3 losers outshine 7 winners in the 49ers humbling 12-6 loss to the Rams

The 49ers couldn’t have asked for more opportunites, but they could not get out of their own way, which has been the case all season.

The book isn’t officially closed on the 2024 San Francisco 49ers, but this is the part of the novel where you might want to find something else to read. The Niners had umpteenth chances to walk away with a victory in Week 15 and squandered every one of those.

The finger-pointing began before the game ended and hasn’t stopped yet. From Deebo Samuel to Brock Purdy and a linebacker we’re not supposed to talk about anymore, there were disappointing performances across the board in the clutch.

But that doesn’t mean there weren’t players who performed at a high level. Here’s a look at the winners and losers from Week 15.

Winners

Dre Greenlaw

Greenlaw played 46 percent of the snaps before leaving in the third quarter with Achilles tightness. Despite playing fewer than half of the snaps, Greenlaw still finished second on the team in tackles and third in run stops. The physicality, aggression, and overall presence made the 49ers defense look like the dominant version they’d been in years past.

Greenlaw was the most impactful player on the field.

Fred Warner

Once Greenlaw left, Warner picked up his slack. It was a vintage performance from Warner, who looked fully healthy. He had 15 tackles, nine run stops, and even picked up a quarterback pressure. Warner allowed 19 yards on five targets and had the game-saving play on 3rd & 2, where he ran about 15 yards to prevent Kyren Williams from picking up the first down.

The Rams couldn’t do anything offensively in the first half, and the best linebacking duo in the NFL — when healthy — was a big reason why.

Yetur Gross-Matos

Yetur Gross-Matos had a pressure rate of 20 percent and led the 49ers in pressures despite playing fewer snaps than any of the other main pass rushers. We didn’t get a long look at Gross-Matos this season due to injury, but based on the glimpses from the previous couple of games, you can see why the 49ers invested in him.

Talanoa Hufanga

Hufanga missed two tackles, but saying he had a bad game when he also had five tackles and was aggressively taking on blocks in the running game all first half would ignore another quality game. Hufanga also gave up the 14-yarder on third down with the game on the line, but he played the run like a linebacker and was in the right spot in coverage more often than not.

Evan Anderson

Anderson only played 22 snaps but won on a key first down and had a quarterback hit that helped end a drive. Anderson also had two run stops on 15 snaps. He’s a quality depth piece who has made multiple plays every time he’s been afforded the opportunity.

Losers

De’Vondre Campbell

Leaving your team out to dry after two players in front of you got hurt, and the reason was…one of the best players on the team returned from injury will go down as one of the most selfish moves you’ll ever hear about.

Campbell had a two- to three-game stretch during which he looked like a good player. However, this didn’t last, and he began to lose snaps again. It doesn’t seem like this player lives in reality.

Deebo Samuel

If you’re going to talk, you have to back it up. The 49ers gave Deebo. Samuel had two carries, and he gained three yards. Samuel had the first target of the game, but it didn’t stop there. Seven, yes, seven total targets for a player who has given you zero reason to believe he’ll be reliable is egregious. Samuel caught three of those — one was airmailed by the quarterback — but there were a couple of drops that were for a first down and a touchdown.

If Samuel catches the wide-open slant, he scores, and the 49ers capture the momentum and put pressure on the Rams to score. It was one of the biggest swing plays I can remember, especially considering the stakes.

Anybody with eyes could see the plan to get Samuel involved, which was not only working but also wasting plays. A week after you had your best offensive performance in a month without Samuel, the 49ers tried to fit a round peg into a square hole, and the results were as expected.

Brock Purdy

The rain objectively impacted each offense’s performance in the first half. We’ve seen what rain does to Purdy, and he appeared fine in the first half. Purdy was aggressive and made tight window throws, but the results didn’t go his way.

For the game, Purdy finished with eight attempts over 20 yards, with the lone completion coming to his tight end wide-open. The interception into double coverage to all but end the game was a decision you couldn’t have from your quarterback, but Brock had been playing with fire before that.

We were fortunate that a throw to his rookie first-rounder wasn’t intercepted before the half. We see quarterbacks around the league elevate their games when they are under pressure and deliver with bodies around them. We did not see that from Purdy against the Rams.

Some will cite pressure as the reason, but Purdy was under 11 percent less pressure than Stafford. Yet, he had 1.3 fewer yards per attempt, a worse passer rating by 31 points, a completion percentage over expected of -16.1 percent, and a negative EPA per dropback.

Purdy was 5-for-12 under pressure for only 4.3 yards per attempt. It wasn’t like he was much better with a clean pocket. When the Rams didn’t blitz, Purdy was 12-for-27 with a 4.2 yards-per-attempt average. Of course, numbers are skewed by drops, but this situation is where more than one thing can be true.

The 49ers needed Purdy to come through to Pearsall on a deep shot that was a walk-in touchdown. They needed him not to underthrow receivers down the field. The one time an underthrow would have worked, he overthrew it. You cannot expect everything to be perfect around your quarterback to judge him.

I thought Purdy played well in the first half and made good throws. He got progressively worse when more was put on his plate, and the Niners couldn’t run the ball. That’s a problem.

The DBs hands

The 49ers secondary had one coverage bust that ultimately led to the game-winning points:

In a critical situation, you’re relying on a veteran safety who was available at midseason.

The issue was not taking advantage of Stafford throwing you the ball in the first half. To me, that’s one of the primary reasons the 49ers lost.

Hufanga has one hand, so it’s understandable why he couldn’t catch the ball. But Deommodore Lenoir had a pass hit him in the hands, as did Charvarius Ward. Had Hufanga or Lenoir caught the pass, at worst, the 49ers would have gotten the ball in the Rams’ territory. You’re basically guaranteeing yourself points. Instead, the 49ers aren’t able to capitalize, and that’s the difference between a team on the wrong side of .500.

Winners

George Kittle

Kittle was targeted seven times and had the long 30-yarder, including 20 yards after the catch. Kittle should’ve gotten a pass interference call that would have put the 49ers inside the red zone. But he led the team with 61 yards and was dominant as a blocker. Kittle is a fantastic player, regardless of how he’s used, which makes you wonder how the 49ers can go games without targeting him double-digit times.

Nick Sorensen

The best coordinator on the staff? Perhaps that’s a prisoner-of-the-moment comment, but we saw what Sorensen can do when he has competent players.

The Rams nearly hung 50 on the Bills in Week 14. They were limited to one explosive play. Stafford was inaccurate, and the secondary was all over the Rams’ wideouts. The Rams also didn’t get their running game going until the final possession. Cooper Kupp was non-existent, and Puka Nacua’s box score looks good only because of a coverage bust.

The Rams were averaging 2.8 yards per play at halftime. They finished the game 4-for-15 on third down and went 0-3 in the red zone. Sorensen got the best of McVay while controlling the line of scrimmage. Unfortunately, that doesn’t reflect on the scoreboard.