Instant analysis of 49ers’ loss to Titans: Garoppolo’s errant passes, defense’s woes costly

The 49ers blew a 10-0 halftime lead and lost to the Tennessee Titans 20-17 on a last-seconds field goal.

NASHVILLE — It didn’t take long Thursday night for Jimmy Garoppolo to throw away his and the 49ers’ upbeat holiday spirit.

That said, Garoppolo rallied from his mess. The 49ers defense did not.

After squandering a 10-0 halftime lead and eventually pulling even at 17, the 49ers caved to the AFC South-leading Tennessee Titans and lost 20-17 on a last-seconds field goal.

“We’re going to be fine,” defensive end Nick Bosa said quietly afterward. “We’ve been through a lot this year. We’ve had a lot of tough losses and we’re going to try and make this the last one.”

This hurts the 49ers’ egos more so than their playoff hopes. At 8-7, they remain in the NFC’s sixth of seven playoff spots.

But the 49ers lacked the efficiency that produced wins in five of their previous six games. Next up is a Jan. 2 home finale against the Houston Texans, then a Jan. 9 visit to the Los Angels Rams to close the regular season and perhaps determine those teams’ playoff seeding.

“We weren’t coming in overconfident,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “We were pretty real with where we’re at. We’re a confident team, I thought we’d come out strong and we did.

“You still have to play good enough on all three phases. We didn’t play good enough on third down, and committed two turnovers and they had zero.”

Garoppolo, channeling his December 2017 comeback success against the Titans, produced a game-tying touchdown pass to Brandon Aiyuk with 2:20 to spare. Deebo Samuel set that up with a 56-yard, catch-and-run to the 6-yard line.

The 49ers defense then allowed the Titans (10-5) to get into scoring range on quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s 23-yard scramble, setting up Randy Bullock’s 44-yard field goal with 4 seconds remaining.

Essentially, it boils down to either blaming Garoppolo for errant throws and two interceptions that prevented a 21-0 lead, or hammering the cornerbacks for proving no match to A.J. Brown (145 yards, fourth-quarter touchdown).

This being the 49ers, the quarterback is the fall guy, to which he said: “Good, bad or indifferent, I’m right here.” Garoppolo talked about not being on the same page with Aiuyuk and George Kittle, and seeing Kyle Juszczyzk break wide open at the 10 had Garoppolo “a little excited” on an ensuing overthrow.

The Titans had gone on a 17-0 run to take the lead, surging ahead with 13:02 remaining when A.J. Brown caught an 18-yard touchdown pass against Josh Norman. Earlier that drive, Brown pushed aside rookie cornerback Ambry Thomas for a 42-yard catch to end the third quarter, after an offside penalty on Arden Key allowed Tannehill to take a shot on a “completely inexcusable” play, Shanahan said.

Those were part of Tennesse’s 9-of-16 effort on third-down conversions, seizing on soft coverage and on Brown’s 145-yard return from injured reserve.

The Titans pulled even at 10 by converting their second interception of Garoppolo into a 3-yard touchdown run by D’Onta Foreman. Garoppolo’s first half also came with bad throws, from an end zone interception to foil the 49ers’ second series (and first shot at a 14-0 lead) to an overthrow of an open Kyle Juszczyk at the Titans’ 10, as well as a near-interception on the next series.

“We should have been up more. We should have gotten three scores and were only up 10-0,” Shanahan said of the 49ers recording a first-half shutout for the first time since the 2019 season’s NFC Championship Game. “The defense did great except for third down.”

Garoppolo had gone 84 consecutive passes since last throwing an interception, when he was guilty of two in a Dec. 2 loss at Seattle. Not once did it look like he might be benched in favor of rookie Trey Lance, who hasn’t thrown a pass since his Nov. 7 starting debut.

Garoppolo finished 25-of-34 for 306 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

The 49ers’ biggest injury concern out of this game is another one to linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, who left with a knee issue. Nose tackle D.J. Jones returned from an ankle injury and Samuel had the wind knocked out of him when he landed on the ball on his 56-yard catch.

That Samuel catch nearly saved the 49ers’ Christmas, or at least it ignited their fourth-quarter rally.

Garoppolo again targeted Samuel on the desperation finale as the seconds expired on the loss. Laterals ensued. There would be no miracle. Instead, the play is recorded as such:

(:04) (Shotgun) J.Garoppolo pass short left to D.Samuel to SF 41 for 16 yards. FUMBLES, recovered by SF-B.Aiyuk at SF 41. B.Aiyuk to SF 37 for -4 yards. Lateral to J.Garoppolo to SF 37 for no gain. Lateral to G.Kittle to SF 43 for 6 yards. Lateral to B.Aiyuk to SF 33 for -10 yards (J.Brown)

Shanahan’s ensuing locker room speech: “I told them a lot things I was proud of. Thought we’d come out ready to go, you could feel it, and we did. We made a ton of plays, guys played very hard and left all out there, but that doesn’t guarantee you anything. When you want to win and dictate, you can’t give them anything.”

How is the 49ers’ confidence level now? “It’s damn high,” George Kittle said. “I really believe in this team and we have playmakers all over the field. I don’t want to say it’s a blessing in disguise but our backs are against the wall and we have to win.”