The San Francisco 49ers must have felt conflicted watching the Los Angeles Rams defeat the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI, 23-20. The 49ers were one stop, one drive, one drop away from getting a chance to play for the Lombardi Trophy. Based on how the big game played out on Sunday, the 49ers must have felt like they belonged. They were barely edged by the Rams in the NFC Championship, a loss that will sting. The Super Bowl confirmed that San Francisco was just as capable of making it to the mountain top. It also highlighted areas in need of an upgrade or development. The 49ers need to align those pieces to make sure they aren’t further away from the ultimate goal 365 days from now.
The gap isn’t wide between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The 49ers have had the Rams’ number under Kyle Shanahan, until the conference title game. Unfortunately, that 7-4 head-to-head record since 2017 doesn’t mean much. No one will care about it until the 49ers avenge their most recent defeat, in the playoffs.
So, what can they take away?
Well, the 49ers have a few areas where they needn’t worry. The defensive line demonstrated it can win a game by itself – see the Divisional Round at Green Bay. Special teams evolved from torment to trustworthy. Plus, the skill positions on offense are among the most talented in football. The Rams share similar strengths and were on full display against Cincinnati. Los Angeles dominated the line of scrimmage, didn’t kill itself on special teams, and won matchups on offense.
While the 49ers should also feel confident in their running game, that was a big difference in this Rams team compared to the previous one. The Rams moved away from the ground game (25th in rushing) in 2021, whereas they relied on it (3rd in rushing) in their 2018 run to the Super Bowl. Any route to the Super Bowl requires a team to win in different fashions. However effective, the 49ers were at times one-dimensional on offense. San Francisco also wasn’t good enough to overcome mistakes. It’s nearly impossible to play mistake-free football for an entire playoff run. The Rams won the Super Bowl despite committing seven turnovers in their final three playoff games.
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While the defense was perhaps the biggest reason for the 49ers deep playoff run, the Rams did highlight an area of concern. Los Angeles was better against the pass (5th best in opponent QBR) than San Francisco (8th worst). Some of that is a by-product of the pass rush, but defenders aren’t always going to get home. A quality cornerback like Jalen Ramsey is a luxury for the defense, knowing he can succeed on an island. The Rams paid multiple first-round picks to create that comfort, which brings us to the biggest disparity between the two teams.
Opponents can adjust to personnel and scheme, but not identity. The Rams one-season-at-a-time, all-in approach ended up being the difference. They withdrew the entirety of their savings account by bringing in Matthew Stafford before the season and then both Odell Beckham Jr. and Von Miller midseason. They intentionally sold their future to bask in present glory. It’s a gamble we’ll see more teams make in upcoming years. The 49ers might be one of them. After (likely) moving off of Jimmy Garoppolo’s contract, San Francisco will have room to pursue talent previously unavailable due to salary cap restrictions, or lock up in-house stars like Deebo Samuel and Nick Bosa.
The 49ers, in a way, did that this past offseason by going after Trey Lance. Many felt the quarterback position limited San Francisco’s ceiling this season. Lance will be expected to raise it. Only, the 49ers didn’t invest in the present. Time will tell us if that venture will appreciate.
Meanwhile, the Rams have only invested in certainties, supplementing their star power with cheap help. If they hadn’t won this season, critics would continue to question their short-sightedness. But it worked and was unquestionably the main ingredient in their recipe of success. It’s what kept the 49ers out of the Super Bowl and why they felt both close and far away from a championship.
Despite coming up one game short of the finale, the 49ers season was a success. The preseason expectation of a Super Bowl berth was nearly realized. Even if you weren’t an optimist, a conference title appearance after starting 3-5 is overachievement galore. The season hurts more than it should because Los Angeles bet on itself and won. Also, San Francisco was three points away from the final game. Now, the 49ers can adapt. In a conference where every team has questions, the 49ers are not far from getting back to where the franchise historically expects to be.
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