Colin Kaepernick says his last play in the 49ers’ loss to the Rams on Sunday should have been ruled a touchdown, not a fumble.
With seconds remaining and the 49ers trailing 13-10, Kaepernick tried to score a touchdown on a quarterback sneak. But the ball came loose, and when the officials unpiled the players, Rams linebacker James Laurinaitis was holding the ball. The ruling on the field was a fumble recovered by the Rams, and no replays definitively showed whether the ball crossed the goal line before Kaepernick lost it.
“I know I crossed the line,” Kaepernick said, via CSNBayArea.com. “Yeah, I did bobble the snap, but regardless.”
Kaepernick added that he’s sure he was across the goal line because “I was looking in the end zone” and he saw that he had the ball over the line before he lost control. Kaepernick acknowledged, however, that if he had played better in the first 59 minutes of the game, the 49ers wouldn’t have been in a position where they needed a call to go their way in the final minute.
“That’s why I’m here, to make plays regardless of the situation,” Kaepernick said. “I have to be better back there. I’m here to make plays. I can make people miss. That’s part of my job.”
Sunday’s loss dropped the 49ers to 4-4 on the season, and put them in big trouble in the playoff race. If the 49ers miss the postseason this year, they may look back at that last-second fumble against the Rams as the play that turned their season into a major disappointment.