49ers’ season ends with ugly loss to Rams, but George Kittle sets NFL record

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LOS ANGELES — The 49ers had the type of year that couldn’t end soon enough.

So why was head coach Kyle Shanahan calling late-game timeouts with his four-win team trailing by 24 points in its regular-season finale Sunday?

Shanahan isn’t a masochist. Instead, he didn’t want the 49ers to get into their offseason until George Kittle got a record.

With the 49ers force-feeding Kittle in garbage time of a 48-32 loss to the Rams, Kittle set the NFL season record for yards by a tight end in style.

Kittle caught a short pass and outraced defenders for the final 41 yards en route to a 43-yard touchdown with just more than two minutes left. It allowed him to finish with 1,377 receiving yards, breaking the record of 1,336 established earlier in the afternoon by Kansas City’s Travis Kelce.

“I said, ‘Well, I’ll let (Kelce) have it for a little bit,’” Kittle said, “‘and then I’m going to take it.’”

Kittle’s score capped a nine-reception, 149-yard performance. And it led to an odd sight as jubilant teammates mobbed him in the end zone near the end of a blowout loss.

“We were all just so excited for him,” wide receiver Kendrick Bourne said. “The play he made just made it even better. He’s been doing that all year, so for him to finish it off like that with a long touchdown was icing on the cake.”

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle catches a pass against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half in an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 30, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle catches a pass against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half in an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 30, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press Image 1 of / 28 Caption Close 49ers’ season ends with ugly loss to Rams, but George Kittle sets NFL record 1 / 28 Back to Gallery

Trailing 48-17 with just less than 12 minutes left, the going-nowhere 49ers made it their mission to get it done for Kittle. Quarterback Nick Mullens targeted Kittle with six of his eight fourth-quarter passes, with Kittle catching five for 95 yards.

Kittle was constantly being double-covered, but that didn’t deter his quarterback.

“We’re like ‘All right … this guy deserves the record,’” Mullens said. “‘We’re throwing (him) the freakin’ ball.’”

Sunday’s game came three weeks after Kittle fell 5 yards short of breaking the NFL’s game record for yards by a tight end. He had 210 yards in a win over the Broncos, with none coming after halftime.

Shanahan apologized to Kittle after he was targeted with just one pass in the second half against Denver. And Shanahan ensured a similar story didn’t unfold Sunday: He called two timeouts when the Rams had the ball with less than three minutes left in an effort to get his offense back on the field.

Did Shanahan feel like he owed Kittle?

“A little bit,” Shanahan said, smiling. “He’s let me know about it. So has his mom. And dad. We tried to make it up to them.”

Kittle’s mom, Jan, and dad, Bruce, were among a host of family members at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sunday. Less than hour after she watched her son race into the end zone near where they were seated, Jan made it clear Shanahan was joking: She didn’t give the head coach an earful for her son falling short of the record against Denver.

“I wanted to — trust me,” she said, laughing, “but George would have been like ‘Mom!’”

As it turns out, the 49ers (4-12) set more records Sunday. The problem: The others are embarrassing.

The loss was a microcosm of a season in which they set a franchise record for worst turnover margin (minus-25) and set NFL records for fewest takeaways (seven) and interceptions (two) in a season.

On Sunday, they committed four turnovers in the first 18 minutes that led to 21 points. In their first seven plays, fullback Kyle Juszczyk lost a fumble and Mullens threw the first of his three interceptions.

The miscues led to touchdown drives of 7 and 13 yards, allowing the Rams (13-3) to have a 14-0 lead despite gaining just 19 yards.

“You turn the ball over like that and games get out of hand quick,” Mullens said. “I mean, we experienced that today.”

The game unofficially ended early in the second quarter with the 49ers’ fourth turnover: Mullens’ short throw intended for wideout Richie James was easily picked off by linebacker Cory Littleton, who wasn’t touched on a 19-yard return that gave Los Angeles a 21-3 lead.

If this sounds vaguely familiar, there’s a reason for that: The game mirrored the 49ers’ 39-10 loss to Los Angeles in October when they had four turnovers that led to 24 points.

“Starting (today’s) game off with four turnovers, the same way we did the last time,” Shanahan said, “it doesn’t give yourself much of a chance to win.”

Eric Branch is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ebranch@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Eric_Branch