The San Francisco 49ers’ injury report was most of the core of their NFC championship team from a couple seasons ago. They had to play extremely short-handed while going on the road on short rest against one of the NFL’s best teams. Then they had to endure an overtime period.
Thursday night’s win has to be one of the most satisfying of 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan’s career. It’s certainly one of the most impressive. And dramatic.
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The 49ers kept the game alive in regulation with a forced fumble at the goal line with just over a minute to go, and even after the Rams got a stop and forced overtime on a field goal with two seconds left in regulation, their defense got a stop on a fourth-and-1 run by Williams — a call from Sean McVay to keep going for the win and not settle for a tie — setting off a celebration.
McVay was critical of himself postgame, but not for the decision to go for it.
“The play selection was very poor,” McVay said. “I’m sick right now because I put our players in a s***** spot. I’ve got to live with that.”
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The 49ers pulled off one of the shocking upsets of the early NFL season, ignoring multiple injuries for a 26-23 win over a Rams team that was 3-1 coming into Thursday’s game. The 49ers were without their quarterback, three starting receivers, an All-Pro tight end and one of the best defensive players in the NFL. They gave up a 14-0 lead as a depleted lineup looked like it was running out of gas. Mac Jones, starting at quarterback for the 49ers, played a good game despite spending plenty of it being looked at by athletic trainers for various injuries. And somehow they pulled out the win.
The 49ers are 4-1, and will get some of their injured stars back soon. It’s a win that will be remembered for a long time. It might be a night that’s remembered when voters decide on NFL Coach of the Year.
Kendrick Bourne had 10 receptions for 142 yards in an overtime victory for San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
49ers have a surprising start
The 49ers came into the game without Brock Purdy, Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle and Nick Bosa. That’s practically all of their starting skill position players and a perennial NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
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It wasn’t their entire starting skill position group though. They still had Christian McCaffrey and they weren’t shy about using him, four days after McCaffrey logged 31 touches against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Shanahan’s plan was to figure out every creative way he had to get McCaffrey the ball. And it worked.
The 49ers took a 7-0 lead on a Jake Tonges’ touchdown catch. That was a surprising start. Then the 49ers went on another long drive and McCaffrey scored on a catch. At that point the 49ers led 14-0 and early in the second quarter McCaffrey already had 13 touches. Then when the Rams finally got a drive going, Rams running back Blake Corum had a pitch go right off his hands and the 49ers recovered. It looked like the Rams were the team relying on backups.
The Rams scored late in the second quarter, but the 49ers came back and got a field goal. Somehow, the road team with more than a handful of stars out had a 17-7 lead at the half. They were underdogs but they didn’t act like it.
Rams come back to tie it
Matthew Stafford had a rough start but got hot in the second half. Puka Nacua continued his dominance with a touchdown catch, and then Williams caught a second touchdown pass, Stafford’s third of the night. That touchdown tied it 20-20 in the fourth quarter, though the extra point was missed and the game remained tied.
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Being tied and not trailing seemed to give the 49ers some life. They hadn’t moved the ball much in the second half, but suddenly got a drive going into Rams territory in the final minutes. With 2:52 left, Eddy Pineiro hit a 59-yard field goal to give the 49ers a 23-20 lead.
The Rams got inside the 10-yard line on the ensuing drive and the only question seemed to be whether the Rams could score and take the lead, or if the 49ers could hold them to a field goal. Instead, defensive lineman Alfred Collins punched out the ball from Williams just before he crossed the goal line. Collins recovered at the 1-yard line.
However, the Rams still had all three timeouts left and the 49ers were backed up. The 49ers played it safe, ran three times and punted it away after a 12-second possession. The Rams converted a fourth down to get into field-goal range, with Stafford hitting WIlliams for 13 yards, and Joshua Karty hit it to send the game to overtime. That’s the last thing a thin 49ers team wanted.
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The Rams gave the 49ers a gift. The kickoff to open overtime didn’t reach the landing zone, so the 49ers got the ball at their own 40-yard line. The 49ers’ drive stalled but Pineiro banked in a field goal off the upright for the lead. The Rams had a possession to either tie or win it. Stafford immediately got the Rams into field-goal range with a 28-yard pass. On a fourth-and-1, the Rams went for it and the Niners stuffed Williams for no gain.
What came after that stop was the type of celebration you don’t see often in the regular season. But the 49ers deserved it.
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