Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

There’s a long list of plays that can be blamed for the San Francisco 49ers’ disappointing 27-24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, but after the game, 49ers fans’ anger seemed to focus on one play in particular – a dropped pass by wide receiver Ronnie Bell that would have put the 49ers within field goal range with the game tied with just over a minute left.

The play came on a 2nd-and-10 from the 49ers 43-yard line. Purdy’s pass hit Bell right in the hands, but Bell couldn’t hold on to it, committing one of at least six dropped passes by 49ers pass catchers on Sunday.

Had Bell caught the ball, the 49ers would have run out some time and had a chance to win the game late. But they eventually punted the ball back to the Rams, who, after a 38-yard punt return by Xavier Smith and a 25-yard pass interference penalty on 49ers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, were able to seal the game with a 37-yard field goal by kicker Joshua Karty with five seconds left.

Bell has had some issues with drops in the past and will certainly continue to hear a lot of criticism from fans and the media after Sunday. But Purdy defended Bell after the game, saying he could have caught the pass more easily so Bell could have caught it.

“He made a double move, and that was the look we wanted, and he caught his opponent,” Purdy said after the game. “And when I got to him, I guess I just wanted to give him a chance, and I don’t know if I had enough power just from where I was in the pocket. So I just wanted to give him a chance, and obviously I think I could still give him a better ball and everything.”

Purdy added that he and the rest of the 49ers stand behind Bell and that they will need him again in the future.

“He’s a young guy. I love him, man,” Purdy said. “And we all support Ronnie, so we’re going to continue to need him and build him up, and we’re all in this together, man. It’s a team sport, man. So this isn’t about one player, one game. It’s about everyone together.”

With Deebo Samuel out with a calf injury and first-round pick Ricky Pearsall recovering from a gunshot, Bell was one of five receivers on the field for the 49ers on Sunday, alongside Brandon Aiyuk, Chris Conley, Jacob Cowing and Jauan Jennings, who delivered a career-high 11 catches for 175 yards and three touchdowns. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked after the loss to comment on Bell’s presence on the field at that particular point in the game.

“There are five (wide receivers) in a game. We rotate a lot of players, and now he was the man out there,” Shanahan said. “Chris Conley got that done earlier in the game, but you know, those three receivers we have — Ronnie had an insane training camp, an insane week of practice, but he’s got to make a catch.”

Whether Bell stays in the game and continues to get opportunities when Samuel and Pearsall return remains to be seen. But the 49ers aren’t laying as much blame on Bell as others, but are quick to point out that there were other moments in the game where they could have done what was needed to get the win.

“Yeah, everybody (has to make that catch),” Shanahan said. “There are other catches in the game that you can expect people to make, and you hope it doesn’t have to come down to that. But Ronnie will say the same thing. He has to make that catch, but if he doesn’t make it, then you want to be able to overcome that, and you can overcome it in other ways. But we didn’t.”