Was Implosion of Rams' Hated Rival 49ers a Long Time Coming?

We probably should have seen this implosion coming for the San Francisco 49ers.

Dec 12, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams safety Kamren Curl (3) breaks up a pass intended for San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) in the second quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Rams may very well have dealt a death blow to the San Francisco 49ers' playoff chances with their 12-6 win over their NFC West rivals on Thursday night, but the Rams' victory revealed a whole lot more than that.

It demonstrates that the 49ers have completely imploded from within, and while it may seem shocking given how stacked San Francisco looked heading into 2024, it really isn't too surprising.

A year ago, the Niners were rolling. They were clearly the best team in the NFC, and they were on a collison course to meet the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl for the second time in five years.

Sure enough, they did, and once again, the 49ers had their hearts broken. This time, it was in overtime, as Patrick Mahomes did just enough for the Chiefs to snatch the Vince Lombardi trophy.

Super Bowl hangovers are a real thing. We saw San Francisco experience it after losing to Kansas City in February 2020, as it went just 6-10 the following year. It's happening again in 2024, as the Niners now have to run the table in order to finish the season with a winning record.

Considering all of the injuries and all of the turmoil within the 49ers' locker room, it would be a truly stunning turn of events if they went 3-0 over their last three games.

And now, it's becoming more and more clear that Mahomes may very well have broken Kyle Shanahan's club last February when he rallied the Chiefs from an early 10-point deficit.

For all intents and purposes, San Francisco looked like the better team than Kansas City last year. The Chiefs actually appeared very vulnerable during the regular season.

The Niners? Heck no. Outside of a Christmas Day hiccup against the Baltimore Ravens, they were destroying everything in their path, and even when they were down 24-7 against the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship Game, you kind of had the feeling they were far from done.

But now? The 49ers may very well be the worst team in their division.

Sure, injuries have played a significant role in San Francisco's demise. Not even the biggest Niners hater would deny that. However, the growing locker room issues and the rising voices around Shanahan could become very problematic moving forward.

The 49ers may have seen their window of opportunity slammed shut 10 months ago when Mecole Hardman caught the winning touchdown pass of the Super Bowl.

Sometimes, things just go stale, and based on the history of clubs constantly failing to get over the hump, we probably should have seen this coming for San Francisco.

Meanwhile, the Rams continue to climb and may be emerging as dark horse Super Bowl contenders in an NFC that no longer has a juggernaut ruling at the top.

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