Mistake-filled defeat to Dolphins sums up a lost season for the 49ers

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Mistake-filled defeat to Dolphins sums up a lost season for the 49ers

2024-12-24 08:15 Last Updated At：08:31

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — On the day the San Francisco 49ers were officially eliminated from playoff contention, they delivered a performance that summed up their disappointing season.

The offense failed to reach 20 points for the seventh time this season, a missed field goal hampered a comeback attempt and the defense got gashed on the ground in a 29-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

“It’s just been not clean football across the board,” quarterback Brock Purdy said. “I just feel like we’re hurting ourselves offensively and then when the defense gets a stop, like we got to go and capitalize. Last year we did that really well, last couple of years. We played team football for four quarters and I felt like we were pretty dominant. This year, it's just been hit or miss.”

It's been mostly miss for San Francisco (6-9) since the start as the team has been plagued by contract disputes in training camp, injuries to key players on both sides of the ball and spotty play.

Purdy's late interception after being under heavy pressure behind a makeshift line spoiled a comeback attempt and assured the 49ers of a losing season.

San Francisco had already been eliminated from postseason contention earlier in the day after coming into the season as one of the favorites to return to the Super Bowl. The 49ers lost to Kansas City in overtime in February after falling short in the NFC title game the previous two seasons.

After surging following mid-season bye weeks the past two seasons, the 49ers have stumbled this season as injuries that have sidelined stars such as Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams, Brandon Aiyuk and Nick Bosa for multiple games have taken a toll.

But even the healthy players haven't performed as San Francisco ranks sixth worst in scoring over the past seven weeks, last in takeaways and fifth worst in yards rushing allowed.

That leaves the Niners in an unfamiliar place as they are playing meaningless games for the first time since the 2020 season, when they went 6-10 the season after losing the Super Bowl.

“We’ve been the highest of highs for a long time,” Bosa said. “Sometimes things don’t go your way and a lot of it is because of what we’ve done, obviously.”

Red zone defense. San Francisco held Miami to one TD on three red zone trips. After allowing touchdowns on 13 consecutive red zone drives over a four-week span, the 49ers have held the opposition to one TD on six trips the past two games.

Penalties. The Niners committed a season-high 11 penalties for 90 yards and several were costly. Rookie WR Ricky Pearsall lined up illegally twice on one drive, and DBs Talanoa Hufanga and Deommodore Lenoir each got called for unnecessary roughness penalties that helped fuel field-goal drives.

“No matter what’s going on, when you have those penalties like that, you don’t deserve to win,” coach Kyle Shanahan said.

WR Deebo Samuel. After being held to 116 yards from scrimmage the previous five games, Samuel delivered a throwback performance that looked like his play in recent years. He had seven catches for 96 yards and his first TD since Week 6 and ran for 25 yards. His 121 yards from scrimmage were a season high.

K Jake Moody. The second-year kicker missed a 41-yarder wide left in the third quarter. Moody has missed seven field goals this season and his 76.7% conversion rate is tied for 26th.

OL Aaron Banks (knee) and Jaylon Moore (quadriceps strain) will miss the final two games of the season. ... Shanahan said LB Dre Greenlaw also could be shut down with soreness in his right calf after returning from a left Achilles tendon injury. ... Shanahan said LT Trent Williams (ankle) won't return this season. ... RB Isaac Guerendo (hamstring) should return to practice this week. ... The team is awaiting MRI results to determine whether OL Spencer Burford (calf) can play again this year. ... S Ji’Ayir Brown (ankle) and LB Dee Winters (chest) are day to day.

0-43 — The 49ers remain winless under Shanahan after falling behind by eight or more points in the fourth quarter in the regular season or playoffs. They are the only team in the NFL without a win in that scenario since Shanahan was hired in 2017.

The 49ers host Detroit on Monday night.

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

3 fall into ocean after California wharf partially collapses due to heavy surf from major storm

2024-12-24 08:29 Last Updated At：08:30

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — Two people were rescued and a third swam to safety after a California pier under construction partially collapsed and fell into the ocean Monday as the state's central coast was pounded by heavy surf from a major storm expected to bring hurricane-force winds to the seas off the Pacific Northwest, authorities said.

Residents were warned to stay away from low-lying areas near the beaches around the Santa Cruz Wharf, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of San Francisco, as the storm rapidly gained strength.

The storm's high surf and flooding prompted the city of Capitola — some 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) east of the wharf along the Monterey Bay — to order guests at a waterfront hotel to evacuate if they had ocean-facing units. Residents in the city’s business district were told to shelter in place or leave the area immediately.

In Santa Cruz, lifeguards rescued two people from the water after a section of the pier collapsed, officials said. No one had serious injuries, Mayor Fred Keeley said.

The mayor said that section of the wharf had been damaged over time. The structure was in the middle of a $4 million renovation following destructive storms last winter.

“It’s a catastrophe for those down at the end of the wharf," said David Johnston, owner of Venture Quest Kayaking, who was allowed onto the pier to check on his business.

Tony Elliot, the head of the Santa Cruz Parks & Recreation Department, estimated that about 150 feet (45 meters) of the end of the wharf fell into the water around 12:45 p.m. It was immediately evacuated and will remain closed indefinitely.

Some of the wharf’s pilings are still in the ocean and remain “serious, serious hazards” to boats, the mayor said. Each piling weighs hundreds of pounds and is being pushed by powerful waves.

“You are risking your life, and those of the people that would need to try and save you by getting in or too close to the water,” the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office said on the social platform X.

Gov. Gavin Newsom's has been briefed and the state's Office of Emergency Services is coordinating with local officials, his office said.

Forecasters warned that storm swells will continue to increase throughout the day.

“We are anticipating that what is coming toward us is more serious than what was there this morning,” the mayor said.

Ocean swells along California's central coast could reach 60 feet (18 meters) as the Pacific storm gains strength through Monday, the weather service said.

“A rapidly developing storm will bring hurricane force winds to the areas well offshore of the Pacific Northwest tonight,” the weather service's Ocean Prediction Center said on X.

The end of the pier that broke off had been shut down during renovations. The portion, which included public restrooms and the closed Dolphin restaurant, floated about half a mile (0.8 kilometers) down the coast and wedged itself at the bottom of the San Lorenzo River.

Those who fell into the water were two engineers and a project manager who were inspecting the end of the wharf, officials said. No members of the public were in the area.

Building inspectors were now looking at the rest of the Santa Cruz Wharf’s structural integrity.

Monday's collapse came about a year after the Seacliff State Beach pier just down the coast was battered beyond repair by a heavy winter storm.

Further up the West Coast, dangerous surf conditions and waves up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) were expected from the central Oregon coast up through southwestern Washington. Winds could peak near 80 mph (130 kph) and a high surf warning in effect until 10 p.m. Monday night, forecasters said.

In a post on X, the National Weather Service office in Portland, Oregon, said “it will likely go down as some of the highest surf this winter.”