SANTA CLARA, Calif. — And in the end, after another postseason heartbreak, after an emotionally exhausting offseason, after the drama-filled holdouts and the gnarly wave of injuries and the personal tragedies, after a star player’s lash-out and, with a team’s hopes hanging in the balance, an infuriating and surreal tap-out, the San Francisco 49ers’ 2024 season finally collapsed under its own weight.

Buried under the wreckage, barely able to speak at an audible volume, was Kyle Shanahan — the man who had the most to do with the 49ers’ failings, and the biggest culprit behind a last-gasp attempt to extend an era that seemed doomed from its inception last February.

Shanahan, the Niners’ eighth-year coach, was standing at a lectern after the defeat that all but mathematically eliminated the defending NFC champions from playoff contention, one that came courtesy of his fiercest professional rival. With a 12-6 victory at Levi’s Stadium on Thursday night, Sean McVay’s Los Angeles Rams (8-6) boosted their playoff hopes while exposing the 49ers (6-8) as a team that lacked the purpose, precision and unity to play beyond the first weekend in January.

In the end, with desperation in the rain-filled Northern California air, Shanahan’s offense couldn’t produce a single touchdown, San Francisco’s special teams were typically sloppy and an uncharacteristically strong defensive effort was marred by veteran linebacker De’Vondre Campbell Sr.’s stunning refusal to enter the game when summoned in the third quarter.

All of that falls on Shanahan — that’s why he sits in the big chair — and he made no attempt to run from it.

“Not good enough,” Shanahan said of the offensive effort he coordinated Thursday, though the words applied to everything about this defeat and to this challenging season.

Those words also served as an epitaph to a six-season stretch in which the 49ers suffered two excruciating Super Bowl defeats to the Kansas City Chiefs, lost a pair of wrenching NFC Championship Games (including one to McVay’s Rams) and assembled a loaded roster stacked with some of the league’s most talented and resilient players.

Together, they built a formidable foundation, won a lot of big games and at times felt indomitable.

What we witnessed Thursday night was the NFL’s equivalent of rubble — and the group charged with cleaning it up, and rising from it, will look much, much different in 2025 and beyond.

“There’s been a dark cloud over us all season,” veteran cornerback Charvarius Ward told me after the game. “This will be a good offseason for this team to regroup, refocus and try to rekindle the spark.”

Ward, a second-team All-Pro in 2023, is headed for unrestricted free agency next March and is one of the many marquee 49ers who might not be on next year’s roster.

“I don’t know if I’m gonna be back,” Ward continued, “but I know this team is still gonna be great, with or without me.”

That remains to be seen, because Thursday’s faceplant — and, really, this entire season — has underscored how different this 49ers team is from its immediate predecessors.

Once again: Not good enough. Realistically, not even close.

The NFL is a production business, and Shanahan — who along with general manager John Lynch assembled this group, and was charged with coaching it up — will have to wear the stain of his team’s consistently substandard performances. The Niners have just two victories over opponents with winning records (the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and suffered three brutal defeats to division foes after squandering late leads.

On Thursday, with a chance to stay in the NFC West race, they fell woefully short, and produced a lowlight reel in the process.

Wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr., who complained on social media earlier in the week that he wasn’t getting the ball enough, had a brutal drop that likely cost him a chance to reach the end zone for a game-changing score. The 49ers were penalized for two illegal formation penalties on punts. Shanahan, after Brock Purdy connected with tight end George Kittle on a 33-yard pass early in the game — against a defense that had given up 42 points to the Buffalo Bills four days earlier — got weirdly conservative, calling three consecutive runs in Rams territory and settling for a 53-yard field goal by Jake Moody. And Purdy, coming off his best game of the season, struggled in the rain (a recurring theme) and later threw a brutal end-zone interception with 5:20 remaining and the 49ers in range for a game-tying field goal, essentially killing their chances.

Deebo Samuel had a chance to make a game-changing play for the 49ers. Instead, he dropped the ball. (Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)

And, amazingly, none of those gaffes came close to being the night’s most ignominious moment. That belonged to Campbell, a veteran linebacker signed in March as a placeholder for Dre Greenlaw — the passionate playmaker who tore his Achilles while running onto the field after a punt during the second quarter of Super Bowl LVIII, and who finally worked his way back Thursday night to try to help save San Francisco’s season.

He almost did, before his body betrayed him. The 27-year-old enforcer, one of the sport’s most criminally underappreciated stars, picked up where he left off in last February’s Super Bowl, before the farfetched injury that helped doom the Niners to defeat.

Had Greenlaw been rusty against the Rams, it would have made plenty of sense.

He wasn’t. Rather, he was the best player on the field.

Greenlaw had eight tackles, many of them prolific and sudden and violent, before leaving the game midway through the third quarter with knee tightness. At that point, Campbell was the next man up.

Campbell, however, did not exactly man up.

Apparently upset over losing his job to Greenlaw — hardly a shocking development to anyone in the 49ers’ locker room, or outside of it — Campbell, according to Shanahan and numerous players, declined to enter the game.

GO DEEPER

49ers’ De’Vondre Campbell refuses to play, quits TNF game in third quarter

“He said he didn’t want to play today,” Shanahan said. Campbell, who eventually was sent off the field and into the locker room — almost certainly never to return — was described as “selfish” by Ward and Kittle during postgame interviews.

“That was his plan,” Ward told me. “He had his mind made up. I mean, it’s crazy. He’s not a better player than Dre. You saw that today — (Greenlaw)’s the engine of our defense, the guy who starts everything for us. But you could see (Campbell’s decision not to play) coming for a while.”

The juxtaposition of Campbell quitting on his teammates with the resilience of players like Ward and rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was staggering.

Pearsall, shot through the chest during a robbery attempt shortly before the start of the season, missed six games before returning and making his NFL debut. Ward missed three games after his daughter, Amani Joy, died in October, shortly before her second birthday. (Amani Joy was born with Down syndrome and a heart defect that required surgery.)

After Thursday’s game, Ward opened up to me about the trauma he and his family have endured, doing his best to affirm his commitment to his teammates while acknowledging that football isn’t the preeminent force in his life right now.

“It’s been hard for me personally to go to work every day, every game — even to practice or go to meetings,” he admitted. “I almost left a couple of times. S—, I know fans probably hate me (for saying that), but f— it, it’s real life. It’s bigger than football. This is the hardest time of my life for sure.”

In that context, a football team’s lost season pales in comparison. Yet falling short still hurts. Players and coaches channel an extreme amount of energy, intensity and devotion for the cause, and when they don’t reach their goals, they grieve. And that’s especially true for the head coach.

In the coming weeks and months, Shanahan will have to be real with himself as he reckons with how it all went wrong, and how he and Lynch can try to make it right in 2025, and in the years that follow.

In the meantime, there are three games to play, none of which will likely matter. While noting that the 49ers are technically still in playoff contention, reaching the postseason would require a series of hugely improbable outcomes, and Shanahan acknowledged that the dream of finally winning a championship with this incarnation of his team is basically over. “They say mathematically we still have a chance,” he said. “I’m not too concerned with that right now. … I want to come back and play better football and challenge the character of our team.”

Clearly shaken, Shanahan almost looked as though he had seen a ghost — which, metaphorically, was kind of true. Across the sideline Thursday night was the coach’s former franchise quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, now a backup to the Rams’ Matthew Stafford. And, of course, there was McVay, a former Shanahan assistant who has since challenged him for coaching supremacy, capturing the Lombardi Trophy that has eluded Shanahan and, after bottoming out in 2022, deftly reshaping the Rams on the fly in each of the past two seasons.

Last Sunday, McVay schemed up an offensive outburst that fueled a 44-42 upset victory over the Bills and kept the Rams in hot pursuit of the Seahawks (8-5) in the division race. On Thursday, after L.A. cornerback Darious Williams picked off Purdy’s overthrown deep ball for Jauan Jennings in the end zone with 5:20 remaining, McVay and his players became the closers that Shanahan and his 49ers have struggled all season to be.

When the Rams took over at their own 20-yard line up 9-6 with 5:20 remaining, McVay had no intention of giving the ball back.

“That’s the responsibility I felt,” he said as he walked from the visitors’ locker room to the team bus late Thursday night. “Now, (the 49ers) have a say in that, too.”

Soon, the Rams silenced them. Thirteen plays, 69 yards and only two third downs later, Joshua Karty kicked his fourth field goal to make it a six-point game. Only 20 seconds remained, and the 49ers’ last, desperate gasp ended when Purdy was sacked by Christian Rozeboom at his own 44-yard line with no time remaining — in the game or, for all intents and purposes, the season. Or the era.

“This wasn’t an easy win,” McVay said. “Their defense was really, really good; they were flying around all night. And the elements made it really tough, especially in the first half. But this is a mentally tough team. I like our resilience. I like that we can win in different ways. I like what we’re made of.”

Those used to be sentiments that Shanahan, in all sincerity, could express about his team. In 2024, if he’s being honest, they no longer apply. Shanahan’s players and assistant coaches bear plenty of responsibility, but most of all, it’s on him.

In 2024, the 49ers weren’t good enough, and neither was he.

(Top photo: Kelley L Cox / Imagn Images)

Ruben Amorim has faced a range of clubs during his first six games as Manchester United head coach, from Arsenal in the Premier League to Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League.

Those six matches have brought positives, negatives and mixed results, but his opponents on Sunday, Manchester City, will pose a different challenge.

Pep Guardiola’s side go into the game at the Etihad looking a shadow of their dominant selves, winners of the past four Premier League titles, but derby days are different, even if Amorim is playing down its significance.

“I just want to improve the team so I cannot treat it like a normal derby,” he said on Thursday evening.

“It should be like two great teams fighting for the title, and it is not that in this moment. So it is just one more game with a very good opponent. Both teams are struggling in the moment so I hope in future I can feel that real feeling of a derby (that has title implications).”

While that is certainly true about the form and prospects of the two teams, it is still a game that means a little bit more.

To give United’s new head coach a taste of what to expect, The Athletic spoke to three United legends about what it’s like to play City away. From vomit to respect to moments they’ll treasure, this is what they had to say.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: ‘To beat Guardiola is a moment to cherish’

Solskjaer played more than 350 matches for United between 1996 and 2007 before later becoming manager between 2018 and 2021.

Here he speaks about losing at City’s former ground Main Road, scoring against his former United team-mate Peter Schmeichel and then winning three away derbies in a row as United manager.

“It’s not hostile at their place, not really. But it’s a proper rivalry. Sometimes it’s easier away from home against them. At Old Trafford, you have more of a responsibility to open up and try to dominate.

“It’s unusual to be the underdog with United because it certainly wasn’t like that when I played… though we did lose 3-1 at (City’s previous ground) Maine Road. I scored against Peter Schmeichel that day (lead image above) but I did not enjoy that one and Gary Neville did not have his best of games. Sir Alex dished it out afterwards, he was furious.

“But we were underdogs when I was manager. I’ve looked at our three consecutive wins there. We averaged 35 per cent possession but still beat them three times away. We did that with width and pace. Anto (Anthony Martial) was brilliant in those games. He had a lot of stick but in those matches, he dropped in to create spaces so it was harder for City to defend. He and Bruno Fernandes were very important in possession.

Martial after scoring against City in 2019 (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)

“They batter you in the beginning. Good possession, width. You expect an onslaught but in the 2021 game, we started well, scored and surprised them. We set up a team to stop them.

“City have dominated so many games against United so you are trying to do what you can so fans can hold their heads up high in work the next day. What I did — and what Erik ten Hag did in the 2024 FA Cup final — was set up a team to hurt them when they are out of balance.

“Guardiola was always respectful and I have huge respect for him, he’s an incredible manager. But for any manager to beat him, that’s a moment to cherish. And we did it three times on the bounce. We should’ve played away at City every weekend!

Solskjaer and Pep Guardiola on the touchline (Michael Regan/Getty Images)

“I joke, but the wins felt good. City and Liverpool are the two games for United fans — and they’re the worst when you lose. So I told my players to go out afterwards and enjoy it. They weren’t the types to go out around Manchester, maybe they’d go out in quieter areas. I didn’t go out after the games to celebrate, I had work to do.

“At the end of the game in 2019, I looked towards the away end. 3,000 hardcore fans. My kids were in there. They saw beer being thrown at the United section — at least it was the same colour as beer. The fans were singing, ‘Ole’s at the wheel’ at the end. ‘Tell me how good does it feel?’. I’ll tell you, it feels absolutely wonderful. It’s not a trophy, but it’s those days that you play and manage for.”

Andy Cole: ‘We’re back to those old days’

Cole played nearly 300 matches for United between 1994 and 2002 before later joining City for the 2005-06 season.

Here he discusses the importance of the derby to fans, how he was treated when he moved to City and why Amorim should just enjoy the day.

“City away with United. Love it. Almost always enjoyable, as was the build-up. But I’m talking about when City were at Maine Road. Our team coach would pass by all those terraced houses in Moss Side, a setting that gets the juices flowing. Some of their fans would be flicking the Vs and you’re thinking, ‘This is what it’s about’. If you can’t get yourself up for these games then you’re going to struggle.

“If you ask me what my highlights were, I’m going to give you a one-word answer: winning. I scored in one at Maine Road, but derbies are all about the result, regardless of the game. Win and all is good. Lose and it isn’t.

“But I also played for City against United in a derby. And won. Maybe some City fans were a bit iffy when I joined them because I’d been at United and I’ve never hidden my loyalty to this day. But I gave 100 per cent in every single game I played for City. I was professional, I had bills to pay.

“I played in a famous game in 2006 when we won 3-1. Didn’t score, did all right. Patrice Evra made his debut and Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off. I played with Darius Vassell, Stephen Ireland and Trevor Sinclair. Richard Dunne and Sylvain Distin were decent with Sun Jihai in defence. Top player technically, Sun. David James in net. You’re getting a decent ‘keeper with Jamo.

Cole playing against United for City in 2006 (Paul Barker/AFP via Getty Images)

“United fans were brilliant with me, even though I was with City. I’m just a lucky guy. I didn’t know what to expect and some of the other boys who played for both clubs got some stick, but it’s about how you conduct yourself. And I conducted myself well, with respect.

“If I was speaking to Ruben Amorim before this game, I’d say, ‘Enjoy it, it’s a great occasion. And an even greater day if you win’. You’re involved in the Manchester derby, it’s a privilege. The sad thing this season is that you have two teams not in the best of form. So we’re back to those old days, where you have no idea what is going to happen. A proper derby.”

Patrice Evra: ‘And then the vomiting started’

Evra made nearly 400 appearances for United between 2005 and 2014.

Here he speaks about his difficult debut in January 2006 and why it is important for Amorim’s players to show willing on Sunday.

“The kick-off was at 12 for my first United game, which was against City away. The noisy neighbours. I’d not played a game that early since I was a child. I saw Mikael Silvestre eating pasta at nine in the morning, so I joined him. And then the vomiting started. I thought that was the end of the day for me but it stopped. Now I know it was an allergy, but at the time, was I going to miss a debut like that? I didn’t mention it to anyone.

“It’s one of my clearest memories because it was a disaster and made me realise that I wasn’t ready for the Premier League. This wasn’t what we thought was going to happen. Even as a new player, I knew Sir Alex had a great record against City. But being at home made them confident,

“From the start, Trevor Sinclair kept running past me and leaving me on my ass. I was in shock. I’d played in the Champions League final and for France and there I was on my backside.

“City targeted me, the new boy, hitting long balls to Sinclair who ran straight at me. He scored and was involved in a second goal just before half-time.

Evra struggled on his debut against Sinclair and City (John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)

“I was taken off after Ferguson spent the break shouting at us and I couldn’t understand a word. He still got his message across. I have said before what he told me or how Carlos Queiroz translated it into French. ‘Evra! That’s enough! Now you can sit down, watch the game and start to learn to play English football in another game!’. When Queiroz told me I wasn’t going back on, I didn’t argue.

“Nemanja Vidic played his first game too. He stayed on the pitch. We lost 3-1. My agent Luca was there with his wife. It got worse because this was supposed to be a great moment for him. He came to see me at the hotel. I opened the door and he nearly cried when he saw me. Even his wife looked sad for me. I didn’t feel sad, I felt s***, empty, especially after the way Ferguson had talked to me.

“I hope Ruben Amorim has a better experience than I had. When I look at the game this weekend, I don’t know who will win, but I do know the fans will not forgive you if you don’t run, tackle or give your best. Even if you are losing, you have to never give up.

“United have had a bad season, but that was the same last season and United beat City in the FA Cup final.

“For Amorim, he beat City a few weeks ago (while in charge of Sporting CP in the Champions League) but now he’s at a different team. It will be tough, but I only want to see red shirts on the streets of Manchester on Monday.”

(Top photo: Gary M. Prior/Getty Images)

Dean Henderson is using his head in helping Crystal Palace return to form.

The England goalkeeper has been showcasing an unusual kind of save in recent months, stopping three goal-bound efforts with his face after rushing out to close down an attacker.

The first was against Pablo Sarabia during the 2-2 draw with Wolves on November 2; then, a week later, he denied Andreas Pereira even though Palace were eventually beaten 2-0 by Fulham. Most recently, and memorably, he repeated the trick against Erling Haaland in another 2-2 against champions Manchester City.

It may not be in the goalkeeping textbook but it has been effective.

And far from being a byproduct of Henderson’s technique going awry, Matt Pyzdrowski, a former professional goalkeeper and The Athletic’s goalkeeping analyst, says the opposite is true.

“It’s because he’s doing a lot of things right,” says Pyzdrowski. “When attackers are in breakaway situations and they’re free on goal, Henderson closes the space very quickly and he does a really good job of keeping his body square to the ball, including his head.

“Because he’s so good at closing the attacker down so quickly and keeping his body square, he stresses the attacker. So they feel like the only thing they can do is hit the ball as hard as they can past him. Because he keeps his head square and looks at the ball the entire time, he gets knocked in the head.

“There’s nothing wrong with this technique. If they try to coach it out of him, it has the potential to do more harm than good. This is a technique that’s taught in every single club for modern goalkeepers.

“This is a middle-ground technique where you don’t have time to really stand and react and you want to close the space as much as possible. It’s just unlucky that he’s got three in a row to his head. But it’s a credit to him because he closes the space so quickly, otherwise they would try to slide it past him with more finesse.”

Henderson had to be patient in waiting for his first-team chance at Palace after arriving from Manchester United, in a deal which could reach £20million, in August 2023.

Sam Johnstone was first-choice for most of last season, and Henderson’s inability to displace him inevitably brought scrutiny over the size of his transfer fee and whether the signing was a sensible use of Palace’s limited resources. The death of his father has been another bitter blow for Henderson to deal with.

But when Johnstone suffered an elbow injury in March, Henderson finally got his chance — which he gratefully took. He duly displaced his team-mate in the England squad for the summer’s European Championship (although he did not make an appearance) and Johnstone ended up being sold to Wolves in late August for £10m.

With each passing week, Henderson is looking more settled as Palace’s No 1, with these unusual ‘head saves’ earning precious points as they seek to climb away from the Premier League’s relegation zone.

So, how does he make them?

The most recent came in the seventh minute of that draw with City last Saturday. Palace, already leading 1-0, were faced with the daunting sight of back-to-back Premier League Golden Boot winner Haaland being one vs one with their goalkeeper. 

“He’s originally retreating to his line, right before the through ball is played,” says Pyzdrowski, having analysed the incident. “He wants to get in a position in case there’s a shot, but also where he can potentially impact the player if there’s a through ball, which is what ends up happening.

“As soon as the ball is played, he’s already on his toes. His body weight is forward and he doesn’t wait. He reacts directly. His head is down looking at the ball, and as soon as Haaland takes his touch and shoots, Henderson is already spreading. His arms and legs are wide.” 

Early in the second half at home to Fulham on November 9, a Palace side depleted by injuries were 1-0 down when Henderson’s heroics up against Pereira kept them in with a chance of taking a point.

“This one was a little different,” Pyzdrowski says. “But it’s similar in that it’s still a through ball and ends up splitting the defenders. As the attack is coming he’s retreating to his line, but he’s able to set a lot earlier (than with the Haaland save), and his defenders are in a little better position. He doesn’t need to rush out as quickly, but as soon as the touch comes in and the striker’s free on goal, he takes a few steps out.

“His limbs are wide, but he doesn’t need to spread in the same way. It’s almost that he gets himself between the ball and the net and takes it off the noggin again. It’s about him staying up as long as he can and just making his limbs as wide as possible.”

The save from Sarabia in the previous game is, Pyzdrowski believes, the best of the three.

With 48 minutes played, the match was goalless when Matheus Cunha played Sarabia in on the left with time and space to bear down on goal, only for Henderson to rush out, make himself big again and deny the Spanish midfielder.

“It’s more of a hybrid of the other two, because it’s similar to the one against City in that the ball is played in behind,” Pyzdrowski says. “But while against Haaland he goes right away, here he’s actually really patient.

“He has a really good neutral position in the centre of his goal. He sees that the ball goes through, but also sees a centre-back (Marc Guehi) coming over to chase the ball. Henderson is about three yards from his goal, Sarabia is just outside the box when the ball is played. So that’s 15 yards.

“For him to go out and spread right away would do more harm than good — he can’t close the space fast enough by the time Sarabia shoots. But once the striker takes his touch in front of him, that’s Henderson’s signal to go, because he receives the ball about at the penalty spot.

“By that point, Henderson had already taken a step or two, so he’s almost at the six-yard box. This is the maximum distance where the ’keeper would want to go out and spread. He throws his arms and legs wide and his head continues to look at the ball, and he takes the hit off his face.

The downside to Henderson making these unusual saves is the possible risk of head injuries.

Neither Henderson nor Palace have reported concerns about him taking these blows to the kisser so far, and the necessary precautions and checks will have been undertaken, but Pyzdrowski estimates that the ball is travelling at a speed “upwards of 100kph an hour” for these shots, which creates obvious dangers.

He foresees a situation in future where it would be “almost mandatory that goalkeepers have some type of rugby scrum cap on, given what we’re learning about concussion and prevention”.

For the time being, however, Palace will simply be grateful that Henderson is finding a way to keep these shots out.

(Top photo: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)