The San Francisco 49ers lost in the NFC Championship Game for a second straight season, and unlike last year’s defeat at Los Angeles that came down to a fourth-quarter collapse, this one looked doomed from the start and will cast quite a dark cloud for the offseason.
Brock Purdy, the once-unbeaten rookie phenom, injured his throwing elbow on the 49ers’ opening possession of what became a 31-7 disaster. Purdy didn’t re-enter the game until the third quarter. Even then, it was only because his backup...