Setting up the SF game

All-time series 49ers, 73–67–3

Shannahan has won four in a row now.
11/29/2020 49ers 23 @ Rams 20
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10/18/2020 Rams 16 @ S 49ers 24
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12/21/2019 Rams 31 @ 49ers 34
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10/13/2019 49ers 20 @ Rams 7
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12/30/2018 49ers 32 @ Rams 48 W
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history:https://www.footballdb.com/teams/nfl/los-angeles-rams/teamvsteam?opp=27

If not now, when?

If not us, who?

If not my teeth, whose?

From Jason LaConfora at CBS:

The San Francisco 49ers are not who people thought they would be. And probing questions are being asked of the head coach. For good reason.

The Kyle Shanahan regime is not halfway through its fifth season, and, alas, things are not going well. It’s, frankly, looking far too much like Year 1, or Year 2, only he’s not the youngest head coach in the NFL anymore and the feeling-out process is long in the past. The adjustment phase ended years ago. And, to this point, that wistful season of 2019 — with the 13-3 record and the Super Bowl loss — feels like an awful long time ago.

The defense has been horrible, and trending decidedly in the wrong direction since Shanahan (make no mistake — he has been and always will be running the show there until/unless he’s fired) decided not to make stud interior defensive lineman DeForest Buckner a $20M/year man. The run game is a shell of what it used to be. The pop-gun offense isn’t scaring anyone. All of their elaborate smokescreens and spy-novel levels of offseason intrigue about which quarterback they were mortgaging their future to move up and draft seems a little too cute, especially since Trey Lance has barely played for the sputtering outfit. And what seems to be resonating most loudly in the Bay Area right now is Shanahan’s 32-44 career record (.444) and the fact he is 9-15 since the 49ers blew their lead to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

Ultimately, you are what your record says you are. And that ain’t good. And no amount of play-calling wizardry can change that overnight. This ain’t a post-Super Bowl hangover. This isn’t a blip. That’s a nearly 25-game sample size since the big collapse against KC, and, well, the 24 games preceding that glorious 2019 season weren’t special, either (10-14).

The reality here is that roughly a third of Shanahan’s wins (10) came in September-November of 2019, and we can point to quarterback play and injuries and whatever other mitigating factors you want to include, but keep in mind all of those players (and bad quarterbacks) were there in the first place because Shanahan wanted them there. Again, this is his show. GM John Lynch was a curious choice at the time — coming straight out of the broadcast booth — and he was there at Shanahan’s behest. No revisionist history here.

Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals (backup quarterback included) was not professional grade, and they have allowed 83 points in three games since their bye and don’t have much to rely on on offensive, either. Sunday’s effort looked like a team in distress, turning what could have been a reboot to their season into the greatest SOS to date. It was inexcusable. They continually put on dire displays at home. And the second-half schedule doesn’t appear to be especially kind on paper, either.

Owner Jed York already doubled down on this management team by extending their already lengthy deals by another six years in 2020. His offense has never finished above 18th in points during his time there save for the magical 2019 ride (second), they’ve been a middling team running the ball the last two years, and one would think Shanahan would turn his focus decidedly to developing Lance ASAP.

It’s pretty clear if they have any chance of salvaging this season, Shanahan is going to have conjure his offense to much higher heights. If he is, indeed, a wizard with the play sheet and quarterbacks, well, now would be the ideal time to show it. Because time is running out on another 49ers season, they are clearly the most disappointing team in the NFL (Miami was always fools gold), and this wreaks of the kind of six-win campaigns that have come all too frequently in San Francisco.