INGLEWOOD — It was a night of mistakes for the Rams. A missed field goal, a blocked point-after attempt, a fumbled toss, dropped passes, errant throws, blown coverages that collectively gave the short-handed San Francisco 49ers hope.
After Eddy Pineiro’s 41-yard field goal put the Rams behind by three in overtime, the Rams still had a chance to come away with a win. And facing fourth-and-1 from the San Francisco 11-yard line, head coach Sean McVay opted to go for the win rather than tie the game up.
One timeout by San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan to set up his defense. Another by McVay to change his play call. And Kyren Williams, running to the right side, stopped short as the Rams fell, 26-23, in overtime.
This should not have been a 49ers offense that could play keep-away from the Rams (3-2). No Brock Purdy, no George Kittle, no Brandon Aiyuk, no Ricky Pearsall, no Jauan Jennings, no problem for the Rams’ defense. Or so you would think.
But after the first quarter, the 49ers had outgained the Rams 139-7 while possessing the ball for 11:50. So much attention was paid to Christian McCaffrey on the goal line on the opening possession that tight end Jake Tonges was wide open for a touchdown.
Then, after a quick Rams punt, the 49ers (4-1) converted two fourth-and-1s to get back to the goal line. Matched up with Rams linebacker Troy Reeder on his second defensive snap of the season, McCaffrey snuck free into the flat for a touchdown and a 14-0 San Francisco lead, the Rams’ biggest deficit of the season.
When the Rams finally did get a stop, it wasn’t the defense but receiver Kendrick Bourne dropping a third-down pass.
But that was pretty much the only mistake that Bourne made all game. He set a career-high with 142 receiving yards on 10 receptions, repeatedly finding open space in the middle of the Rams’ defense. His fight through multiple tackle attempts to gain a first down helped set up Eddy Pineiro’s go-ahead 59-yard field goal with 2:52 to play in the fourth quarter.
It took three drives for the Rams’ offense to find its footing. The first possession was quickly derailed by a sack as left tackle Alaric Jackson and left guard Justin Dedich seemed confused by the 49ers’ disguised blitz. On the second, the Rams got into San Francisco territory, only to lose a fumble on a pitch to running back Blake Corum.
All the while, Stafford didn’t appear to have the sharpness he did in Sunday’s victory over the Indianapolis Colts, with passes sailing over and behind receivers.
The third drive, it appeared the Rams were heading in the wrong direction with a false start by Jackson on the opening play. But Stafford threw nine straight passes to march the Rams 90 yards, with running back Kyren Williams so open on the final reception that he could start dancing before he crossed the goal line.
The second half didn’t bring any better results for the Rams’ secondary. Darious Williams collided with Tonges early on a low third-down pass, extending a drive that ended in a 49ers field goal. That put the Rams in a 13-point hole.
But Stafford had two long drives in him, moving 69 and 83 yards back-to-back to tie the score at 13 on touchdown passes to Puka Nacua and Williams in the flats. But after missing a 53-yard field goal attempt in the first half, Josh Karty’s extra-point attempt after the second score was blocked, the fourth blocked kick allowed by the Rams in as many games.
Despite all of that, the Rams had an opportunity to win the game in the final minutes of regulation.
Facing first-and-goal from the San Francisco 3, trailing by three with 1:08 to play, the Rams handed the ball to Williams. The running back fell into the end zone, but only after defensive lineman Alfred Collins ripped the ball from his hands and recovered the fumble.
The Rams then stopped McCaffrey on three consecutive attempts to force a punt and regain possession at midfield. Two check-down passes to Williams got the Rams into field goal range, and Karty’s 48-yard field goal sent the game to overtime.
Originally Published: October 2, 2025 at 8:51 PM PDT