After sobering loss to Rams, 49ers seek reset as Brock Purdy nears return (paywall) “This week’s opponent, the Cardinals, who lost 44-22 to Seattle, are a much softer re-entry place for Purdy than the Rams defense
would have been. The same goes for the grass in Arizona, as opposed to the turf the last two weeks in Houston and New Jersey.
And there hasn’t been any rush since Jones has been so cool in the pocket and with teammates and playing so well. If Purdy’s backup was Brandon Allen, like it was a year ago, the $265 million man would have been dealing with toe pain tolerance weeks ago.“
Kawakami: No magic trade could’ve changed the 49ers’ 2025 destiny (paywall)
“If you want to write them off for letting Stafford and the Rams offense do whatever they wanted on Sunday on the way to a 21-0 lead, you also have to acknowledge that the 49ers’ defense has held up decently in other games, including a victory over the Rams a month ago … and won’t have to play them again in the regular season.
This is resilient team that got within a touchdown early in the third quarter on Sunday, this is a tied-together team, this is a team that still has every chance to make the playoffs.
But let’s say it without equivocation: This, by every practical measure, is currently a mediocre win-one-lose-one team, not a team that would’ve instantly turned into a Super Bowl contender if it had just added a semi-famous pass rusher at last week’s trade deadline.“
A single defensive end was never going to fix the 49ers (paywall)
“Johnson, or any player besides a Myles Garrett type (again, not a player you can acquire) would not have affected Sunday’s game, which played out how we expected it to in October. It was a bludgeoning by a far better, far healthier Rams team that looks like it’s going to compete with the Seattle Seahawks for the NFC West and NFC titles..”
What Kyle Shanahan and others said after 49ers’ 42-26 loss vs. Rams
“Kittle: “Stringing wins along is really fun. I will say, win-loss, win-loss is significantly better than last year when it was loss, loss, loss, loss, loss. So, as long as we’re not getting worse as a team, we’re good. I thought, besides the turnovers and stuff like that, that our offense was still moving the ball. [QB] Mac Jones had a hell of a football game. He was a 33 of 39, right? The interception is actually a catch, not an incompletion, so 34. He said that to me and that was his idea. That’s funny. But it is frustrating. Losing sucks. It is what it is. I hate losing, it’s not very fun. But as long as like we’re getting better, and the Rams are the number one defense in the NFL. They’re everyone’s favorite team in the NFL. So, was that a must win game? I don’t know. I want to win every single game, but we still have plenty of games in front of us that if we win those, we’ll put ourselves in positions to succeed at the end of the season. We just can’t let this loss turn into another loss, so we have to figure out a way to not screw up next week and go into Arizona and have a really good game against them.”
