There were a lot of questionable decisions made by both the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers in Sunday’s NFC title game, but none bigger than Kyle Shanahan’s call to punt with about 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. The 49ers had fourth-and-2 from the Rams’ 45-yard line, but rather than going for it, they tried to draw the defense offsides, which didn’t work.
After taking the 5-yard penalty, Shanahan sent out the punting unit and Mitch Wishnowsky booted it to the Rams’ 15-yard line. At the time, the 49ers were up 17-14, but they never scored another point – and they never even ran another play that gained positive yardage.
Sean McVay was asked if he uses decisions like that by other teams as a learning experience, which he admitted he does. But he wouldn’t have done anything differently than Shanahan. He would’ve punted it away, too.
