The San Francisco 49ers were outlasted by the Los Angeles Rams in a heartbreaking 20-17 defeat in the NFC Championship Game. Kyle Shanahan's squad stood tall for three quarters by building up a 17-7 lead, but the 49ers eventually relinquished their lead as they ran out of gas in the final frame.

After the tough loss, the 49ers will now go back to the drawing board with a crucial offseason looming on the horizon. The front office is expected to make moves and retool their roster in order to ensure that they can become consistent playoff contenders moving forward.

With that said, let's take a look at four takeaways from the 49ers' loss to the Rams in the NFC Championship Game.

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San Francisco 49ers NFC Championship Game Takeaways

4. The running game flopped

Throughout the season, the 49ers relied heavily on a strong running game led by Elijah Mitchell and Deebo Samuel. Their game plan on the ground didn't exactly work against the Rams, with San Francisco managing just 50 rushing yards on 20 attempts.

Samuel only got seven carries and wound up with 26 yards on the ground, while Mitchell had just 20 yards on 11 carries. With the 49ers unable to get anything going on the ground, this put more pressure on Jimmy Garoppolo to make plays with his arm. More on that later.

Ultimately, the Rams' strong defensive line, led by superstar Aaron Donald, did a great job controlling the line of scrimmage and not allowing San Francisco to establish the running game. One of the 49ers' key strengths failed when they needed it most.

3. San Francisco's defense didn't do enough

On the other side of the ball, the 49ers' defensive unit also didn't perform its best. Usually, Nick Bosa and company terrorize opposing QBs. While Bosa racked up 1.5 sacks on the day, San Francisco only had two sacks total and didn't do nearly enough to slow down Matthew Stafford and the Rams' potent passing attack.

Stafford threw for 337 yards, with Cooper Kupp leading the way with 142 receiving yards and Odell Beckham Jr. adding 113. While the 49ers did an admirable job holding the Rams to 20 points, they failed to hold the line late in the game.

It certainly didn't help that Jaquiski Tartt dropped an easy interception in the fourth quarter that could have helped seal a win. This loss is going to sting for a while because of that missed opportunity.

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2. Despite the outcome, Deebo Samuel still exerted his best effort

There is no doubt that Deebo Samuel was Mr. Everything for the 49ers this season. While Samuel wasn't able to maximize his capabilities on the ground and was quiet in the fourth quarter against the Rams, he still finished with 72 receiving yards on four catches and a long TD along with those 26 rushing yards.

Though it wasn't his best performance, one still can't deny the heart he showed on the field in a bid to power his team to a Super Bowl appearance this season. Seeing a better outing from his QB could have helped Samuel's cause to be more productive in crunch time, but the 49ers' main weapon unfortunately just didn't see the ball much down the stretch.

1. Jimmy Garoppolo started strong but fell apart when his team needed him the most

For most of the game, 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo did a solid job under center. However, the momentum changed when the Rams started making big plays and ended up with a 13-point scoring outburst in the fourth quarter.

Garoppolo looked awful in the final frame while getting pressured by the Rams' defense. Due to his inability to make plays under pressure, the 49ers eventually ran out of time and completely relinquished their lead en route to a season-ending loss on Sunday night.

Jimmy G ended the game with 232 yards on 16-of-30 passing to go with two touchdowns and an interception, the latter of which occurred on San Francisco's final possession of the game. The final two 49ers drives were pure chaos, with Garoppolo unable to get things under control in order to secure a win.

While Garoppolo deserves plenty of credit for battling through injuries in the playoffs, the inconsistent play he showed is a big reason why the franchise traded so much to get Trey Lance in the 2021 NFL Draft. There's a very good chance Garoppolo's ugly interception to finish out the NFC Championship Game will be his last pass as a 49er.