NFC West roundup: 49ers and Rams lose, Cardinals win in Week 15

The San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams lost their games in Week 15, and the Arizona Cardinals throttled the Cleveland Browns.

Week 15 was a great one for the Seattle Seahawks (11-3). They won their game against the Carolina Panthers (5-9) while the San Francisco 49ers (11-3) and Los Angeles Rams (8-6) lost their respective contests. The Arizona Cardinals (4-9-1) won their game, but they are already eliminated from postseason contention. Here are more in-depth summaries of how Seattle’s rivals did in Week 15.

Atlanta Falcons 29 – San Francisco 49ers 22

The 49ers suffered a stunning upset defeat at home against the Falcons on a last-second touchdown to Julio Jones. San Francisco started slow and it came back to bite the 49ers in the end. With the exception of tight end George Kittle, who finished with 13 catches for 134 yards, their receivers struggled to get open, combining for four receptions for 49 yards. Kittle himself had a costly fumble on a third-down catch on a screen pass that could have netted the 49ers a first down if he did not lose the ball before reaching the marker. Kittle recovered the ball and touched out of bounds one yard short of the sticks. San Francisco settled for a field goal to take a 22-17 lead, giving Atlanta the ball with 1:48 left.

The Falcons made their way down the field and Matt Ryan threw the aforementioned TD to Jones with two seconds left. The 49ers were missing several key pieces in their secondary in Richard Sherman, K’Waun Williams and Jaquiski Tartt, and it showed. Jones had a field day matching Kittle’s production but adding two TDs to his box score. Atlanta also scored a touchdown on San Francisco’s desperate final play, making the final score 29-22. The 49ers still control their own destiny, but the Seahawks take the NFC West lead for now.