After gaining 35-yards on a heads-up play by one of their most dynamic weapons on offense just two plays into the game, coach Shanahan dialed up the perfect play to award him for his efforts as quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo pitched the ball to Deebo who found the end zone from 6-yards out. Needing only six plays to march 76-yards down the field, the 49er offense had already looked leaps and bounds better than they did just a week earlier following their first possession. One player in particular who also looked a lot better would be Garoppolo who's been nursing a high-ankle sprain, but showed little to no ill-effects under the bright lights of Sunday Night Football. Following a trio of punts, the Niners offense would open the second quarter much like they did first, as Jimmy G found his Pro-Bowl tight-end George Kittle streaking to the end zone for a 44-yard score on fourth down. The Niners' second touchdown would awaken the Rams offense, at least momentarily as Jared Goff found his favorite target Robert Woods in the end zone for a touchdown on third and goal. After a blocked point-after by San Francisco's Dion Jordan, the 49ers found themselves leading 14-6 and wanting more with Los Angeles set to receive the ball to open the second half.
The 49ers would get their wish and answer the Rams' touchdown-scoring drive with one of their own. Thanks to a healthy dose of running back Raheem Mostert, coupled with a pair of big receptions by receiver Kendrick Bourne, the Niners once again found themselves in the red zone. With their backs against the wall, the Rams gave up a touchdown pass to rookie receiver Brandon Aiyuk on third and goal as San Francisco jumped out to a 21-6 lead which they would carry into the locker room at the half after forcing an L.A. three and out on the other end. Bouncing back from his forgetful performance just a week earlier, Jimmy Garoppolo became the first 49er QB with 200+ passing yards and 3+ touchdowns in a first half since Jeff Garcia in Week 14 of the 2003 season. However, Garoppolo and company would not be nearly as effective in the second half as they were kept out of the end zone the rest of the way. As for the Rams who were forced to play catch-up virtually all game long, L.A. did get a field goal to open the second half, but hit a major speedbump during their next trip to the red zone. Having been taken advantage of just one week earlier as the 49ers defense was without four of their top five cornerbacks in the secondary, Sunday night served as the coming out party for San Francisco's Jason Verrett.
Plagued by a myriad of injuries throughout his career after a very promising campaign during his second-year in 2015 which berthed a Pro Bowl appearance with the Chargers, the former first-round pick looked a lot like his Pro Bowl-self against the Rams. Deciding to go for it on 4th and goal from the 2-yardline, Verrett intercepted a pass from Goff to end the threat and force the game's only turnover. For Verrett, the pick would be a long time coming as it was his first interception since 2016 and just the sixth of his career. While the turnover did hit the reset button on the Rams' attempt at pulling off a second-half comeback, they would eventually inch closer with a long touchdown pass from Goff to Josh Reynolds in the 4th quarter, but not before a Robbie Gould field goal to give the Niners a 15-point advantage. With the ballgame coming down to the final possession, the Rams suddenly found themselves in a battle against the clock as San Francisco possessed the ball at the two-minute warning. Without a timeout remaining and needing a stop on defense, Deebo Samuel spoiled the party and provided the final blow with a strong 11-yard gain to convert the game-sealing first down which allowed his team to milk the clock for the win.
Improving to 3-3 on the year, Garoppolo is now 4-0 in his career against the Rams and has yet to lose two games in a row in his career. Rebounding from the ugly loss just a week ago which saw him benched in the second half due to his poor performance, Jimmy G has now gone 29 straight games to begin a career without consecutive losses, the fourth longest streak in NFL history behind Otto Graham (47), Dan Marino (33) and Andrew Luck (33). Garoppolo registered his best performance of the season by throwing for 268 yards, 3 touchdowns and no turnovers, compared to Goff's 198 yards, 2 touchdown and 1 interception performance. George Kittle led all targets with seven receptions and 109 receiving yards to go along with his touchdown. After sustaining an injury in the second half which ended Raheem Mostert's night at 65 rushing yards on 17 carries, the 49ers received some tough yardage from undrafted rookie running back JaMycal Hasty who tallied 37 fourth quarter yards on nine carries. The Rams' Darrell Henderson logged a solid 14 rush attempts for a game-high 88-yards on the ground.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the Niners' win, however, was how they were able to fend off the best defensive player in the league in Aaron Donald. If there was ever any one man in the NFL today that is capable of single-handedly dismantling a team's game plan on offense and required the undivided attention of an offensive-line, it would undoubtedly be the Rams' 2-time Defensive Player of the Year and 6-time Pro Bowler. With Donald coming off a four-sack outing in Week 5, the 49ers offensive-line which had struggled mightily as of late, was able to step up to the plate and keep the usual game-wrecker at bey in the 100th game of his career. Oddly enough, neither team recorded a single sack in the game.
Week 7 Preview - For the first time this season, the 49ers will hit the road to take on a team not in the New York-New Jersey area as San Francisco makes a stop in New England to take on the Patriots (2-3). The meeting will showcase Jimmy G taking on his former team for the first time since they traded him to the Bay Area a little less than 3 years ago. With future Hall of Famer Tom Brady playing elsewhere, the 49ers will duel with Cam Newton under center. Even more bizarre than seeing someone other than Brady playing quarterback for New England, the Patriots find themselves with a losing record through their first five games of a season for the first time since 2001 and are coming off an ugly loss at home to the Denver Broncos in which they didn't allow a single touchdown on defense. While Newton might not be what he once was in the passing game and also lacks weapons on offense, he's still as dangerous as any with his legs, something that is always a cause for concern for the 49er defense when facing mobile QB's. The Niners will also need to do a much better job of pressuring the quarterback than they did in Week 6. As great a coach as there's ever been, one 49er received some very high praise when the Patriots' focus was shifted from the Broncos to the Niners during Monday's press-conference. Pats head coach Bill Belichick had some good things to say about San Francisco tight-end George Kittle whom the future Hall of Fame coach called, "as good as anyone I've ever coached." That's some very elite company considering Belichick has coached some of the best the game has ever seen in Brady, Randy Moss and even one of the most dangerous tight-ends in Rob Gronkowski.
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