The San Francisco 49ers were always going to face an uphill climb offensively with so many stars out with injury in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams. The 49ers have star running back Christian McCaffrey placed on IR, while wide receiver Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle were both ruled out ahead of the showdown with LA.
49ers QB Brock Purdy often has his success discounted because he’s surrounded by so many terrific weapons, but with so many guys out, he was going to have to essentially do it himself against the Rams. Purdy was fantastic for most the afternoon, but it still didn’t matter because San Francisco’s receivers couldn’t hold onto the ball.
The Rams beat the 49ers, 27-24, thanks to a big second half comeback. The Niners are suddenly 1-2 on the young season after last year’s Super Bowl run.
Purdy was effective all day, finishing 22-for-30 for 292 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Only one problem: his receivers dropped six passes. You can’t win like that.
The Niners’ worst drop happened late in the fourth quarter with the score tied. On second down from the SF 43-yard-line, Purdy fired a perfect pass with receiver Ronnie Brown, who somehow dropped it. Watch the play here:
You can pinpoint the exact moment Kyle Shanahan’s spirit broke. This is it.
Bell had another tough drop in the third quarter, too. He wasn’t alone: San Francisco’s weapons just couldn’t make a play for Purdy even though he was delivering the ball on target and on time.
Shanahan defended his quarterback after the game:
Purdy had eight incompletions and six of them were dropped. The Niners were a heavy favorite in the division entering the season, but the Seattle Seahawks are suddenly 3-0 while the rest of the division is 1-2 right now.
Purdy and the Niners need their best weapons back in the lineup in the worst way. We saw Patrick Mahomes deal with his receivers dropping passes throughout last year. Now Purdy needs to figure out how to overcome it.
