The San Francisco 49ers (4-1) beat the Los Angeles Rams (3-2) by a final score of 26-23 on Thursday Night Football when Kyren Williams was stopped on a fourth and short in overtime, but before that sequence, Williams fumbled on the goal line to give SF life, instead of scoring what could’ve functionally been a game winning touchdown.
The Rams played a horrible game, and still had a chance to win, but they played a horrible game and they got the outcome that usually happens when you play a horrible a game. A loss.
It was a statement win for SF who came into this game missing multiple starters on both sides of the ball. In fact, the 49ers were so beat up that the Rams were favored in this game, but Sean McVay and his team laid an egg instead of taking advantage of what could’ve been an early season gift.
The Rams came out flat the first quarter and there is no way around it. Whether San Fran was fired up from being the away team with the home crowd, or inspired to play for the guys who couldn’t be on the field, they looked like they wanted it more.
Mac Jones didn’t miss a throw on the 49ers opening drive, and he got SF to a 7-0 lead after throwing a wide-open strike to the endzone.
On L.A.’s opening drive, Matthew Stafford missed a throw to Tutu Atwell (or maybe Atwell was in the wrong spot?), but the Rams found themselves punting the ball back to SF, and before L.A. had a second offensive possession, SF led 14-0 as they completely punched the Rams in the mouth.
On their third possession, the Rams situation went from tough to desperate as Blake Corum fumbled on a toss play in scoring territory, but the Rams did bounce back by holding the score to 14-0, giving the offense a chance to get back in the game.
Stafford responded by putting together another strong drive, this time ending with a Kyren Williams receiving score to make the score 14-7.
The 49ers ended up taking a 17-7 lead right before the half as they continued to maintain control of the game.
It didn’t happen right away, but the Rams did scratch and claw their way back into the contest, and were able to tie the game at 20-20 after two more passing touchdowns by Stafford.
Keep in mind the Rams missed a field goal and had an extra point blocked, so whereas the Rams could’ve been up 24-20 in the fourth quarter, they were instead tied.
The Rams played a sloppy game throughout and yet, they still found themselves with a legitimate chance to win.
After a defensive stop by the Rams, L.A. had an opportunity to take the lead, but on a fourth and short, McVay opted to punt instead of going for it (keep that in mind), and in turn, SF chewed up clock and kicked a go-ahead field goal to get the score 23-20 leaving Stafford with just under 3-minutes to make something happen.
Stafford did his part, he drove the Rams down the field, and then Williams fumbled at the one-yard mark right as he was about to cross the goal line.
The Rams defense then was able to force the ball back to the offense as the Rams had a chance to tie the game, and Joshua Karty delivered to knot the game at 23-23 after Stafford was able to do just enough to get the team in range.
Karty didn’t have a great day, but he may have saved his job with that kick.
The game went into overtime and the 49ers put up a field goal, but the Rams once again had a legitimate chance to win this game if they could score a touchdown.
They didn’t. Williams was stopped on fourth and short in the redzone (should McVay have kicked it?) and the Rams lost.
Final Score:
49ers 26, Rams 23
Stafford and McVay looked stunned as the 49ers swarmed the field.
This was a brutal loss for the Rams, a great win for the 49ers and now the Rams have more question marks than answers going into Week 6 than they did going into Week 5. It’s going to be a long week for McVay and his Rams before they take the field again.
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