49ers blunder to 39-10 loss to Rams

SANTA CLARA – The game was part tragedy, part comedy. It was tragicomedy.

The 49ers lost at home to the Los Angeles Rams 39-10 - a comically lopsided score.

Before Sunday’s game, the 49ers unveiled a larger-than-life statue of Dwight Clark making The Catch. Clark died tragically of ALS on June 4.

The current 49ers receivers no-showed the game, doing nothing to honor Clark’s legacy and the most iconic touchdown catch in franchise and NFL history. They caught four passes total. They played like the Invisible Men. It was comical.

The 49ers also honored their 1994 team, which won the Super Bowl. They invited 20 former coaches and players from the championship squad and gave them a ceremony on the field during halftime. Steve Young, Jerry Rice and George Seifert all were there.

The current 49ers even wore all-white jerseys, which the players haven’t worn since the 1994 season. Another homage to their glorious past, although the current 49ers did not come close to honoring the excellence of the 1994 team, which lost just one home game all season.

While the 49ers celebrated that team and its pristine jerseys, the current team committed four turnovers, lost its second straight game at home by double digits and fell to 1-6 on the season. Comedy.

To top it all off, R&B singer Montell Jordan sang his smash hit “This Is How We Do It” during halftime. That song came out a week after the 1994 49ers won the Super Bowl. Another tribute to their era of dominance.

During Jordan’s performance, he changed the lyrics to the chorus. Instead of singing, “South Central does it like nobody does,” he sang, “The 49ers do it like nobody does.”

Jordan had a point. This year’s 49ers commit turnovers like nobody does and lose games like nobody does. On Sunday, they embarrassed themselves, their alumni, ownership and fans like nobody does. High comedy.

“It’s always embarrassing when you lose like that,” head coach Kyle Shanahan explained during his postgame press conference. “We’ve got pride and we’re also confident in what we do. We’re not proud of our record right now. We’re definitely not proud of today. We’re not into any moral victories here. We were as far away from one as we could have been today. We have to fix the turnovers. Once we fix the turnovers, then we have a chance to start playing football.”

The 49ers defense played football Sunday - decent football. It limited the Rams offense to 185 passing yards and 4.2 yards per rush. The defense was not problem.

The offense was. It did not come ready to play.

After the defense forced the Rams to go three and out during their first series of the game, the 49ers offense got the ball and gave it right back. C.J. Beathard fumbled while taking a sack and the Rams recovered.

“I thought we were moving the ball (on offense) pretty well on our first drive,” Shanahan said. “Then, we fumbled. It’s hard to defend when you have results like that.”

The 49ers’ offense killed the 49ers defense, which repeatedly had to defend a short field. After Beathard’s fumble in the first quarter, the Rams took over from the 49ers’ 44-yard line, drove 27 yards, kicked a field goal and took a 3-0 lead.

With 1:13 left in the first quarter, running back Matt Breida fumbled, the Rams recovered at the 49ers 21, scored a touchdown four plays later and took a 10-0 lead.

Early in the second quarter, the Rams blocked a punt, the ball bounced through the back of the end zone for a safety and they took a 12-0 lead.

After the kickoff, the Rams offense started from its 47-yard line, drove only 34-yards, kicked another field goal and took a 15-0 lead.

The 49ers got the ball back, and Beathard immediately threw an interception – his second turnover of the game. The Rams recovered at their 40, drove 60 yards, scored another touchdown and took a 22-0 lead.

Midway through the third quarter, after the 49ers scored their only touchdown, Beathard committed his second interception. The Rams started at the 49ers 27, scored a touchdown two plays later and took a 32-7 lead.

That was the game.

Afterward, a reporter asked Shanahan what he can do to eliminate the mistakes and turnovers.

“If it was just one thing, you could say one thing,” Shanahan said. “If it was just one guy, you’d say one guy. But, it’s an accumulation of a number of things. We need to get better. We need to protect the ball. We talk about protecting the ball. You keep preaching those same things. You keep drilling those same things and you expect it to get better the more you work at it. If it doesn’t, you’ve got to find people who do take care of it.”

One person who doesn’t take care of the football is Beathard. He has committed 10 turnovers in four starts this season. His quarterback rating was 56.1 against the Rams.

“It’s not just C.J.,” Shanahan insisted. “It’s everyone. The quarterback, when the ball leaves his hands, he’s going to get credit for that turnover, but by no means is it 100 percent on C.J. Of course, he’s got to do better. I’ve got to do better and we’ve got to do a lot better around him.”

Fine. But, why not bench Beathard just to see if another quarterback can protect the ball better?

“Because C.J. is the best quarterback we have in our building.”

That, football fans, is the essence of tragicomedy.