Rams Reign Supreme in Blowout Win vs 49ers

Week 7 - Entering Week 7 against the unbeaten Los Angeles Rams, the San Francisco 49ers would have to steer clear of the turnovers that have cost them time and time again this season if they wanted to put a dent in L.A.'s unblemished record. Instead, those costly mistakes would not shy away from rearing their ugly head as the division rival Rams made quick work of their struggling foe. Not only did the Niners commit a total of six turnovers in all, but L.A. made sure to capitalize on them when given the chance, scoring 24-points off of San Francisco turnovers. As if the NFC's highest-scoring offense needed help scoring points. That alone would be enough to seal the fate of the 49ers who have now lost 13 straight games in the month of October, the longest active streak in the NFL during that month.

One of the major issues for San Francisco coming into the game has been ball security, having already suffered 15 fumbles this season and wasting no time to add to that number on their first drive on Sunday. After forcing a three and out on the Rams' opening-possession, the 49er offense would make it to midfield before the flurry of turnovers began as quarterback C.J. Beathard was hit from behind by a Rams defender who jarred the ball loose and caused the fumble. And though L.A. would only get a field goal out of it, they would be given a second chance to strike paydirt just two possessions later as running back Matt Breida was stripped of the ball by Aaron Donald on the first play of the drive. For Donald, the forced fumble would be the start of a busy day for the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year as he finished the game with a career-high four sacks on the afternoon and single-handedly out-sacked the 49er defense who only logged two sacks as a unit. The second forced fumble of the opening quarter by the Rams would also jump start a trio of touchdowns scored by running back Todd Gurley who coming off his first career 200 rushing yard performance a week ago against the Broncos, would fail to hit the century mark against the Niners but found other ways to be effective.

Things would go from bad to worse for San Francisco as the struggles on offense made their way to the special-teams as punter Bradley Pinion had a punt blocked into the end zone that the Niners were fortunate enough to only suffer a safety from as the ball rolled out of bounds. Greg Zuerlein's second field goal of the day coupled with a touchdown pass from Jared Goff to Brandin Cooks after a Beathard interception, ran the score to 22-0 before the Niners finally got on the board. Prior to scoring their one and only touchdown in the last few seconds of the first half, San Francisco's first five possessions on Sunday would look like this -- fumble, punt, fumble, safety and interception. A head coach's nightmare, especially when facing a division rival and the last undefeated team in the league. Tight-end George Kittle would be one of the lone bright spots on the day for the Niners as he finished the game with five catches for a game-high 98 yards and a 9-yard touchdown that helped stop the bleeding and make it a 22-7 game at the half. Though it would only be a two-score game at halftime which meant Kyle Shanahan's team was still very much in it, Sean McVay's Rams knew they were in a good position to keep their winning-streak alive as they're a perfect 13-0 dating back to last season when scoring 15+ points in the first half.

Things would be just as ugly to start the second half for the 49ers as a three and out and interception stung the offense that managed only a field goal in the third quarter before being blanked in the fourth. For Robbie Gould, the 51-yard field goal would be his seventh straight made field goal of 50 yards or more. Todd Gurley's third and final touchdown, this time on a pass from Goff, ran the score to a final of 39-10. With the win, the Rams improve to 7-0 for the first time since 1985. As for Gurley who rushed for 63-yards on 15 carries, last year's Offensive Player of the Year and rushing touchdowns leader became just the third player in NFL history with at least 14 touchdowns in his team's first seven games of a season, joining Priest Holmes and Jim Brown. For Goff, a Bay Area product out of Cal, the Rams QB logged a clean performance by completing 18 of 24 passes for 202 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the team he grew up rooting for. Beathard on the other hand threw for 170 yards and a touchdown to go along with a pair of picks on 15 of 27 passing.

While San Francisco has had no problem with committing the turnover, their inability to force the turnover has been well documented as the 49ers who were without their shutdown corner in Richard Sherman (calf), had a pair of would-be interceptions negated on drops. The first of which by safety Jaquiski Tartt who failed to come up with a gimme interception that went thru his hands and another by safety Adrian Colbert who had an interception ripped out of his hands by teammate Ahkello Witherspoon. Making matters worse, Colbert would be injured on the play and placed on IR with a high ankle sprain, adding to the laundry list of injuries the 49ers have already suffered this season. And then there's the lack of pressure put on the opposing quarterback as the 49ers logged only two sacks on Sunday compared to L.A.'s seven. All of which adding to the frustration that has been the 49ers' 2018 season and one of the many reasons this team is now 1-6 on the year.

Week 8 Preview - Hitting the road to take on the division rival (1-6) Cardinals in the desert, the 49ers will look to avenge their Week 5 loss at home and end their seven game losing-streak against Arizona who's only win of the season came at the hands of the 49ers. Coming off a 45-10 shellacking at home against the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football, Josh Rosen and the Cardinals will be well rested when they play host to a 49ers team that has now lost five straight. Arizona's rookie QB who threw three picks in the loss to Denver, will look to make it a perfect 2-0 against a San Francisco team that is very much in need of a bounce-back win. Though they're unlikely to turn things around and compete for a playoff spot this season given the way their has season started, the 49ers are in an ideal position to get a winning-streak going as they'll be facing teams with a combined record of 3-wins and 17-losses these next three weeks (Cardinals, Raiders and Giants). If Kyle Shanahan's team can duplicate the performance they had against Arizona in Week 5, minus the costly turnovers -- three fumbles and two interceptions, they should be able to revisit the win column for the first time since Week 2 and end their woes against the redbirds.


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