The San Francisco 49ers had a forgettable performance in Week 10, falling 42-26 to the Los Angeles Rams on November 9 at Levi’s Stadium. The defeat presents a significant hurdle for their aspirations to win the NFC West—but don’t tell that to cornerback Deommodore Lenoir.
San Francisco’s defense struggled to contain the Rams’ offense, as Matthew Stafford and company put up points in all four quarters, with most of the damage coming in the first and fourth quarters. Despite holding a 6-4 record, the Niners find themselves in third place, trailing behind both the Seattle Seahawks and the Rams, who sit at 7-2. Every loss hurts more because of how tight the division race is.
Nonetheless, Lenoir isn’t ready to concede the division to the 49ers.
“Tough game out there,” Lenoir told reporters postgame (h/t KNBR). “I feel like it was a lot of miscues with just us as players, not on the coaches, because they put us in the position. We just got to come down and make those plays. I feel like a lot of stuff went right for us today, but you can’t dwell on it. We got to bounce back. We’re 3-1 in the division, ready to take it over still.”
### The 49ers Were Always in the Game Against the Rams
The final score might make it seem like a blowout, but the game didn’t play out that way. The Rams built an early lead, yet San Francisco battled back and kept it close before the visitors finally pulled away late. Even with the score appearing one-sided, head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t see it that way.
He felt the 49ers were competitive throughout, pointing to several moments when they trimmed the lead to a single possession after an early deficit.
“As bad as it was at times, I still believe if we convert that 4th-and-1 in the first half, and we don’t turn it over on the other drive, it’s a two-score game, and I believe we’re right in that,” Shanahan said (h/t 49ers Web Zone). “I believe it could have come down to the end if we played a little bit better on offense in the first half.”
### Did San Francisco Beat Itself Up?
While the scoreline might suggest it was the Rams who did all the damage, the 49ers played a role in allowing Los Angeles to pull away for the eventual win.
“Obviously, the D’s got to get a stop there in the second half,” Shanahan added. “But I still think we could have made that a game. I told them I believe that we can find a way to win any game that we’re in, but if we hurt ourselves like that, seven penalties to zero, not getting off on third down—I think they were five-of-five in the red zone—and then the offense having two turnovers while they had zero, you make that pretty tough on yourself.”
The 49ers now face the challenge of regrouping and tightening their play as they continue their push in a fiercely competitive NFC West division.
https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/san-francisco-49ers/star-message-after-rams-loss/
