There was no George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Ricky Pearsall or Jauan Jennings available. They didn’t have starting quarterback Brock Purdy, either. On paper, everything about Thursday night screamed Rams in a runaway.
Everything, that is, except the scoreboard. The Niners came up with their gutsiest performance of the first five weeks, beating the Rams 26-23 and staking their claim to first place in the NFC West at 4-1 and 3-0 in the division.
As in their three other wins, the Niners had multiple surprise heroes. This time, it was rookie defensive tackle Alfred Collins forcing and recovering a fumble at his own goal line in regulation, with a lot of quarterback Mac Jones and receiver Kendrick Bourne and kicker Eddy Piñeiro mixed in. And then the Niners’ defense got the stop it needed on fourth-and-1 in overtime to put it away.
In the process, coach Kyle Shanahan’s team provided plenty of evidence that this is a group made of the right stuff. With a few extra days to rest, the Niners’ slate doesn’t get any easier from here as they travel to Tampa Bay in Week 6.