Maiocco's 49ers Report Card: Team grades in putrid loss to Rams

SANTA CLARA — The 49ers’ 2024 NFL season blew up Thursday night in spectacular fashion.

San Francisco entered the evening with slim playoff hopes. Those hopes were blown to smithereens with a horrendous offensive performance in a 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at Levi’s Stadium.

The 49ers failed to score a touchdown for the first time since a 9-0 victory over Washington in Week 7 of the 2019 season.

“That’s kind of the story of the year, not doing enough to win games,” 49ers linebacker Fred Warner said.

Things were so bad that one player, veteran linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, refused to play.

Campbell started 12 games this season but Dre Greenlaw replaced him in the starting lineup. When the 49ers wanted Campbell to enter the game in the third quarter, he declined, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said.

Yep, it was just another bizarre twist to a season that had weird vibes from all the way back in the offseason.

Here is the report card from the 49ers’ Week 15 loss to the Rams:

Rushing offense

The 49ers managed only four first downs on the ground and averaged just 3.3 yards per rushing attempt.

Rookie Isaac Guerendo gained 57 yards on 16 carries for a 3.6-yard average. Deebo Samuel was a non-factor in the running game with just 3 yards on two rushing attempts.

Grade: D

Passing offense

Quarterback Brock Purdy struggled, as he completed 14 of 31 pass attempts for 142 yards and no touchdowns with one interception.

Purdy forced a second-and-10 pass from the Los Angeles 33-yard line down the field that cornerback Darious Williams intercepted in the end zone.

BIG TIME BY D-WILL!

📺: @NFLonPrime | #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/xlSpe1Rbov

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 13, 2024

The 49ers’ best chance of getting in the end zone came in the third quarter when Purdy delivered a perfect strike to Samuel on a third-and-10 play from the Rams’ 29. The play would have resulted in a first down, and it might have gone all the way. But Samuel dropped it.

Purdy could not find a connection with Jauan Jennings, either. He targeted Jennings nine times, and Jennings caught just two passes for 31 yards.

The 49ers’ only offense came from tight end George Kittle, who caught four passes for 61 yards.

Grade: F

Rushing defense

Linebacker Dre Greenlaw had eight tackles in the first half, as the 49ers held Rams running back Kyren Williams to 44 yards on 14 rushing attempts.

Williams finished the game with 108 yards on 29 rushing attempts, as Greenlaw sat out most of the second half when his Achilles and knee got sore.

The Rams had eight first downs on the ground in the game and were able to string together some long, time-consuming drives in the second half.

Grade: B

Passing defense

The 49ers’ defense did about as well as possible against Matthew Stafford and the high-powered Rams offense. Stafford completed 16 of 27 passes for 160 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

The 49ers’ pass defense let a couple of opportunities for takeaways slip through their hands early in the game. Deommodore Lenoir and Talanoa Hufanga failed to intercept Stafford passes in the first quarter.

The only big play the defense allowed was on a 51-yard pass play from Stafford to Puka Nacua in the fourth quarter. That play led to a field goal.

Stafford. PUKA. 51 yards!#LARvsSF on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/v9NA63UeiS

— NFL (@NFL) December 13, 2024

The 49ers got a little pressure on Stafford despite registering no sacks. Nick Bosa returned to action and had three quarterback hits.

Grade: B-plus

Special teams

The 49ers generally had a clean game on special teams. Jake Moody made both of his field-goal attempts, connecting from 53 and 47 yards.

Punter Pat O’Donnell averaged 43.7 net yards on seven punts.

The Rams’ first points of the game came on Joshua Karty’s 48-yard field goal in the second quarter. That drive began when the 49ers gave Los Angeles a 5-yard gift with an illegal formation on the punt.

Jacob Cowing averaged a solid 10.2 yards on five punt returns. Samuel averaged 36 yards on two kickoff returns.

Grade: C

Coaching

Kyle Shanahan is the head coach. Kyle Shanahan runs the 49ers’ offense. The offense was atrocious.

The 49ers managed just 191 yards of total offense, and the team converted just three of 12 of their third-down opportunities.

There was nothing positive that can be said about the 49ers’ offense — the plan or the execution of the plan.

That falls on Shanahan, of course.

On the other side, the defense played about as well as possible. Nick Sorensen’s defense was the only bright spot. And, it turned out, the 49ers' defense was a lot better off without Campbell.

Grade: D-minus

Overall

The 49ers knew they had to run the table in order to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. But they made way too many mistakes and did not appear to be playing with any sense of desperation.

This game was a perfect microcosm of the 49ers this season. With the exception of Kittle, none of the 49ers’ perennial Pro Bowl players produced at the expected level this season.

Grade: D-minus