NFL

NFL News: Kyle Shanahan faces reality on 49ers' playoff chances, admits key mistake in loss to Rams

The San Francisco 49ers are now further from playoff contention than ever, and head coach Kyle Shanahan addressed the importance of the team’s struggles against the Los Angeles Rams.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan
© IMAGOSan Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan

The San Francisco 49ers suffered a tough 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in a hard-fought game where both defensive lines dominated. The game saw little offensive production, a fact that 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan had to acknowledge in the postgame press conference.

According to Shanahan, the 49ers’ defense and special teams played well, a sentiment echoed by quarterback Brock Purdy. However, Shanahan admitted the biggest mistake was failing to establish the run game: “The main thing, didn’t get the run game going, which was huge.”

Shanahan emphasized that the team played well enough to win, particularly on defense and special teams, but the offensive effort fell short: “I thought we played good enough to win, obviously, on defense and special teams, but we just didn’t play good enough on offense.” It’s worth noting that the 49ers failed to score in both the third and fourth quarters against Rams.

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While Shanahan acknowledged there is still a slim chance of making the playoffs, he didn’t seem overly focused on that possibility: “They say mathematically we still have a chance. Not really concerned about that right now.”

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Shanahan Reflects on Brock Purdy’s Performance

Weather conditions were a factor during the game, but Shanahan noted that Brock Purdy missed a few key plays, though he didn’t place all the blame on the quarterback: “I think it affected both quarterbacks a little bit, but I mean that wasn’t just because of the weather. … I think Brock made some good plays, missed a couple plays but no one on offense did good enough.”

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Shanahan Confident He Hasn’t Lost the Locker Room

Following the controversy surrounding De’Vondre Campbell’s decision to not play against the Rams, Shanahan stated that he hasn’t lost the connection with his players: “I haven’t lost anybody. That’s somebody who doesn’t want to play football, it’s pretty simple. I think our team and myself being all feel about that, so I don’t think we need to talk about him anymore.”

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