INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Kyle Shanahan probably saw this possibility coming, which may be why he was so determined not to break the Los Angeles Rams’ fighting spirit.

For most of Shanahan’s tenure in the Bay, the San Francisco 49ers belonged to his buddy Sean McVay’s club. SoFi Stadium was a sea of ​​red again on Sunday. The hosts were winless and had just suffered an embarrassing loss. Shanahan sensed the vulnerability. He knew his team couldn’t afford to breathe life into them.

Shanahan was right.

The 49ers had a 14-point lead in the first quarter and were in a position to beat the Rams. After a tough loss in Minnesota and with a long list of injuries, the 49ers could have used the win they were so close to.

But they didn’t do it. They didn’t beat Los Angeles. They made enough mistakes, missed enough plays to keep the Rams at bay. The 49ers led 24-14 at the start of the fourth quarter.

They went home embarrassed after taking a lead and losing 24-27. They went home with a 1-2 record and had thrown away the win to a team that had nothing to do with it.

Their loss in Minnesota last week was much more understandable. They always struggle on the road against the Vikings, who are now leading 3-0. But Sunday in Los Angeles was a bitter blow.

The 49ers gave this game away with their uncharacteristic lack of success across the board. A leaky defense. A sluggish offense. Unreliable special teams. And a coaching staff that couldn’t stop the 49ers from losing their momentum.

“I thought we had every chance to win the game,” Shanahan said. “I also thought we had several opportunities to pull away in the game, especially early in the game when we were already up by 14 points.”

In fact, this loss was in the making. The 49ers have been digging the hole they are in now for months. Because losses like this are a collective failure and the result of a team that has not yet found its stride.

Three games into the season, the 49ers are a team that looks good at times but has yet to deliver a truly consistent performance. Even when they dominated the New York Jets in Week 1, they weren’t on a roll – which was understandable in Week 1.

The 49ers’ success has traditionally been built on synchronicity. How the coverage benefits from the pass rush and the linebackers wreak havoc in between. How the offense relies on timing routes, a delicate choreography balanced by a physical running game. For all their star power, the 49ers’ dominance is a product of their interdependent rhythm. A metronome of force and grace, timing and deception, precision and explosion.

But things are far from going well for the 49ers. Quite the opposite.

“I think this loss came down to complacency,” cornerback Deommodore Lenoir said. “We should have shut them down. … It has a lot to do with finishing.”

And the current confusion is a natural result of the last eight months – from an absolutely devastating Super Bowl loss, to an offseason marked by contentious contract negotiations, to significant changes at key positions, followed by injuries to their best players.

Yes, from a macro perspective this was to be expected.

If the Shanahan era has proven anything, it’s this: When the 49ers’ football machine is disrupted, they become an average team at the mercy of the vagaries and odds of NFL parity. Unlike some teams like Kansas City, whose success is largely based on a few strengths outweighing any weaknesses, the 49ers rely on a more universal strength, wearing down their opponents with depth and a barrage of great players spread across the roster.

It’s proven to be a reliable formula, surpassed only by Patrick Mahomes, so they’re still confident they’ll find the synchronicity that makes them so special.

Hear from Kyle Shanahan and the players who follow #SFvsLAR. https://t.co/HIrKjY8dHD

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) 22 September 2024

If Sunday’s embarrassing loss was a warning shot for the 49ers, then it was a productive loss.

“We definitely have to feel the loss,” Nick Bosa said. “We can’t just keep going and pretending everything is OK. Feel the loss and just start growing week by week.”

“It was definitely a difficult start, but there is still a lot of football to be played. We have already been through some difficult phases. We just have to stick together. We have the guys who can do it.”

Brock Purdy tried his best to lead the 49ers to victory.

The remaining criticism of Purdy concerns the wealth of the 49ers’ roster. His critics see him as a beneficiary rather than a creator of his team’s success. However, with the 49ers offense missing its three best playmakers – Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle – Purdy would have to carry a considerable load in this game.

He did his part. He completed 22 of 30 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns. He was a playmaking cyclone out there, battling for first downs and keeping plays alive with his feet.

“Even though I’m focused on defense,” 49ers linebacker Fred Warner said, “I still sit on the sidelines and watch the offense and see him fight for every inch and put in the performance that he did. That’s exactly why he’s the guy that leads us at that position.”

And Jauan Jennings was his favorite target, he looked like Randy Moss. Jennings caught 11 of his 12 passes, managing 175 yards and three touchdowns. That was a career performance for someone who is normally the third receiver.

“He’s a great guy,” Purdy said. “I absolutely love that guy.”

But the offense stalled every time it had a chance to beat the Rams. Six of Purdy’s eight incomplete passes were drops, robbing him of a great day. The 49ers managed three points in the fourth quarter after building an early 14-0 lead.

The defense, which had a two-touchdown advantage, was breached on seven plays of 15 yards or more, including a pass interference penalty in the final minute that allowed the Rams’ game-winning field goal. The number of ball carriers operating in open space showed how confused the 49ers were.

And the special teams? The coverage unit allowed a 38-yard punt return to set up the Rams’ game-winning drive. Jake Moody missed a game-winning 55-yard field goal with three minutes left. And Shanahan believes the game hinged on a Rams fake punt in the second quarter that worked even though the 49ers were expecting a fake punt.

“That fake punt,” Shanahan said, “was just the dynamic of the game. We gave them a lot of hope of getting back in the game.”

The 49ers started 1-2 just two years ago. They also opened the 2022 season with two road losses and one home win. After seven games of the season, they were 3-4. It was worrying enough that they signed Christian McCaffrey. The 49ers then won 12 games in a row. When the NFC Championship Game came around, they were the best team in the conference. But Purdy got injured in Philadelphia, and that was that.

This was the impetus for the Super Bowl run the following season. They were determined to get back. They started 5-0 and made it to the Super Bowl despite a three-game losing streak caused by injuries.

When good things come in threes, it’s only logical that they’ll have to overcome a slump. In their third trip to the Super Bowl, and given what it will take to get back on track and find their rhythm, perhaps this was inevitable.

“It’s obviously still early in the season,” Purdy said. “But every game counts. We’re just going to take it day by day and not get upset, but at the same time focus on the things we need to get better at. And actually get better.”

They couldn’t take away the Rams’ hope. The trick now is to pull themselves together quickly enough so that they don’t lose their own hope.

(Photo of Rams coach Sean McVay and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)