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Brock Purdy Had Classy Message for 49ers WR Ronnie Bell After Brutal Drop Late in Loss

Andy Nesbitt

The 49ers might have been able to beat the Rams if Ronnie Bell made this catch late in the fourth quarter.
The 49ers might have been able to beat the Rams if Ronnie Bell made this catch late in the fourth quarter. / @FoxSports
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The San Francisco 49ers blew a 14-point lead in the second half on Sunday and lost to the rival Los Angeles Rams, 27-24, on a field goal in the final seconds at SoFi Stadium.

The loss dropped the 49ers, who are missing a number of key players, to 1–2 on the season. They were almost able hold off the Rams but a late drop by wide receiver Ronnie Bell that would have put them in field goal position with just over one minute remaining in a tie game played a big role in letting Los Angeles get the wild victory.

Here's the play:

The 49ers punted the ball away two plays later, and shortly after that, the Rams kicked the game-winning field goal.

Brock Purdy—who was without Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey—had a classy message after the game for his young wide receiver.

"He had a double move and that was the look he wanted and he got his guy and by the time I got to him I think I was just trying to give him a chance, and I don’t think I had enough juice on it from where I was in the pocket," Purdy said. "Obviously I think I could have given him a better ball but he’s a young guy and I love him. We’ve all got Ronnie’s back so we’re going to continue to need him and build him up and we’re all in this together.

"This is a team sport. So it’s not one play here or there, it’s all of them put together."

Purdy had three touchdown passes in what was his best game of the season so far. He'll look to lead the 49ers to a bounce-back win in Week 4 when they host the 1–2 New England Patriots.

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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.

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