The San Francisco 49ers beat the Los Angeles Rams in a 26-23 overtime thriller on Thursday Night Football, putting together a clutch fourth-down stop in the red zone to seal the deal.
It was a game of highs
and lows as the 49ers came out cruising, faced some adversity, ultimately went to overtime, and figured out a way to win despite giving up 456 yards defensively.
San Francisco improved to 4-1 on the season with their third divisional win, sitting atop the NFC West, and also became 3-0 with backup quarterback Mac Jones at the helm.
Here are three quick takeaways from the 49ers 26-23 win over the Rams on Thursday.
Setting the tone early
In my preview, I shared how it would be important for the 49ers to sustain long drives to slow the pace of the game down and wear down the Rams defense.
That’s exactly what they did to start the game. San Francisco opened with an eight-play, 72-yard touchdown drive that spanned 4:51 of clock. Then, after a quick punt from the Rams following one first down, the 49ers went on a 17-play, 91-yard touchdown that took 8:15 of clock and gave them an early 14-0 lead into the second quarter.
Those two drives were early tone-setters for the 49ers, who needed every advantage they could get.
To end the second half, the 49ers needed a response after Los Angeles got on the board with a touchdown. And they took the clock to halftime, getting a field goal on a 12-play, 48-yard drive that lasted 2:09 and gave the team a 17-7 lead at the break.
San Francisco had another 12-play, 55-yard field goal drive that spanned 6:13 of clock to open the third quarter and extend its lead to 20-7, and its final scoring drive in regulation was another 12-play drive for a field goal.
Things weren’t going to come easy for the 49ers and their depleted roster. But, they set the tone early with long-sustaining drives and found ways to chew the clock and score.
Special teams comes in handy
It feels like it’s been a while since the 49ers definitively won a game on special teams. Well, that was the case on Thursday, as San Francisco got big contributions from kicker Eddy Piniero, while benefitting from multiple mistakes from Rams kicker Joshua Karty.
Piniero was a perfect 4/4 on field goals on Thursday, hitting 37, 20, 59, and 41-yarders, with the latter being the go-ahead score in overtime. The 59-yard field goal was massive, giving the 49ers a 23-20 lead with under three minutes in regulation.
Had he missed, Los Angeles would’ve gotten great field position with the game dwindling down and a chance to win by running the clock out for a field goal.
Joshua Karty, on the other hand, missed a field goal from 53 yards to open the third quarter, and also had a missed extra point with Los Angeles primed to take a 21-20 lead after a touchdown. Those four points proved to be the difference in the game.
Karty also had a missed knuckleball kick to open up overtime that gave the 49ers field position at their own 40-yard line on the drive that got them the go-ahead field goal.
San Francisco nearly had a big mistake as Isaac Guerendo lost the football on a roster, but was ruled down because his forward progress was stopped. Outside of that, they won the special teams battle in a big way on Thursday.
Niners win the turnover battle
Entering the game, the 49ers were 30th in the NFL in turnover margin, while the Rams were sixth-best in the NFL.
Well, the tables turned, and in big moments on Thursday, with two huge fumble recoveries from the 49ers.
In the second quarter, with the Rams driving down 14-0, running back Blake Corum couldn’t handle a pitch from Matthew Stafford, bobbling the ball and putting it on the ground. Recently called-up defensive lineman Trevis Gipson was there and got the recovery.
Then, late in the fourth quarter, with the game on the line and Los Angeles at the 49ers three-yard line on 1st & Goal with 1:03 remaining, Kyren Williams got the ball punched out on a great move by rookie defensive lineman Alfred Collins. Collins recovered the ball, possibly saving a touchdown and the game for the 49ers.
Yes, Los Angeles scored a field goal a minute later to send it to overtime, but the touchdown would’ve forced San Francisco to go get one of its own with a minute left with one timeout and a hobbled Mac Jones.
San Francisco hasn’t done great with the turnover battle this season, but they came up big when it mattered on Thursday.
