INGLEWOOD — The emotions were raw.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, uncertain of what the future holds, was struggling with his emotions after the game as hard as he was challenged by the Los Angeles Rams' defense during it.
The 49ers let a 10-point fourth-quarter lead get away and the Los Angeles Rams snapped a six-game head-to-head losing streak at the most important time of all.
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SIGN UP HERE The 49ers failed to close the door, and they were shown the door for the 2021 season with a 20-17 loss to the Rams in the NFC Championship Game.
Here is the 49ers’ final report card of the season:
Rushing offense
There were plenty of reasons the 49ers could not get anything going with their ground game. The Rams stacked the box and shot the inside gaps on run plays to stop things before they could ever get started.
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The 49ers turned their season around in Week 10 with a 44-carry domination of the Rams. On Sunday, they managed only 50 yards rushing on 20 attempts.
Elijah Mitchell found the yards particularly difficult, as he gained just 20 yards on 11 rushing attempts. Deebo Samuel started at running back and gained 28 yards on seven rushing attempts.
Grade: D
Passing offense
If the Rams were going to devote all their resources toward stopping the 49ers’ running game, the passing game had to be able to pick up the slack. That did not happen.
Garoppolo completed 16 of 30 pass attempts for 232 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Under pressure, he tried to flip a pass to running back JaMycal Hasty that was intercepted late in the fourth quarter.
And that is likely how his 49ers’ career came to a conclusion.
Deebo Samuel did Deebo Samuel things with four catches for 72 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown reception. He caught the pass 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage and created his openings for the long touchdown.
When Garoppolo found George Kittle for a 16-yard touchdown in the third quarter, the 49ers had a 10-point lead. But that was that for the offense.
Grade: D
Rushing defense
The 49ers’ run defense gave up more in the first half than they had in a while. Los Angeles gained 73 yards on 17 first-half carries.
Due in large part to their success on the ground, the Rams ran 42 offensive plays in the first half. In keeping the 49ers’ defense on the field for such a long period of time, it likely had some impact on wearing out the 49ers in the second half of the game.
The 49ers put the clamps on the Rams’ running game in the second half, though. Los Angeles was held to minus-3 rushing yards on 12 attempts.
Fred Warner and Nick Bosa both had two tackles for loss.
Grade: B
Passing defense
Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham were just too much for the 49ers, especially on third downs.
The Rams won this game on third downs. The converted 11 of 18 third-down opportunities for 61.1 percent.
Stafford threw for 337 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Jimmie Ward made an interception in the end zone on a pass K’Waun Williams deflected in the first quarter.
Stafford’s favorite target, as usual, was Kupp, who caught 11 passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns. Beckham also had a big day with nine receptions for 113 yards.
The 49ers made plenty of mistakes on the back end. Strong safety Jaquiski Tartt dropped what should have been an easy interception in the middle of the fourth quarter.
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On the next play, Jimmie Ward was flagged for unnecessary roughness after Beckham produced a 29-yard reception.
Bosa had 1.5 sacks in the game, but Stafford was largely able to get rid of the football before the pass rush got there.
Grade: F
Special teams
Punter Mitch Wishnowsky dropped three punts inside the 20-yard line, including one Trent Sherfield and Charlie Woerner teamed up to down at the 3-yard line.
That did not turn into being the kind of big play for which the 49ers hoped, as the Rams drove 97 yards on 18 plays to score their first touchdown of the game.
Kicker Robbie Gould made his 21st postseason field goal without a miss, a 38-yarder, to give the 49ers a 10-7 lead on the final play of the first half.
Grade: B
Coaching
The Rams consistently shot the gaps in order to stop the 49ers’ run game. Coach Kyle Shanahan countered on the first drive with a deep shot to Kittle, which Garoppolo overthrew.
The 49ers’ run game was scuffling along, and the team had few answers in the passing game. With the difficulty of getting things going on the ground, it seemed like the right call at the time to punt on fourth-and-2 in the fourth quarter after getting stuffed on second and third downs.
The defense could not get off the field. Kupp is the best receiver in the game, and the 49ers could not come up with any answers.
Grade: D
Overall
The 49ers got away with mistakes in three games that could have ended their season: Week 18 against the Rams, and playoff games at Dallas and Green Bay.
The 49ers played a decidedly imperfect game on Sunday in the NFC Championship Game, and they did not get away with it this time.
They did not build on their momentum after taking a 17-7 lead in the third quarter, and they made enough mistakes to allow the Rams to get back into the game and, then, finish them off.
The 49ers’ game Sunday was their seventh game on the road in the past nine weeks.
Whether it was fatigue from playing so many high-pressure games or what, it all caught up to them and prevented a second Super Bowl appearance in three seasons.
This was a “C” game when they needed something in the “A” range to beat a team as talented as the Rams for a third time this season.
Grade: C