49ers hold off Rams for 24-16 Sunday night win

Things weren't looking very promising for the San Francisco 49ers coming into tonight's game against the Los Angeles Rams after a humiliating 43-17 home loss to the Miami Dolphins last week. But the 49ers were able to rebound from their loss to Miami, riding a solid defensive showing and a quality first-half performance to knock off the Rams 24-16 in Levi's Stadium.

The 49ers built a 15-point lead over the Rams at halftime, a lead that continued into the fourth quarter after each team added a field goal. The Rams added a late touchdown to narrow the lead with just over three minutes to play, but the 49ers were able to run out the clock to cement their third win of the season.

As It Happened

The 49ers came out firing on their first drive after receiving the opening kickoff, advancing 76 yards in six plays to take a 7-0 lead on a six-yard touchdown catch by wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Samuel sparked the offense earlier in the drive on a similar play when he escaped from a pile or Rams players to rumble for a 35-yard gain, and from there the touchdown was set up with the help of a 10-yard catch by wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and an 18-yard catch by tight end George Kittle.

After two failed possessions from the Rams and one from the 49ers, the scoring resumed with 14:14 on the clock in the second quarter when quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo found Kittle for a 44-yard touchdown strike to take 14-0 lead. The touchdown, which was Kittle's second of the 2020 season, took place on a fourth-and-two and capped a 10-play, 87-yard drive that took over six minutes off the clock.

The Rams responded with their first points of the evening on the following possession when wide receiver Robert Woods made a nifty touchdown catch on a 10-yard pass from quarterback Jared Goff to cap a 10-play, 64-yard drive. Seven of the first eight plays on the drive were running plays while Goff fought off a slow start that saw him complete just one of his first seven passes, but Goff completed his attempts on the final two plays of the drive to put the Rams on the board. Kicker Samuel Sloman missed the point after, leaving the Rams with a 14-6 deficit at the 9:03 mark in the second quarter.

The 49ers recaptured momentum on the next possession by putting together a 13-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Garoppolo to Aiyuk for a 21-6 lead. The drive took over seven minutes off the clock and helped send the 49ers into halftime with a 15-point lead.

The touchdown pass was the third of the first half for Garoppolo, who came out strong after a rough outing during last week's loss to the Dolphins. Garoppolo finished the first half with 215 yards on 17-of-21 passing, while Goff put up just 42 yards on 5-of-12 passing with one touchdown. The 49ers outgained the Rams 291 to 102 in the first half, held an 18-6 edge in first downs, and dominated time of possession 21:22 to 8:38.

The Rams controlled the game for much of the third quarter but came away with only three points for their efforts. Those points came on a 42-yard field goal from Sloman on the quarter's opening drive, then after three consecutive three-and-outs, the Rams had a chance to score again with a first-and-goal at the 49ers' eight-yard line with just under four minutes to play in the quarter. But the 49ers' defense stiffened and kept the Rams off the scoreboard when cornerback Jason Verrett intercepted Goff in the end zone on a fourth down play.

The 49ers and Rams exchanged punts following the interception, then the 49ers punted once again after their next possession to give the ball back to the Rams with just over nine minutes to play. But the punt from Mitch Wishnowsky was downed by defensive back Tarvarius Moore at the one-yard line, which gave the 49ers a chance to put themselves in good field position if they could force the Rams to punt. They were able to get the punt they wanted after three plays, then took over at their own 49-yard line with 8:31 on the clock.

The 49ers were able to take just three minutes off the clock on their possession and put themselves up 24-9 on a 49-yard field goal from Robbie Gould to finish a seven-play, 20-yard drive. The Rams responded with a nine-play, 79-yard drive that ended with a 39-yard touchdown pass from Goff to wide receiver Josh Reynolds to cut the lead to 24-16 with 3:24 remaining.

The 49ers ran two plays from there to take the clock down to two minutes, then were able to ice the game after a toss pass to Samuel went for a first down. The win snapped a two-game skid for the 49ers and improved their record to 3-3 on the season, while the Rams, who were a 2.5-point favorite coming into the game, saw their record fall to 4-2.

Garoppolo finished with 268 yards and three touchdowns on 23-of-33 passing with zero interceptions, while Goff threw for 198 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on 19-of-38 passing. Kittle led all pass catchers with seven catches for 109 yards and a touchdown, while Rams running back Darrell Henderson Jr. was the game's leading rusher with 88 yards on 14 carries. The 49ers outgained the Rams 390-311 while holding their Aaron Donald-led defense to zero sacks on the evening.

Up Next

The 49ers will head to Foxborough, Massachusetts next week for a road game against the New England Patriots (4:25 p.m. ET/1:25 p.m. PT, CBS), who fell to 2-3 on the season earlier today with an 18-12 home loss to the Denver Broncos. The game marks the first in a stretch during which four of the next contests are on the road (at Seattle, vs. Green Bay, at New Orleans, at Los Angeles). The Rams will be back in prime time next Monday night when they host the Chicago Bears (8:15 p.m., ESPN). The Bears moved to 4-1 on the season earlier today with a 23-16 road win over the Carolina Panthers.