49ers Romp Rams to Finish 2017 Strong

Week 17 - Playing their last bit of football until the 2018 season, the (5-10) San Francisco 49ers would pay a visit to Los Angeles to take on the (11-4) Rams in the 2017 regular season finale. In what would be the 137th all-time meeting between the two, the New Years eve match-up would provide only a small taste of what should be a revival of the long standing rivalry for many years to come. With a young core of players and coaches alike, the 49ers and Rams have brewing what could be one of the better rivalries in all of football for 2018 and beyond. For Los Angeles who's already equipped to fit that bill, all they'll need is for San Francisco to hold their end of the bargain. Having solidified themselves as the top team in the NFC West thanks to the tutelage of first year head coach Sean McVay, the newly crowned Los Angeles Rams have the pieces in place to be a force out west for quite some time. As for the rebuilding 49ers, rookie head coach Kyle Shanahan has to also like his chances moving forward now that he finally has a quarterback in place that fits his complex system.

A week after clinching their first NFC West division title since 2003 and earning their first playoff appearance since 2004, the Rams would have little to prove on Sunday as McVay elected to sit a majority of his starters in preparation for next week's Wild Card meeting with the Atlanta Falcons. But no matter who the Rams threw out there, Jimmy Garoppolo and the suddenly streaking 49ers were on a mission to continue their winning ways by closing the regular season strong. Entering Sunday's game with an NFL-best four game winning-streak, Garoppolo and company would march down the field on each of their first two possessions. A week after scoring their first 1st quarter touchdown of the season which snapped a streak of 13 consecutive games without one, the 49ers repeated the feat as receiver Marquise Goodwin hauled in a pass from Garoppolo and ran into the end zone untouched to give his team an early 10-0 lead. Equally as impressive would be the San Francisco defense who forced back to back three and outs on each of the Rams' first two possessions as backup QB Sean Mannion had a rough outing in his first career start. And while his counterpart would start off hot, Jimmy G. would have his fair share of woes as well.

Facing their largest first quarter deficit this season since a Week 14 shootout with the Philadelphia Eagles, a pair of Sam Ficken field goals would be all the Los Angeles offense would have to show for in the first half, capitalizing on two Jimmy Garoppolo interceptions. Rookie cornerback Kevin Peterson would make the most of his first career start, getting the best of Garoppolo both times by picking the 49ers QB off for the first two interceptions of his career. San Francisco on the other hand, would take a 20-6 lead into the half following the second field goal of the day by Robbie Gould and the first of two touchdowns by running back Carlos Hyde. The Niners would watch their lead climb to 34-6 following Hyde's second rushing touchdown as well as a 12-yard passing touchdown from Garoppolo to a wide-open Aldrick Robinson on the first play of the fourth quarter. Though it would take the Rams until the fourth quarter to pay a visit to the end zone, Lance Dunbar would cap a 15-play drive with an 8-yard touchdown to make it a final score of 34-13.

Rushing for 88 yards in the win, Carlos Hyde who had not recorded a lost fumble all season long, would be stripped of the ball and charged with his first lost fumble of the season with just over four minutes remaining in regulation, putting a dent in his unblemished 2017 resume. The two turnovers forced by the Niner defense on Sunday would come in the form of fumbles as Cassius Marsh and Ahkello Witherspoon forced fumbles on Sean Mannion and Gerald Everett, respectively. A scary moment in the game would come midway through the second quarter when 49ers receiver Marquise Goodwin took a blow to the head after being struck by Blake Countess, forcing him to leave the game as he was carted off the field and treated for a concussion. Goodwin who's been Garoppolo's most trusted receiver since his arrival, would fall just 38 yards shy of the century mark on the year, finishing with a career-high 962 receiving yards, surpassing the total he had compiled over his previous four seasons combined. Goodwin also finished the season with an average of 17.2 yards per reception, the fourth most in the NFL.

With the win on Sunday, the 49ers closed out the season with an overall record of 6-10 and riding the best standing winning-streak in the league, this following the dreadful 0-9 start that had many pundits questioning whether or not the Niners would ever touch the win column in 2017. The Niners also remained undefeated in games in which Garoppolo started as he became just the 6th QB in NFL history to win his first 7 career starts. With Goodwin departing in the first half due to injury, Garoppolo's go-to target would be rookie tight-end George Kittle who hauled in four passes for a career-high 100 yards. Garoppolo would finish with 292 yards, two touchdowns and 2 interceptions on the afternoon compared to Mannion's 169 yards. Robbie Gould who entered Sunday having made 20 consecutive field goals, added another pair to his streak, finishing his solid first year as a 49er with 39 made field goals in 41 tries. Focusing on 2018, the Niners will look to continue their winning ways as the duo of Shanahan and Garoppolo hope to see similar results since Garoppolo's arrival, the only difference is they plan to do so while playing meaningful football.

As for the Rams who finished the season with an overall record of 11-5, coach Sean McVay who's name will be in the hat for NFL Coach of the Year honors, witnessed a +7 win improvement from his team in his first year at the helm and will only look to improve on that mark moving forward. Already known for having a stout defense, McVay also did wonders for the Rams offense in 2017 which rebounded from being the worst offense in the league to being the No. 1 offense in all of football. Second-year quarterback Jared Goff who was taken first overall out of Cal a season ago, adapted quite well to McVay's system and resembled the franchise quarterback Rams brass were expecting when they selected him first overall. And then there's running back Todd Gurley III who led the league in rushing touchdowns (13) and could very well become the first non-quarterback to win the MVP Award since Adrian Peterson in 2012. With both Goff and Gurley getting some much needed rest in time for their Wild Card match-up versus the defending NFC Champion Falcons on Saturday, the Rams will look to move one step closer to their ultimate goal of bringing a Lombardi Trophy back to southern California.

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