Eddy Piñeiro hit a 41-yard field goal in overtime before the San Francisco defense stopped Kyren Williams on fourth down with 3:36 to play, and the short-handed 49ers hung on for a thrilling 26-23 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night.
Mac Jones, playing instead of the injured Brock Purdy, passed for 342 yards and two touchdowns for the 49ers (4-1), who won in OT after a frantic fourth quarter featuring Piñeiro’s tiebreaking 59-yard field goal with 2:52 left, Williams’ subsequent goalline fumble and Joshua Karty’s tying 48-yard field goal for the Rams (3-2) with two seconds to play.
The Rams gave the ball to San Francisco to begin overtime, and Jones drove to set up Piñeiro’s third field goal with 5:51 left.
Jones took a battering from the Rams defense and appeared in severe discomfort as he left the field before Piñeiro’s clinching field goal. He doubled over in pain on the sidelines and appeared to have trouble breathing as he coped with cramp. He was also limping earlier in the game after absorbing several blows, including a big hit from Byron Young during the third quarter.
“That’s what happens when you don’t practice for a couple of weeks so that’s my fault,” said Jones with a smile after the game. “I’m really proud of the defense, they played great.”
Los Angeles marched down the field, and facing fourth-and-one at the San Francisco 11, coach Sean McVay elected to go for it. Marques Sigle and Deommodore Lenoir got credit for smothering Williams well short of the first down.
Matthew Stafford passed for 389 yards and three touchdowns for the Rams, who lost despite racking up 319 yards after halftime. Los Angeles also had an extra point blocked, missed a field goal and fumbled twice deep in 49ers territory.
Purdy sat out for the third time in four games with a toe injury. San Francisco also played without defensive star Nick Bosa, injured receivers Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall and tight end George Kittle – but Jones, Christian McCaffrey and a fired-up defense did just enough to reassert the Niners’ dominance in this matchup. McCaffrey had 139 scrimmage yards (57 rushing, 82 receiving) plus a touchdown for the 49ers.
The game was another memorable edition of the California rivalry that has mostly tilted in the Niners’ favor since Kyle Shanahan and McVay got their jobs a month apart in 2017. San Francisco won nine of 10 from 2019 to 2023, losing only in a thrilling NFC championship game, before the Rams won the past three against a less-than-full-strength Niners roster.
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