De'Vondre Campbell's mid-game quitting overshadowed the 49ers' offensive woes

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — De'Vondre Campbell's decision to quit on his team in the middle of a game overshadowed the bigger issues for the San Francisco 49ers.

An offense that was one of the most dynamic in the NFL during a run to the Super Bowl last season has been just ordinary for most of 2024 and was downright bad in a 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night that just about ended San Francisco's playoff hopes.

San Francisco (6-8) was held to its fewest yards (191) in a regular-season game in eight seasons under coach Kyle Shanahan and its fewest points since Shanahan's debut in 2017 on a rainy night that will be remembered mostly for Campbell walking off the field in the middle of the game with a towel draped over his head.

The game also featured San Francisco going three-and-out on four drives as Brock Purdy struggled to connect with his receivers. Deebo Samuel dropped a potential touchdown pass after complaining earlier in the week about a lack of touches. Purdy then missed Ricky Pearsall on an underthrown deep shot in the fourth quarter before throwing an interception into the end zone that ended the Niners' comeback attempt.

“I just feel like I had a lot of plays left out there that I could have made for our team,” Purdy said. “I thought the defense and special teams played so good. That’s what’s hurting me is I just feel like I failed the team. I could have been better for our offense and we could have put up more points.”

Scoring has been an issue this season for the 49ers, who have been missing key playmakers like Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk for much of the season. San Francisco is scoring 8.5 fewer points per game on offense than the Niners did through 14 games last season.

Red-zone defense. After allowing touchdowns on 13 consecutive red-zone drives over the previous four games, the 49ers kept the Rams out of the end zone on all three drives that went inside the 20.

Receivers. The 49ers failed to get much production from their wide receivers with Purdy going 6 for 20 for 63 yards with an INT and a 19.4 rating when targeting wideouts. Samuel had 16 yards on seven targets with the key drop. Jauan Jennings had two drops and was the target on the interception. Pearsall had one catch for 16 yards on four targets.

LB Dre Greenlaw returned for the first time since tearing his left Achilles tendon in last season's Super Bowl. Greenlaw had eight tackles in the first half as he brought needed intensity and physical play that had been missing for much of the season.

Campbell. The 49ers are deciding whether to waive or suspend Campbell, who lost his starting job when Greenlaw returned and then refused to play when he was needed.

“His actions from the game just is not something you can do to your team or your teammates and still expect to be a part of our team,” Shanahan said. “We’re working through exactly the semantics of it right now, but we’ll handle the situation appropriately.”

Greenlaw came out of the game feeling OK after leaving with soreness in his knee and Achilles tendon. He is day to day. ... S Ji’Ayir Brown (groin) and LB Dee Winters (neck) are also day to day. ... LT Trent Williams (ankle) is still trying to get back to play after missing the last four games. Shanahan said Williams' recovery has been "a lot slower than anticipated.”

0 — The Niners didn't reach the red zone once all game, with their deepest penetration into Rams territory being when they reached the 27 on a third-quarter field goal drive. This marked the first time since Week 11 in 2010 that the 49ers didn't run a single play inside the opponent's 25.

The 49ers visit Miami on Dec. 22.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, bottom, reacts after being sacked by Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner, top, during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw (57) watches as Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) stands behind center during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. reacts after dropping a pass against the Los Angeles Rams during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco 49ers linebacker De'Vondre Campbell jogs onto the field before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

San Francisco 49ers' Dre Greenlaw, left, limps off the field with Charvarius Ward (7) after an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Googly eyes have been appearing on sculptures around the central Oregon city of Bend, delighting many residents and sparking a viral sensation covered widely by news outlets and featured on a popular late-night talk show.

On social media, the city shared photos of googly eyes on installations in the middle of roundabouts that make up its so-called “Roundabout Art Route.” One photo shows googly eyes placed on a sculpture of two deer, while another shows them attached to a sphere. It's not yet known who has been putting them on the sculptures.

"While the googly eyes placed on the various art pieces around town might give you a chuckle, it costs money to remove them with care to not damage the art," the city said in its posts.

The Facebook post received hundreds of comments, with many users saying they liked the googly eyes. “My daughter and I went past the flaming chicken today and shared the biggest laugh," one user said, using a nickname for the “Phoenix Rising” sculpture. "We love the googly eyes. This town is getting to be so stuffy. Let’s have fun!”

Another Facebook user wrote: “I think the googly eyes on the deer specifically are a great look, and they should stay that way.”

Others said the city should focus on addressing more important issues, such as homelessness, instead of spending time and money on removing the googly eyes.

Over the years, the city’s sculptures have been adorned with other seasonal decorations, including Santa hats, wreaths, leis. The city doesn’t remove those, and views the googly eyes differently because of the adhesive, Bend's communications director, Rene Mitchell, told The Associated Press.

“We really encourage our community to engage with the art and have fun. We just need to make sure that we can protect it and that it doesn’t get damaged,” she said.

The post and its comments were covered by news outlets, and even made it on a segment of CBS's “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” The city regrets that its post was misunderstood, Mitchell said.

“There was no intent to be heavy-handed, and we certainly understand maybe how that was taken," she said. “We own this large collection of public art and really want to bring awareness to the community that applying adhesives does harm the art. So as stewards of the collection, we wanted to share that on social media."

The city has so far spent $1,500 on removing googly eyes from seven of the eight sculptures impacted, Mitchell said, and has started treating some of the art pieces, which are made of different types of metal such as bronze and steel. The "Phoenix Rising" sculpture might need to be repainted entirely, she said.

For some, the googly eyes — like the other holiday objects — provide a welcome boost of seasonal cheer.

“I look forward to seeing the creativity of whoever it is that decorates the roundabouts during the holidays,” one social media commenter said. “Brings a smile to everyone to see silliness.”

This image provided by the City of Bend, Oregon, shows damage cardboard and tape following the removal of a pair of googly eyes that were placed on a public art sculpture in Bend, Ore. (City of Bend, Oregon, via AP)

This image provided by the City of Bend, Oregon, shows a pair of googly eyes placed on a public art sculpture in Bend, Ore. (City of Bend, Oregon, via AP)

This image provided by the City of Bend, Oregon, shows a a set of googly eyes placed on a public art sculpture in Bend, Ore. (City of Bend, Oregon, via AP)