49ers can’t hold on, drop NFC Championship Game

The San Francisco 49ers had the NFC Championship in their hands and couldn’t hold on to it. 

San Francisco took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter after Jimmy Garoppolo connected with George Kittle on a 16-yard touchdown completion.

Los Angles responded with a touchdown drive of their own to cut the lead to 17-14, and that’s when the wheels came off for San Francisco.

Jimmy Garoppolo hit Elijah Mitchell for 21-yards to start the 49ers possession, then connected with Deebo Samuel on a screen for 12-yards. After Mitchell burst through the middle of the Rams defense for 9, San Francisco faced second and one at the Rams 44.

A 49ers rushing attack which had been so good all year long would not be able to pick up the first down with back to back runs. Mitchell would get dropped for a loss of one on second down, and then Kyle Juszczyk was stopped for no gain to force a San Francisco punt.

On the Rams first play of the following possession, Matthew Stafford threw a deep pass down the middle and safety Jaquiski Tartt played it perfectly, but instead of coming down with the interception the ball bounced off his chest and fell to the ground.

The drop gave Matthew Stafford a second chance, and he made San Francisco pay. On the next play Stafford found Odell Beckham Jr all alone down the left sideline for a gain of 29. A personal foul penalty on Jimmie Ward gave Los Angeles an additional 15 yards and the Rams reached the 49ers 18 before having to settle for a 40 yard field goal to tie the game at 17.

With the game in the balance, Los Angeles got the pass rush going, hitting Garoppolo on first down to force an incompletion and flushing him out of the pocket on second and third down as well to force a punt

Los Angles was then able to move from their own 39 down to the San Francisco 20 on the right arm of Matthew Stafford and Matt Gay hit the field goal from 30 yards out to give the Rams a 20-17 lead and the victory.

Here are the answers to the five questions asked on Saturday:

1. Can the 49ers run the ball? NO

Since the start of 2019 the 49ers have a 23-1 record when they attempt at least 30 runs in a game. On Sunday against Los Angeles, they had 19 called run plays.

The Rams defense was outstanding, holding San Francisco’s rushing attack to only 2.5 yards per rushing attempt.

While the Los Angeles defense did a good job of shutting down the 49ers rushing attack, their offense played a large role as well. The Rams ran 42 offensive plays in the first half to only 20 for San Francisco, more on that below.

2. Can the 49ers defense get to Matthew Stafford? NO

The 49ers pass rush was not able to get to Matthew Stafford like they were in week 18, sacking the Rams quarterback twice and recorded nine hits on 52 drop backs. This allowed Stafford to carve up the 49ers defense, completing 31 of 45 attempts for 337 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Stafford was particularly lethal on third down, helping the Rams convert for a first down or touchdown on 11 of 18 attempts.

Not only did those conversions extend drives, but they also allowed Los Angeles to keep the ball away from San Francisco’s offense and their running game.

Stafford’s leading targets were Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham Jr. The duo combined to bring in 20 receptions on 25 targets for 255 yards and two touchdowns.

In addition to Kupp and Beckham, tight end Kendall Blanton had a big role in the success of the Rams passing attack. Blanton caught all five passes thrown his way for 57 yards, and more importantly, all five of his receptions resulted in first downs for Los Angeles.

3. Can the 49ers defense stop the run? YES

The 49ers defense held Los Angeles to only 70 yards on 29 carries, but those totals don’t show how important the rushing attack was for the Rams, especially in the first half.

This was particularly evident on the Rams 18-play, 97 yard drive which led to the first touchdown of the game. During that possession the Rams were able to pick up 38-yards on 9 rushing attempts. Those runs helped Los Angeles drain 9:33 off the clock.

Los Angeles came into the game having held the ball for an average of roughly 35 minutes in their first two playoff games. On Sunday night their commitment to the run and ability to convert on third down allowed them to hold the ball for 35:39.

4. Will the 49ers be able to protect Jimmy Garoppolo? YES, until the end of the game.

The 49ers offensive line did a good job of protecting Jimmy Garoppolo for most of the game, but once the game was tied and the threat of the run game was gone, they couldn’t get it done.

With the game tied at 17, Garoppolo would be hit while trying to throw on first down and the ball would fall incomplete. On each of the next two plays the Rams were in the 49ers backfield and Garoppolo had to escape pressure before throwing incomplete.

On the next possession, Garoppolo was again pressured on first down leading to his pass being knocked down by Greg Gaines, then pressure on second and third down led to a loss of two when Garoppolo tried to dump it off to Jauan Jennings and the game clinching interception as the quarterback just threw it up for grabs trying to avoid a sack.

Garoppolo would finish the game 16-30, 232 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, but it was a tale of two halves for the signal caller.

In the first half, Garoppolo completed 75 percent of his attempts for 133 yards and a touchdown, but in the second half he could complete only eight of 18 attempts with a touchdown and interception.

5. Can the 49ers hold on to the ball? YES

Both quarterbacks would throw an interception in the game. The biggest play of the game for San Francisco may have been the one that wasn’t caught.