The fourth-quarter bomb hung within the air so lengthy, and Jaquiski Tartt was so in place to catch it that it appeared just like the San Francisco 49ers security may have referred to as for a good catch earlier than making a game-changing interception within the fourth quarter of Sunday’s NFC championship sport towards the Rams.
“I see it, and I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, he f— up, and we about to win this sport,’” Tartt mentioned of the Matthew Stafford move that got here his approach with 10 minutes left to play. “I had my fingers up. I had it …”
Till he didn’t.
An extended, first-down move supposed for Rams receiver Van Jefferson went on to Tartt. There was no participant inside a number of ft of the defensive again, however the ball hit Tartt’s fingers on the San Francisco 35-yard line and dropped to the SoFi Stadium turf.
As a substitute of an interception that will have given the 49ers the ball and an opportunity to increase a three-point lead, the Rams remained in possession and drove deep sufficient into San Francisco territory for Matt Homosexual to kick a game-tying, 40-yard discipline objective.
The 49ers offense and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo then imploded on their remaining two possessions, and Homosexual kicked a 30-yard discipline objective with lower than two minutes left to provide the Rams a 20-17 victory and a berth within the Tremendous Bowl towards the Cincinnati Bengals.
“I don’t understand how I dropped it,” Tartt mentioned of his close to decide.
“I didn’t drop a ball in follow all week. I caught every thing that got here my approach. There ain’t an excessive amount of you are able to do to follow a second like that. The one time you get that second is whenever you get it, and for me it was a second of fact, and I didn’t step up.”
Stafford adopted his close to disastrous move with a 29-yard strike down the left sideline to Odell Beckham Jr., and an pointless roughness penalty by Jimmie Ward tacked 15 yards on to the play.
A 16-yard move on a tunnel display to Cooper Kupp on third and 10 put Homosexual in place for the sphere objective that made it 17-17 with 6 minutes 49 seconds left.
“Is it disappointing? Certain, I do know he in all probability feels horrible,” 49ers tight finish George Kittle mentioned of Tartt. “It’s soccer. Stuff occurs. The following play is a 30-yard acquire with a 15-yard penalty. That’s fairly the swing proper there.”
About half-hour after the sport, Tartt, a seventh-year professional out of Samford College, took to Twitter to say there are “no excuses,” and that he “deserves all of the criticism” that comes his approach.
“It’s powerful, nevertheless it’s a second that a variety of athletes I do know dream of — tie ballgame, you may make that game-changing play,” Tartt mentioned within the interview room. “For me, that’s one thing I used to be occupied with all week.
“I do know I could make that play. The play got here up, and I didn’t make it, and I do know that was a giant play within the sport, a giant alternative for me, and the crew. As a participant, I really feel like I let my brothers down. That’s a play I ought to make in my sleep and I didn’t make it.”
Tartt wasn’t the one 49ers participant to return up small within the fourth quarter. Garoppolo spent the primary 53 minutes of Sunday’s sport taking a sledgehammer to his repute as a playoff underachiever and the final seven minutes pouring extra gasoline onto the narrative.
Garoppolo was 4-1 as a playoff starter since 2019, however the 49ers appeared to win despite him, not due to him. He had a 63.0 quarterback score and averaged 146 yards passing, with two touchdowns and 5 interceptions, in these video games.
However Garoppolo was on level for 3½ quarters Sunday, finishing 15 of 24 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns, together with a brief display move that Deebo Samuel was a 44-yard landing to make it 7-7 within the second quarter and a 16-yard scoring strike to Kittle that gave San Francisco a 17-7 lead within the third.
Even after the Rams tied the rating at 17, the 49ers had the ball at their 25-yard line with 6:49 left.
Garoppolo’s first-down move was incomplete. A delay-of-game penalty made it second and 15. Garoppolo’s display move to Brandon Aiyuk was almost intercepted by Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey. His third-down move to Travis Benjamin was low and incomplete, and the 49ers punted.
San Francisco nonetheless had time after Homosexual’s discipline objective made it 20-17, beginning at its personal 25 with 1:46 left.
Garoppolo’s first-down move was batted down by Rams lineman Greg Gaines. His second-down move to Jauan Jennings misplaced two yards.
Beneath strain on third and 12, Garoppolo, with Rams lineman Aaron Donald draped round his waist, flipped a desperation back-hand toss that went off JaMycal Hasty’s fingertips and into the arms of Rams linebacker Travin Howard for a game-sealing interception with 1:09 left.
“Just a few unhealthy execution,” Garoppolo mentioned of the ultimate two drives, which very effectively may very well be the final two possessions of his 49ers profession. “It simply didn’t work out the best way we wished it to. There’s 1,000,000 issues [that went wrong]. I received’t get into all of them, nevertheless it was a tricky strategy to finish it.”
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