49ers fall to Rams in wild, heartbreaking fashion

Well, where do you even start? The San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams played a wild, entertaining game on Thursday Night Football, with the Rams ultimately coming out on top, 41-39.

Things couldn't have started out any worse for the 49ers and their maligned quarterback, Brian Hoyer, as the signal caller telegraphed a pass on the first play of the game that was intercepted by Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman. On the very next play, Todd Gurley scored from three yards out to make it 7-0 Los Angeles.

As they would for most of the night though, the Niners fought back to tie the score on a nine-yard run by Hoyer. However, sloppy play and poor defense would doom the 49ers for the rest of the first half, and Gurley added two more touchdowns to help Los Angeles take a 24-13 lead into halftime.

The Rams offense came out scorching again to start the third quarter with a 10-play, 74 yard drive, but had to settle for a field goal to make it 27-13. This seemed to give the Niner offense some life, and the unit answered with a 10-play drive of their own, capped off by a Carlos Hyde one-yard touchdown run.

Not to be outdone, Rams quarterback Jared Goff, who might have played his best game as a pro, hit Sammy Watkins on a one-yard touchdown strike to extend the lead once more, forcing the 49ers into a 34-20 deficit.

Hoyer threw his first touchdown pass of the season to Garrett Celek early in the fourth quarter, but kicker Robbie Gould missed the extra point, leaving the Niners down by eight. It looked like Los Angeles would pull away for good after Goff and Watkins hooked up again for a touchdown, but that's when the game turned on its side. Trailing 41-26 midway through the fourth, Hoyer would connect with Pierre Garçon on a 59-yard bomb, and finish off the drive with a three-yard scoring pass to Trent Taylor to make the score 41-33.

On the ensuing kickoff Victor Bolden was able to jar the ball loose from Los Angeles' Pharoh Cooper, and the 49ers recovered at the Rams' 29-yard line. San Francisco found pay dirt on another touchdown run by Hyde, but couldn't convert the two-point conversion.

Down by two, San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan rolled the dice on an onside kick that was recovered by Raheem Mostert, who had earlier lost a fumble. It looked like the Niners were in business when Hoyer connected with Taylor for a first down near the Rams' 40-yard line, but an official called offensive pass interference on Taylor. The replay showed the call was questionable at best. The drive eventually stalled and the Rams would take over on downs to seal the win.