49ers Win Thursday Night Thriller over Rams behind Pair of Defensive Rookies

Week 5 - After dropping both games to the rival (3-1) Los Angeles Rams a season ago, the (3-1) San Francisco 49ers were dubbed the little brother to their southern California counterparts by L.A. running back Kyren Williams. Referencing a changing of the guard after the Niners had enjoyed a dominant run in recent years over the Rams in their historic rivalry with nine straight regular season wins dating back to 2019, the Rams had suddenly found themselves winners of three straight head-to-head meetings for the first time since 1999 to 2001. With a myriad of injuries up and down the roster for the Niners and only four days removed from their first loss of the season in Week 4, San Francisco made the trip to L.A. and opened up as 8.5 point underdogs. While not exactly a surprise to some given the Rams' hot start and San Francisco's ever expanding injury list, Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan expressed to his team before kickoff that the game's high spread had pissed him off as echoed at the podium in quarterback Mac Jones' postgame presser. Not to mention homefield advantage was hardly a factor as the 49er faithful would paint the town red once again as L.A.'s SoFi Stadium, appropriately nicknamed Levi's South, resembled a 49ers home game as red and gold was adorned throughout. 

Making the start at QB for a third time this season after a brief return from Brock Purdy who would miss his third game in four weeks due to a toe injury, backup Mac Jones filled in quite nicely once again despite having his thinnest options at wide receiver yet. With a banged up receiving corps that was missing Jauan Jennings (ankle, ribs) and Ricky Pearsall (knee) who were just the latest additions to the injury list, as well as Brandon Aiyuk (knee), Jacob Cowing (hamstring), Jordan Wakins (calf) and All-Pro tight-end George Kittle (hamstring), the 49ers would look to Kendrick Bourne who had only joined the team three weeks ago via free-agency and Demarcus Robinson who barely made his season debut with the team a week ago after serving a 3-game suspension to start the season. While Robinson didn't quite have the revenge game many including myself thought he would against his former team of the past two years, Bourne on the other hand turned back the clock and registered a career night with 10 receptions and 142 receiving yards. With San Francisco being the only team in the NFL ranked in the top 5 in total offense and total defense this season, they would flex both of those muscles in the first half on Thursday. 

Coming out guns blazing on both sides of the ball to open the game, the 49ers were absolutely dominant in the opening quarter, highlighted by an opening-drive touchdown that spanned 87-yards over 12-plays, capped off by a touchdown pass from Jones to backup tight-end Jake Tonges who again answered the call while filling in for the injured Kittle. After forcing a punt on L.A.'s first possession of the game, Kyle Shanahan's offense embarked on an even longer drive of 76-yards on 19-plays, eating up over 8-minutes in time of possession. Again, ending the drive with a touchdown, Jones threw a dart to running back Christian McCaffrey who scored from a yard out to give his team a 14-0 lead. Just when the Rams began to finally show some life on offense, the 49ers pounced on a fumbled pitch from L.A.'s quarterback Matt Stafford. The Rams would finally find the end zone before the half with a touchdown reception from Kyren Williams, but San Francisco would manage to add to their lead before halftime with an Eddy Pineiro field goal, making it 17-7 at the half. 

Opening the second half with the ball, the Rams would have an early opportunity to put a dent into San Francisco's lead, but their kicking woes would once again haunt them. Prior to Thursday night, the only loss suffered by the Rams this season came at the hands of the kicking team as kicker Joshua Karty had his potential game-winning field goal attempt blocked and returned by the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles in Week 3. Against the Niners, Karty would have another forgetful game as his 53-yard field goal attempt was missed wide right. Making matters worse, the Niners were able to add another Eddy Pineiro field goal on the other end to make it a 20-7 game. While San Francisco would continue to dominant in the time of possession battle, their inability to score a touchdown from the 1-yard line would allow the Rams to stick around. With touchdowns on each of their next two possessions, Matt Stafford and the Rams would do just that as Puka Nacua and Kyren Williams each hauled in touchdown receptions to help pull L.A. even. What was once a 20-7 game with 6:36 remaining in the third quarter, quickly turned into a 20-20 tie with a pending extra-point that would give the Rams a 21-20 lead. However, the Rams would be snakebitten again by kicker Joshua Kurty who this time had his PAT blocked by Jordan Elliott of the 49ers. 

With both teams exchanging punts after failing to move the chains, San Francisco took over from their own 2-yard line before moving the ball up the field and making it across midfield. But it was there where their drive would begin to stall as they were forced to settle for yet another field goal attempt. With his deepest attempt yet in a 49ers uniform, kicker Eddy Pineiro would nail the 59-yard field goal attempt, setting a new career-long and giving San Francisco a 23-20 lead with 2:57 remaining in the fourth quarter. It would also mark the second longest made field goal in 49ers franchise history (David Akers, 63-yards). After logging his 50th career game-winning drive a week earlier against the Colts, Rams QB Matt Stafford would have a chance to add another to his resume as L.A. took over and quickly began to march down the field. Already thin on the defensive-line, defensive tackle Kalia Davis (broken hand) and defensive-end Yetur Gross-Matos (hamstring) would have to leave Thursday's game with injuries. But that wouldn't stop another name on the defensive-line from stepping up big and making a game-saving play as rookie Alfred Collins turned in his best game yet at the pro level. With the Rams making it all the way to the 1-yard line, running back Kyren Williams would be met near the goal line by Collins who was able to punch the ball loose and recover his own forced fumble. 

While the Niners would take over pinned back at their own goal line with only 1:05 remaining in regulation, they would fail to convert a game-sealing first down and instead had to punt the ball back to the Rams who were able to successfully preserve clock by using all three of their timeouts. Taking over at midfield, the Rams were able to move the ball another 20 yards to setup Karty who was able to redeem himself a bit with a 48-yard field goal that would tie the score at 23-23 and send the game into overtime. With the Rams winning the coin-toss and electing to differ, the 49ers were given another gift from Karty who's kickoff fell short of the landing zone which resulted in a penalty and San Francisco taking over at the 40-yard line. Able to move the ball another 46 yards on strikes from Mac Jones, the 49ers eventually settled for a 41-yard field goal from Pineiro that skipped off the inner-post before splitting the uprights. Just enough to give the 49er fans in attendance and watching from home a mild heart-attack. With the Rams taking over possession with a chance to sneak away with a win, Stafford launched a deep pass on 2nd and 1 to a wide-open Tutu Atwell for a 38-yard gain that put the Rams in the red zone. But after failing to convert the first down on the next three plays, Rams head coach Sean McVay opted to go for it on a crucial 4th and 1 attempt from the San Francisco 11-yard line where running back Kyren Williams would be met just shy of the 1st down marker by a gang of 49er defenders including rookie safety Marquis Sigle who came up with the game-winning stop, sending the 49er sideline and the SoFi Stadium crowd into a frenzy. 

Pulling off the upset to improve to 4-1 on the season, San Francisco improved to 3-0 in the division after a dreadful 1-5 record against division foes a year ago and snapped their three-game skid to the Rams. With all five games this season decided by one score, Thursday marked the first game without a turnovers this season for San Francisco. And while they came up with two fumbles in the win, the defense is still in search of their first interception of the season. 49ers quarterback Mac Jones threw for 342 yards and 2 touchdowns, becoming just the 4th QB since 1950 to record a 3-0 record and pass for 800+ yards and 6+ touchdowns in his first three starts with a team (Matt Stafford 2021, Patrick Mahomes 2017-18, and Kurt Warner 1999). With his league-best third game this season with 275+ passing yards and a 65+ completion percentage, Jones also became just the 4th 49ers QB since 1950 to win his first 3 starts in franchise history (Y.A. Tittle, Jimmy Garoppolo, Brock Purdy). Elsewhere, running back Christian McCaffrey was unable to record a rushing touchdown yet again, but made his presence felt in other ways by registering another 139 yards from scrimmage, giving him 100+ scrimmage yards in each game this season. CMC becomes just the 6th player in NFL history to reach 11,000+ scrimmage yards and 80+ total touchdowns in their first 100 games. All other players to reach that feat before him are either Hall of Famers or are guaranteed to one day reach that honor (Jim Brown, Eric Dickerson, Emmitt Smith, Ladanian Tomlinson, and Adrian Peterson). Matt Stafford of the Rams also had a stellar outing in the loss, passing for 389 yards and 3 touchdowns. Receiver Puka Nacua logged another 10 catches for 85-yards and a touchdown, becoming the first player in NFL history with 50+ receptions in the first five games to a season. 

Week 6 Preview: The (4-1) 49ers will hit the road in Week 6 where they are undefeated up to this point with a record of 3-0 away from Levi's Stadium and will pay a visit to Tampa Bay to face off against Baker Mayfield and the (4-1) Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Leaders of the NFC South, Mayfield has the Bucs looking to run the table once again in the division. Coming off an impressive road victory over the Seahawks in Seattle, Mayfield has gotten the Bucs off to a tremendous start so far with the help of his newest toy and early Offensive Rookie of the Year front-runner Emeka Egbuka. The two have connected inside the end zone on five occasions already and will be one of the key storylines the 49er defense will have to keep close tabs on come Sunday. With San Francisco still yet to give up any points in the first quarter of a game this season, they'll try to keep that trend alive against this high-powered Bucs offense. While the 49ers have won all of their games by close margins with wins of 4, 5, 1 and 3 points, the Bucs actually have them beat as they're the first team in NFL history to win four games by 3 or fewer points in the first five games of a season. Of those four wins, three of them have come on the road.

And like San Francisco, Tampa Bay is winning games without some of their best players as receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, running back Bucky Irving and tackles Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke have all missed time this season. After losses from both Philadelphia and Seattle on Sunday, the 49ers currently sit atop the NFC standings with a record of 4-1 and the only team in the conference with more than one division win under their belt. With a thrilling 23-20 win over Tampa Bay at home a season ago, there will likely be more fireworks when these two teams meet as both clubs try to stake their claim atop the NFC standings.

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49ers let Win slip away Late vs rival Rams

Week 3 - Hoping a return to sunny California would bring better fortune to the (1-1) San Francisco 49ers on the road in Week 3, all signs pointed towards a win against the rival (0-2) Los Angeles Rams who were banged up and without two of their biggest stars on offense in receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. However, the 49ers offense would be without a trio of their own stars with Christian McCaffrey (Achillies), Deebo Samuel (calf) and George Kittle (hamstring) all sidelined due to injury. While McCaffrey was placed on injured reserve due to Achilles tendinitis and is now expected to miss a couple months, both Samuel and Kittle were ruled out in the days leading up to gameday. With a slow start to the season after a big payday following his holdout during training camp, Sunday's game would be the perfect opportunity for a breakout performance for receiver Brandon Aiyuk who had yet to top 50 yards receiving in either of San Francisco's first two games. Instead, it would be receiver Jauan Jennings who would step up in the shadows of his teammates, answering the call with a game for the record books. 

Becoming only the second 49er in franchise history behind the great Jerry Rice to have 10+ receptions and 3 receiving touchdowns in a single game in team history, Jennings got the Niner offense going early and often while connecting with his quarterback Brock Purdy who entered Sunday's game leading the league in passing yards (550). However, a career day from Jauan Jennings would not be enough to prevent a 4th quarter collapse from the 49ers and a late game comeback by the Rams. By looking at just the box score, you would be hard pressed to believe Kyle Shanahan's 49ers did not walk away with a win on Sunday, which marked only the second time since 2017 that the Rams won a game where they were outgained by at least 100 total yards. San Francisco also finished with six more first downs, 129 more yards, ran 10 more plays and possessed the ball for nearly 7 more minutes than L.A. on Sunday. All of which made Week 3's loss to the Rams that much more gut-wrenching. 

San Francisco jumped out to an early 14-0 lead with trips to the end zone on each of their first two drives, highlighted by touchdowns from Purdy to Jennings from 13 and 4 yards out. Meanwhile, Rams QB Matthew Stafford would not have his first completed pass until the 8:26 mark of the second quarter. The Rams would finally show signs of life after a successful fake punt attempt midway thru the second quarter, which ultimately led to a 16-play, 98-yard drive that ended in a touchdown pass from Stafford to running back Kyren Williams who tied Marshall Faulk's mark of six straight games with a TD, the longest streak by a Rams player since 2000. Also tying him with Detroit's David Montgomery for the longest active streak in the NFL. Looking to add to their lead just before halftime, the 49ers made it across midfield, but that's where Brock Purdy would be sacked and striped of the ball as the Rams recovered the fumble and kept it a 14-7 game. 

Opening the second half by holding the Rams to a punt, the 49er offense opened the third quarter just like they did the first, guns blazing as Purdy found Jennings for a third and final touchdown on a 31-yard deep ball. But the Rams would answer with a touchdown of their own, taking advantage of the first of several costly second half penalties by the San Francisco defense. Facing a 1st and 15, Stafford took a shot downfield where 49ers cornerback Isaac Yiadom was called for defensive pass-interference. Kyren Williams would strike paydirt several plays later for his second touchdown on the afternoon. Both teams would exchange field goals to start the fourth quarter, but the Niners would miss a golden opportunity to put the game away when kicker Jake Moody missed a 55-yard field goal attempt that kept it one-score game with under 3-minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. 

The missed field goal would ignite a series of things to go wrong for San Francisco, starting with a 50-yard completion given up by 49ers All-Pro cornerback Charvarius Ward who was beaten by Rams receiver Tutu Atwell on the first play of the Rams' ensuing drive. Setting up shop inside the 5-yard line, Kyren Williams found the end zone for a third time just two plays later to tie the game at 24. Still the 49ers would have a chance to put themselves in winning position and appeared to do just that, but on a day San Francisco had accumulated a total of seven dropped passes, the biggest and most costly one of all came on a dropped pass on a very catchable deep ball to receiver Ronnie Bell which spelled doom as San Francisco punted the ball away two plays later. On that punt, another thing that couldn't go wrong did go wrong when the Rams returned the punt 38-yards to midfield with just under a minute remaining in regulation. Already in prime field position, another costly defensive pass interference penalty awarded the Rams 25 yards which put them in field goal range. Two plays later, rookie kicker Joshua Karty put the Rams ahead for the first time all day with a 37-yard field goal to win the game, 27-24. 

While the come-from-behind win would mark the biggest comeback win (14-points) by the Rams under head coach Sean McVay who was hired in 2017, it would be the 36th comeback win in the career of QB Matt Stafford, tying him with Drew Brees for the fifth most all-time, five more than the next closest active player -- Russell Wilson (31). As for his counterpart Brock Purdy, the 49ers QB played his tail off despite being without several of his big name playmakers and made a bit of history with his performance on Sunday. Purdy became only the third QB in 49ers franchise history to complete 70+% of his passes and throw 3 touchdowns in a loss, joining the elite company of Joe Montana in 1985 versus the Rams and Steve Young in 1992 against the Bills. While it doesn't all fall on him, Pudy who previously suffered only one loss during the regular season to an NFC foe prior to the start of this season, has now lost back-to-back games within his conference. Sunday's loss for Purdy also marks his first loss to a division opponent as he entered Sunday's game a perfect 7-0 versus NFC West opponents. 

Week 4 Preview: Returning home to Levi's Stadium for the first time since their season-opening win against the Jets on Monday Night Football, the (1-2) 49ers will hope to get back on track in Week 4 when they welcome in the (1-2) New England Patriots. Unfortunately, when Sunday comes, they'll be taking the field without defensive-tackle Javon Hargrave who they'll miss for the rest of the season after he suffered a partially torn triceps in the loss to the Rams, a game in which he recorded his first sack of the year. While these two teams rarely face each other, the 49ers are seeking their first win at home over New England since 1995, having lost the last two times these two teams met in San Francisco. 

After opening the season 1-0 following a surprise road victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Patriots just like San Francisco have dropped each of their last two games and are coming off a 24-3 loss at the hands of the rival Jets. Behind veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett who was brought in to serve as a transitional piece before handing the reigns over to rookie QB Drake Maye who the Pats selected with the third overall pick in April's Draft, New England's offense ranks at the very bottom in both touchdowns (3) and average yards per game (246.3). The 49er defense will look to keep those numbers low on Sunday after giving up more touchdowns than they would've liked in each of the last two weeks. Entering their Week 4 meeting, the 49ers have 3 players that rank in the top 3 in their respective stat categories thru the first three weeks: Brock Purdy 2nd in passing yards, Jordan Mason 2nd in rushing yards and Jauan Jennings 3rd in receiving yards.

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