alternative, he dropped the ball. (Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Pictures)
And, amazingly, none of these gaffes got here near being the night time’s most ignominious second. That belonged to Campbell, a veteran linebacker signed in March as a placeholder for Dre Greenlaw — the passionate playmaker who tore his Achilles whereas working onto the sector after a punt through the second quarter of Tremendous Bowl LVIII, and who lastly labored his approach again Thursday night time to attempt to assist save San Francisco’s season.
He nearly did, earlier than his physique betrayed him. The 27-year-old enforcer, one of many sport’s most criminally underappreciated stars, picked up the place he left off in final February’s Tremendous Bowl, earlier than the farfetched harm that helped doom the Niners to defeat.
Had Greenlaw been rusty in opposition to the Rams, it might have made loads of sense.
He wasn’t. Slightly, he was the perfect participant on the sector.
Greenlaw had eight tackles, a lot of them prolific and sudden and violent, earlier than leaving the sport halfway by the third quarter with knee tightness. At that time, Campbell was the subsequent man up.
Campbell, nonetheless, didn’t precisely man up.
Apparently upset over shedding his job to Greenlaw — hardly a surprising improvement to anybody within the 49ers’ locker room, or exterior of it — Campbell, in accordance with Shanahan and quite a few gamers, declined to enter the sport.
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“He stated he didn’t need to play immediately,” Shanahan stated. Campbell, who ultimately was despatched off the sector and into the locker room — nearly actually by no means to return — was described as “egocentric” by Ward and Kittle throughout postgame interviews.
“That was his plan,” Ward informed me. “He had his thoughts made up. I imply, it’s loopy. He’s not a greater participant than Dre. You noticed that immediately — (Greenlaw)’s the engine of our protection, the man who begins every part for us. However you possibly can see (Campbell’s choice to not play) coming for some time.”
The juxtaposition of Campbell quitting on his teammates with the resilience of gamers like Ward and rookie large receiver Ricky Pearsall was staggering.
Pearsall, shot by the chest throughout a theft try shortly earlier than the beginning of the season, missed six video games earlier than returning and making his NFL debut. Ward missed three video games after his daughter, Amani Pleasure, died in October, shortly earlier than her second birthday. (Amani Pleasure was born with Down syndrome and a coronary heart defect that required surgical procedure.)
After Thursday’s recreation, Ward opened as much as me concerning the trauma he and his household have endured, doing his greatest to affirm his dedication to his teammates whereas acknowledging that soccer isn’t the preeminent pressure in his life proper now.
“It’s been exhausting for me personally to go to work each day, each recreation — even to apply or go to conferences,” he admitted. “I nearly left a few instances. S—, I do know followers in all probability hate me (for saying that), however f— it, it’s actual life. It’s greater than soccer. That is the toughest time of my life for positive.”
In that context, a soccer crew’s misplaced season pales as compared. But falling brief nonetheless hurts. Gamers and coaches channel an excessive quantity of power, depth and devotion for the trigger, and once they don’t attain their targets, they grieve. And that’s very true for the pinnacle coach.
Within the coming weeks and months, Shanahan must be actual with himself as he reckons with the way it all went flawed, and the way he and Lynch can attempt to make it proper in 2025, and within the years that observe.
Within the meantime, there are three video games to play, none of which is able to possible matter. Whereas noting that the 49ers are technically nonetheless in playoff competition, reaching the postseason would require a sequence of vastly inconceivable outcomes, and Shanahan acknowledged that the dream of lastly successful a championship with this incarnation of his crew is mainly over. “They are saying mathematically we nonetheless have an opportunity,” he stated. “I’m not too involved with that proper now. … I need to come again and play higher soccer and problem the character of our crew.”
Clearly shaken, Shanahan nearly seemed as if he had seen a ghost — which, metaphorically, was type of true. Throughout the sideline Thursday night time was the coach’s former franchise quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, now a backup to the Rams’ Matthew Stafford. And, in fact, there was McVay, a former Shanahan assistant who has since challenged him for teaching supremacy, capturing the Lombardi Trophy that has eluded Shanahan and, after bottoming out in 2022, deftly reshaping the Rams on the fly in every of the previous two seasons.
Final Sunday, McVay schemed up an offensive outburst that fueled a 44-42 upset victory over the Payments and stored the Rams in sizzling pursuit of the Seahawks (8-5) within the division race. On Thursday, after L.A. cornerback Darious Williams picked off Purdy’s overthrown deep ball for Jauan Jennings ultimately zone with 5:20 remaining, McVay and his gamers grew to become the closers that Shanahan and his 49ers have struggled all season to be.
When the Rams took over at their very own 20-yard line up 9-6 with 5:20 remaining, McVay had no intention of giving the ball again.
“That’s the duty I felt,” he stated as he walked from the guests’ locker room to the crew bus late Thursday night time. “Now, (the 49ers) have a say in that, too.”
Quickly, the Rams silenced them. 13 performs, 69 yards and solely two third downs later, Joshua Karty kicked his fourth area purpose to make it a six-point recreation. Solely 20 seconds remained, and the 49ers’ final, determined gasp ended when Purdy was sacked by Christian Rozeboom at his personal 44-yard line with no time remaining — within the recreation or, for all intents and functions, the season. Or the period.
“This wasn’t a simple win,” McVay stated. “Their protection was actually, actually good; they had been flying round all night time. And the weather made it actually robust, particularly within the first half. However it is a mentally robust crew. I like our resilience. I like that we are able to win in numerous methods. I like what we’re fabricated from.”
These was sentiments that Shanahan, in all sincerity, might specific about his crew. In 2024, if he’s being trustworthy, they now not apply. Shanahan’s gamers and assistant coaches bear loads of duty, however most of all, it’s on him.
In 2024, the 49ers weren’t adequate, and neither was he.
(High picture: Kelley L Cox / Imagn Pictures)