Now That the San Francisco 49ers Are Done in 2024, Who Gets the Blame?
After Another Lackluster Game vs the Rams, it Looks Like the 49ers Are Officially Done
What Happened, Niners?
Now that the San Francisco 49ers have a 0.1% chance of making the NFL playoffs after a 12-6 loss to the Rams, not even Lloyd Christmas would be dumb enough to say there’s a real chance. This team is done, and the NFL news is there will be a new NFC champion.
It was a tough watch last night in the rain in one of the rare NFL games without any touchdowns scored. But once again, the 49ers came up short of their goal, and now the NFL rumors will swirl that this is the end of their window for a Super Bowl run with some huge contracts and aging veterans in the way of sustaining a great roster in 2025.
Like that Milli Vanilla song said, you got to blame it on something.
Blame It on the Rain
Hat tip to Netflix’s Monsters series about the Menendez Brothers bringing back Milli Vanilli classics in 2024. But yes, the 49ers might want to blame it on the rain after a brutal first half where the teams combined for 11 punts and one field goal.
Seriously, can we stop making new stadiums that don’t have a roof option to avoid situations like this? Destroying the quality of the product to prove your “manliness” is some outdated BS.
But maybe the 49ers can blame it on the snow in Buffalo or the chill in Green Bay, because they didn’t look like they wanted to play in those elements either in losses the last few weeks. For a team built around the running game and a great defense, the 49ers looked pretty soft again.
The Deebo Samuel noise is going to get a lot louder after this third down drop… pic.twitter.com/PhXVptCivh
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) December 13, 2024
Blame It on the Injuries
Like their last NFC title defense in 2020, a team-wide rash of injuries have crushed the 49ers this year and will be blamed for them missing the playoffs. A graphic during the game showed that the team had over 40 missed games from Pro Bowl players this year.
Of course, the 49ers’ roster had more Pro Bowlers than just about any team in the NFL. When you look up any random week of the season, they usually put a lot of talented players on the field on both sides of the ball. Even last night, they still had Brock Purdy, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Jauan Jennings, Nick Bosa, Dre Greenlaw, Fred Warner, Leonard Floyd, etc.
Lots of teams are dealing with significant injuries, including the Lions and Chiefs who are both 12-1, and most still can’t compensate with the 49ers’ roster. So, this excuse rings a bit hollow.
Blame It on the Blown Leads
At the end of the day, the 2024 49ers (6-8) failed because they blew a fourth-quarter lead in four NFC West games.
49ers blew 4 leads in 4Q vs. NFC West this season:
*Week 3 vs. LAR: Led 24-14 with 11:57 left (L 27-24)
*Week 5 vs. ARI: Led 23-13 to start 4Q (L 24-23)
*Week 11 vs. SEA: Led 17-13 in final minute (L 20-17)
*Week 15 vs. LAR: Led 6-3 to start 4Q (L 12-6)— Scott Kacsmar (@ScottKacsmar) December 13, 2024
You can talk about injuries, but how about finishing games where you played well for three quarters?
- Don’t allow multiple 50-yard completions to the Rams in the fourth quarter.
- Don’t miss so many field goals.
- Don’t give up a 13-yard touchdown run to Geno Smith.
- Don’t throw that interception Purdy threw last night in a 9-6 game.
GENO SMITH TAKES IT HIMSELF FOR THE LEAD WITH 12 SECONDS LEFT!!! 🤯😱
(via @NFL)
pic.twitter.com/t6h8idcqjg— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 18, 2024
Brock Purdy with a, uh, questionable decision, and the Rams get a huge interception!pic.twitter.com/p3nMyKtdrv
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) December 13, 2024
The truth is the 49ers have lost games like this many times under Kyle Shanahan since 2019. They just got the disappointing ending out of the way before Christmas this year instead of in the playoffs.
