Before the MVPs, the championships and the global superstardom, one of the defining games of Stephen Curry’s career came in 2013. Against the New York Knicks, Curry scored 54 points on 11 of 13 three-pointers at Madison Square Garden — the first of many all-time performances from one of the NBA’s all-time greats.

But Curry’s performance is somewhat lost in history. Why? Because Curry’s 54-point game came in a losing game. Despite Curry’s greatness, the Warriors lost to the Knicks 109-105.

Jauan Jennings played the Stephen Curry role in the 49ers’ loss to the Rams on Sunday. Despite putting up a Rice-like stat line, Jennings’ breakout game wasn’t enough, with the San Francisco 49ers falling to the Los Angeles Rams 27-24 on a last-second field goal.

It’s a tough game to judge, but we have to. We’ll start with the 49ers’ best moment:

The Jauan Jennings Game

Jennings finished with 11 receptions for 175 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday. Let’s see which other players in 49ers history have had a game with at least 11 receptions, 175 yards and three receiving touchdowns:

• Jerry Rice, Week 6, 1990: 13 receptions, 225 yards, five touchdowns
• Jerry Rice, Week 16, 1995: 14 receptions, 289 yards, three touchdowns
• Jennings on Sunday

Sunday was Jennings’ evolution from the “third-and-Jauan” persona to proving himself as a legitimate option in an offense loaded with options. Without McCaffrey, Samuel and Kittle, and with Brandon Aiyuk as the presumed No. 1 option entering the game, Jennings wasted no time in getting involved. Both of San Francisco’s first two drives ended with Jennings finding the end zone to give the 49ers an early 14-0 lead.

His third score came midway through the third quarter, giving the 49ers a two-score lead again. And look how open he got on Sunday, with examples from his first two scores:

In a game without most of the big names in attack, they might still have been able to create one.

And yet, it didn’t matter.

Oh yeah, and Brock Purdy was really good too

Let’s not forget Jennings’ amazing performance: Purdy played his best game of the early season.

Purdy threw for 292 yards with three touchdowns on 22 of 30 passing, with plenty to spare due to drops. There’s a perception that Purdy is a product of the weapons around him, but on Sunday, Purdy showed he can make it with his limited options.

After leading the 49ers to an opening drive touchdown, Purdy would hit Jennings for the first chunk play, a 34-run gain over the middle of the field to move the ball into plus territory. After a Trent Williams hold, Purdy would use the depth a few plays later, finding tight end Eric Saubert on the sideline for a 16-run gain. Purdy would throw his second touchdown of the game a few plays after that.

Purdy’s only blemish on the game came when Byron Young beat Colton McKivitz off the snap and forced a strip sack that the Rams recovered just before halftime. The quarterback bounced back and threw 54 yards on the ensuing drive, including a deep pass to a wide-open Jennings that gave the 49ers a 14-point lead midway through the third quarter. Even as the game drew closer, Purdy remained consistent, keeping the offense moving to set up two field goal attempts that put the 49ers up by two scores.

Yeah, there was a game where Purdy looked at a wide open Aiyuk, and the drops were bad – we’ll talk about that That dropped, but overall Purdy appeared to be a top-notch quarterback, which was an encouraging sign after last week’s loss.

And yet, it didn’t matter.

The drive of the game

Again, it’s not about which drive was the best in terms of numbers, but which one impressed me the most. The 11-play, 91-yard, touchdown-scoring drive early in the second half may have been the best, but it lacked the punch I’m looking for.

But the 49ers’ next drive is truly amazing.

The 13-play, 62-yard, field-goal-scoring drive had a little bit of everything. The drive started with Purdy hitting a deep drive to Jennings, who went up and did his best Randy Moss impersonation over Quentin Lake for a 32-all gain. After a Jake Brendel penalty set the drive back, San Francisco faced a third-and-4 with Purdy feeling slight pressure from the right. He was able to roll to his left before a pump fake caused Lake to leave his feet, allowing the quarterback to run for the first down.

Shanahan called for Purdy to attempt another third down with a quarterback sneak to get the first down. Purdy fumbled the ball, which the Rams recovered, but the review gave the ball back to the 49ers, who ruled that Purdy missed the marker, giving them a fourth down. The 49ers went to the Eagles page of the playbook, calling a tush push to extend the drive.

The drive then stalled, with a 26-yard Jake Moody field goal putting San Francisco up by ten with 11:57 to go. It wasn’t the most productive drive, but it was an event nonetheless, and gave the 49ers a cushion as time began to run out.

And yet, it didn’t matter.

A collapse of two minutes and 47 seconds

It started with a 55-yard miss by Moody.

Moody was called upon to attempt a 55-yard field goal to put the 49ers up by 10 with 2:47 left. The snap and hold were good, but the kick started left, stayed left and missed left, leaving the door open for the Rams.

But missed field goals happen, unless a catastrophic error follows. But there was one. Stafford found Tutu Atwell, who sprinted down the next play for a 50-run gain that put the Rams on the verge of tying the game. Two plays later, the Rams slammed the door shut with a Kyren Williams touchdown run to tie the game with 111 seconds left.

All the 49ers needed was a drive that put them within field goal range to try to leave Los Angeles with a win, and with the way Purdy played on Sunday, that wasn’t such a big ask. And Purdy threw the ball that would have put the 49ers within field goal range, but unfortunately, it was dropped.

Missing as many players on offense as the 49ers did on Sunday not only affects the top of the depth chart, but everyone at the bottom moves up a spot. So when Purdy unleashed his second-down deep shot to get within range of a field goal, instead of a George Kittle or a Jauan Jennings, it was a target for Ronnie Bell. And with a chance to potentially make a big play to set up a 49ers victory, the moment seemed too big and Bell dropped the ball at the 27-yard line, and two plays later, San Francisco had to score.

The fact of the matter about the 49ers’ special teams blunders is that they don’t happen one at a time; that would be too easy. They always happen in groups. The Rams faked the punt conversion earlier in the game and Moody’s miss was never going to be enough, so the punt team had to get in on the mishap as well. Mitch Wishnowsky’s 43-yard punt would be returned by Xavier Smith for 38 yards to set the Rams offense right up to midfield.

Before the thought of the 49ers defense making a stop could cross his mind, Stafford tossed a pass up to Colby Parkinson, who would be fined 49ers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell for pass interference, and the Rams were within range of a field goal with under 30 seconds left. Joshua Karty would hit the 37-yard field goal, and the Rams would walk away with the win.

San Francisco took its first lead of the game with 11:12 left in the first quarter and held on to it throughout, but could never really pull away from Los Angeles. The Rams would take their first lead of the game with two seconds left, and that was enough.

And in the end, that was what it was all about.