The San Francisco 49ers suffered one of the most embarrassing losses of the Kyle Shanahan era on Sunday, falling 27-24 to the Los Angeles Rams, leaving them at 1-2 on the season.

In the loss, the 49ers trailed by just two seconds, but they were the most important two seconds of the game. The Rams kicked a 37-yard field goal to take a three-point lead at the end of the game.

It was an unfortunate outcome, as the loss ruined a great day for wideout Jauan Jennings, who had 11 catches for 175 yards and three touchdowns as the driving force behind the 49ers’ offense with Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey out.

In addition, it was an impressive coaching performance by Sean McVay. He was able to keep his team within reach despite losing Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua and a lot of offensive linemen, and finally managed to pull off a big win early in the season.

This is only San Francisco’s third loss in the last 12 meetings between the two teams. In previous years, the 49ers dominated the season series.

Below are three quick takeaways from the 49ers’ 27-24 loss to the Rams on Sunday.

Drops

When it comes to the most important moments of the game, the 49ers’ final offensive drive stands out. They had a chance to win the game and were busy driving down the field.

With 1:08 left on the clock, they faced a 2nd & 10 at their own 43-yard line, and Brock Purdy threw a deep ball to Ronnie Bell, who broke free but dropped the pass.

That was a huge turnaround for the 49ers, who likely would have been in position for the winning field goal with a minute left. Instead, San Francisco had a 3rd & Long that ultimately resulted in a point.

Bell had a rough day, dropping three passes and only being targeted three times, the last one proving extremely costly and symbolic of how the day went for San Francisco.

Brock Purdy completed 22 of 30 passes that day, but suffered six drops from receivers. This undermined the team’s consistency, as the 49ers were slowed down after opening the game with back-to-back touchdown drives.

There were a few other opportunities that Purdy could have taken advantage of, but the quarterback was constantly trying to extend plays, making some big throws and also using his feet to move the chains. In this game, his receivers didn’t help him enough.

Punish

Penalties weren’t an issue for the 49ers in the first two weeks, as they averaged four per game for 35 yards. But on Sunday, they were a major problem for San Francisco, as they allowed seven penalties for 113 yards.

It wasn’t just an attacking or defensive problem. There were penalties on both sides of the ball, and they came in crucial situations.

With the 49ers leading 21-7, the defense had two brutal penalties, when Isaac Yiadom was flagged for pass interference on a deep ball from Matthew Stafford, who had Tutu Atwell in his sights. Yiadom was picked off consistently throughout the game, and this penalty cost the 49ers 48 yards, giving Los Angeles great field position at San Francisco’s 27-yard line.

Later in that drive, with the Rams facing a 3rd & 1 at the six-yard line, Renardo Green was assessed a holding penalty in the end zone. This gave Los Angeles another set of downs at the three-yard line, with Kyren Williams driving the ball home to cut the lead to 21-7.

A few drives later, the 49ers tried to decide the game in the final quarter with a 24-17 lead. Kyle Juszczyk faced a 1st & 10 at the Rams’ 42-yard line and was assessed a holding penalty, pushing the 49ers well past the sticks.

San Francisco couldn’t recover from that and only got back to the Rams’ 37-yard line for a 4th & 5. Jake Moody had a chance to give the 49ers a 10-point lead, but missed the 55-yard field goal.

If that penalty doesn’t happen, the Niners have a much better chance of getting closer to the red zone, using up more time and simultaneously setting up a more favorable field goal or even a touchdown.

But the biggest problem came on the final drive. With the Rams already in great field position, Matthew Stafford picked up DeVondre Campbell who was going 1-on-1 against tight end Colby Parkinson.

Campbell failed to turn, leading to a 25-yard defensive pass interference penalty, giving the Rams the ball on the 49ers’ 25-yard line, which ultimately led to the winning field goal.

The 49ers were called far too many penalties in this game, several of which were extremely costly and ultimately decided the game in favor of the Rams.

Special teams

For years, it seemed like special teams was a big problem for the 49ers.

That also happened on Sunday, when the 49ers made a number of blunders on special teams that cost them dearly, especially late in the game.

In the first half, San Francisco had a good defensive drive, supporting the Rams with a 2nd & 21 in the second quarter. That eventually led to a 4th & 6, where it looked like Los Angeles would punt the ball away. But they surprised the 49ers with a fake punt, allowing the Rams to continue the drive near midfield.

The Rams eventually scored their first touchdown of the drive, passing the 49ers defense to swing the momentum to 14-7.

Late in the fourth quarter, leading 24-17 with 6:15 left on the clock, San Francisco had a couple of chances during that drive, including a scramble by Brock Purdy that left Brandon Aiyuk looking wide open for a touchdown but ultimately settling for a field goal.

With the game on the line, Jake Moody was called and missed a field goal from 55 yards, giving the Rams a chance to mount a comeback.

That wasn’t the only costly mistake, however, as the 49ers punted the ball back to the Rams with 56 seconds left, while Los Angeles had just one timeout. With the ball on their own 45-yard line, San Francisco had a perfect opportunity to pin Los Angeles deep in their end zone, sending the game to overtime.

Instead, the 49ers gave up a 38-yard punt return to Xavier Smith after he caught the ball at the Rams’ 12-yard line, giving Los Angeles field position at the 50-yard line, and the rest is history.

San Francisco made far too many mistakes on all fronts in this game and the special teams were again negative.