(By Daisy Barringer)

Thanksgiving, age six: My mother told me that if I didn't behave she would send me to boarding school. Thanksgiving, age thirteen: My mother left me behind at Baker Beach. (I had wandered into the dunes; she couldn't find me, but she didn't want her turkey to dry out. Alas, the turkey won.) Oh, and there was that Thanksgiving I spent locked up in reform school, the Thanksgiving where I ate Kraft macaroni in cheese alone in my NYU dorm room, and the Thanksgiving where an ex-boyfriend passed out and peed on the couch.

Those terrible turkey days of yore don't compare to yesterday. While I can handle a crazy mother, Mormon disciplinarians and urine stains, I cannot handle a soul-obliterating 49ers loss.

My beloved 49ers. They ruined Thanksgiving.

What happened with the 16-6 loss to the Ravens, exactly? Long story short: Our offensive line blew it. The Ravens defense limited SF to a season-low 170-yards. Also, they sacked Alex Smith nine times, tying the franchise record. And they did all of this without linebacker Ray Lewis. (Can you imagine the bloodbath that would have occurred had he been on the field?)

The fact that right guard Adam Synder suffered a hamstring strain in the second quarter hurt us. (Why does Rachal, his replacement, even have a spot on the team? He’s terrible.) However, it wasn't just the fact that Snyder was out. The entire offensive line could not adjust to the Ravens' pass rush. As a result, Smith ate crow all day. (Does that even work? Is a raven a crow? I could Google it, certainly, but I can barely see through this crippling hangover and the many, many tears.)

I'm also going to take this opportunity to complain about the refs. The chop block call that negated a 75-yard touchdown pass to Ted Ginn? The pass interference call on Tarell Brown's awesome interception? Shut your whore mouths, you stupid refs and LET THEM PLAY FOOTBALL. Seriously, if those two calls went the other way, victory could have been ours. Maybe. Also, I don't care that the refs miscalled an illegal block in the back on the Ravens during a punt return, because that's a ten-yard penalty... not the difference of seven points or a turnover. SO THERE.

Finally, the last thing that really bugged me was how conservative our game plan was. I get it. We play conservatively and it usually works for us. But when it’s NOT working? Time to change things up. (By the second half, it was probably too late since Smith just didn’t have the time to pass, but… STILL.)

At some point in the second quarter, it was 3rd and 17, and we were on our own 20 or 25 yard line (details are fuzzy—shocking!). So what did we do? We ran the ball. I protested this call loudly at the bar where we were watching because, I mean, ugh. I get it: you don’t want to throw an interception, but you are also apparently totally okay with just giving the ball back to the Ravens. Either you play to WIN or you play to NOT LOSE. Yesterday, the 49ers were doing the latter. (We ran the ball on 3rd-and-long again later in the game when we were on the Ravens’ 40-yard-line. That makes no sense to me either way you spin it.)

Luckily, there was a super smart, mansplaining football dude that I met while watching the game at my favorite sports bar. He made an effort to convince me that I was a silly, non-football-understanding girl. For example, explaining to me how football works, adding condescending gems like, "And, just so you know, we have a really good punter."

No kidding, bro.

He also went on to explain that Akers was good, that three points are better than none, and on and on. Ugh.

Anyway. The 49ers lost. It was a huge bummer. Obviously. But I get it: we’re still 9-2. Our schedule is a breeze from here on out (save for the Monday night game against the Steelers.) But the way we played yesterday? Even if we go 13-3, which I think we easily could, it still makes me wonder how far we’ll go in the playoffs. Yes, we had to travel across three time zones on a short week. And yes, the refs were bad. And yes, there were some injuries on the offensive line.

However, Thursday's loss provided a kick in the ass the Niners need to finish strong. But still, the game left me feeling a bit blah. Give me some time; I'm sure I'll come around by tomorrow. As for today, I shall sit in my pajamas, nurse my hangover, and pout. Hrumph.

Prediction for Sunday, December 4th against the Rams: Come on. We all know what's going to happen, yes?

Also, if you enjoy reading these posts, you should totally follow me on Twitter. My profanity and outrage during football games is both crass and crude. You won't regret it.