Why 49ers’ clock management strategy backfired at end of loss to Rams

The 49ers' offense took over with 1 minute, 51 seconds remaining in a tie game on Sunday at SoFi Stadium. The Los Angeles Rams had only one timeout remaining, so it appeared to be a perfect situation for San Francisco to get the final possession of regulation. The 49ers figured to either score the winning points or, at the very least, go to overtime without the Rams taking control of the ball for one final possession. Coach Kyle Shanahan shared his line of thinking and explained what went wrong at the end of the 49ers' stunning 27-24 loss when NBC Sports Bay Area asked him about the situation. "The No. 1 goal is to try to win the game right there, which I believe we had every opportunity to do," Shanahan said. The 49ers planned to run the time down as much as possible. But the clock stopped after the first-down play when quarterback Brock Purdy was pushed out of bounds after a 4-yard scramble. With 1:46 remaining, Purdy hit Brandon Aiyuk on a 9-yard pass for a first down. "That's why we didn't get into two-minute (offense) on that second and 6," Shanahan said. "We threw a curl route to B.A., and we huddled up after it. So that was totally the thought process. " The clock ticked...