The Rams pulled off an improbable comeback win against the 49ers on Sunday by scoring 13 straight points after going down by 10 points early in the fourth quarter.
Among the reasons they were able to pull off that turnaround was a drop by 49ers wide receiver Ronnie Bell. Bell got open on a double move with just over a minute to play in a tie game and Brock Purdy delivered a pass that would have put the 49ers into field goal position. The ball clanked off of Bell, however, and the Rams were able to force a punt that led to their game-winning field goal.
It’s not Bell’s first drop, but Purdy said the team isn’t going to lose faith in him.
“He’s a young guy. I love him, man,” Purdy said, via a transcript from the Rams. “And we all got Ronnie’s back, so we’re going to continue to need him and build him up and we’re all in this together, man. It’s a team sport, man. So it’s not one player, one play here. It’s all of them all put together.”
The 49ers missed a field goal, failed to come up with defensive stops, and gave up a big punt return after Bell’s drop, so Purdy’s not wrong about it being more than one play that led to their second straight loss. The Bell play was a big one, though, and the 49ers would love to have it back.