The 49ers jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead against the Rams on Sunday and looked set to dominate an outmatched and injury-plagued opponent. The Rams held on, but the 49ers still led 24-14 midway through the fourth quarter and appeared to have the game in hand.

And then the 49ers gave up 13 points in the final seven minutes, 10 of which came after the two-minute warning, and the Rams won 27-24.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said his team must shut down an opponent when given the chance, and he pointed to his team’s fourth-quarter mistakes, including a missed field goal, giving up a first down on a Rams fake punt and giving up a 38-yard punt return, as reasons for the loss.

“That’s what I thought we had the chance to run away with it, “They didn’t give us any hope,” Shanahan said, via ESPN. “That gave them a lot of hope. They got back in it… those are three big plays in the game.”

Shanahan said Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford will always be dangerous if you let him play into the fourth quarter.

“You’ve got to take away their hope,” Shanahan said. “If you give Stafford too much hope, give him the ball at the end, that’s not a situation you want to be in.”

Despite playing behind a patchwork offensive line and without his top two receivers, Stafford completed 16 of 25 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions and led two long scoring drives in the fourth quarter before drawing a costly pass interference penalty on the 49ers to set up the winning field goal. When the 49ers had a chance to eliminate Stafford, they failed. It was a huge missed opportunity for the preseason favorites to win the NFC, who are now 1-2.