SANTA CLARA — The 49ers hosted a corgi race on the Levi’s Stadium field at halftime of the Niners’ game with the Ravens.
Before one of the races, the video board cut to a dog *ahem* soiling the midfield logo.
And no, he wasn’t marking.
We saw it from start to finish, 48 feet high by 200 feet wide.
The analogy, folks, is obvious.
When the corgi added a bit of fall color to the Niners’ logo, Baltimore led 16-12.
The Ravens ran off 17 straight points in the third quarter.
So the 49ers’ 33-19 loss to the Ravens wasn’t as close as the scoreline indicated.
Needless to say, it was not a Christmas to remember for the Niners, whose home-field advantage in the NFC is only held by a tiebreaker following the loss.
And while a few players deserved gifts, most deserved coal for their performances.
Here’s the naughty and nice list for the game:
Studs
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George Kittle
» Seven catches, 126 yards. A very good game, exploiting Baltimore’s weakness over the middle.
Christian McCaffrey
» Ran for 7.8 yards per carry, tallying 102 on the day. The Niners’ only meaningful touchdown drive was McCaffrey doing it all — going for 65 of 67 yards. For most of the game, the 49ers’ offense felt that way.
Alex Moore
» Alex Moore? Yes. He was the umpire in Monday’s game. And he should be credited with the 49ers’ first-quarter safety.
I needed to get to three people for studs.
Duds
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Brock Purdy
» There’s no silver lining or sugar coating: Purdy was brutal on Monday. His four interceptions doubled his career high, and while not all four were totally on him, there wasn’t an ounce of bad luck in there, either.
Those turnovers are the reason the 49ers lost the game. No further analysis is needed.
Oh, and Purdy’s MVP candidacy is done. D-O-N-E.
But don’t let anyone tell you it was illegitimate before this game.
Kyle Shanahan
» No matter who was blocking for him, McCaffrey ran for massive, chunk yardage nearly every time he touched the ball.
I know the game got out of hand in the third quarter, but Shanahan wanted to pass early and often in this game, and he didn’t deviate from that plan, even when the pass game wasn’t working, and the run game, somehow, was.
The entire 49ers’ offensive line
» A dreadful performance. The Ravens’ attack of six or seven men at the line of scrimmage left the Niners’ interior offensive line scrambling to figure out assignments on the fly. Under constant duress, Purdy turned in a bench-worthy performance.
It’s hard to imagine things improving — the Niners lost their left tackle, his backup, and their left guard to injury in this game.
Fred Warner
» Back-to-back bad games for the 49ers’ star linebacker. Yes, there were a few highlight plays, but there was also a lot of Warner being wildly out of position in pass coverage.
His once-outstanding season is trending the wrong way. The Niners’ defense is following suit.
Willie Snead
» The Niners didn’t lose because Jauan Jennings missed the game, but Snead’s play made a strong case for Jennings being an underrated contributor to this team.
Tashaun Gipson
» Amid so many bad games Monday, Gipson stood out. He was consistently chasing after receivers that he was supposed to be covering.
Ronnie Bell
» Dropped another punt. Didn’t burn the 49ers, but if this burns San Francisco in the final weeks, you can’t say you didn’t see it coming.
