INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The winless Los Angeles Rams were fresh off a 31-point loss and without their two best receivers when they faced a rival that has dominated them for half a decade on Sunday.
The Rams then fell behind San Francisco by 14 points in the second half, and were still behind by double digits midway through the fourth quarter.
Although Matthew Stafford has experienced a lot of crazy things in his 16 years as a professional football player, exciting 27:24 comeback victory stands at the top – both for the manner in which it happened and for the courage his team showed under dire circumstances.
“I’m not into improbable, probable things,” Stafford said. “The NFL is an improbable business, I can tell you that much. You never know what’s going to happen week to week. You have to go out there and earn it and prove it, and that’s what we did.”
Kyren Williams ran for 4 yards and scored his third touchdown of the day with 1:51 left, and Joshua Karty kicked a 37-yard field goal with 2 seconds left to complete a dramatic comeback by Los Angeles, which defeated San Francisco 20-3 in the final 19 minutes.
The Rams (1-2) pulled off their franchise’s biggest second-half comeback win since 2006 while also earning their second straight victory over the 49ers (1-2) after losing nine of their last 10 meetings with the NFC West arch-rivals.
Williams caught a touchdown pass and scored two touchdowns for the Rams, who remarkably avoided their first 0-3 start under Sean McVay. Stafford threw for 221 yards and Tutu Atwell caught four passes for 93 yards.
“I think there are games where you just have a little more momentum,” Williams said. “Just the games where you can’t wait to play when everyone is doubting you and everyone is saying, ‘There’s no way the Rams are going to win. The Rams are going to start 0-3.’ We definitely feel that, but it’s something that drives us.”
Jauan Jennings set career highs with 11 catches for 175 yards and three touchdowns for the 49ers, who blew a lead of at least 14 points for the first time since 2018. While the Rams salvaged hope for their season, the defending NFC champions were nervous and frustrated – and were below .500 for the first time since Brock Purdy became their starting quarterback in 2022.
The Niners led 24-14 midway through the fourth quarter, but Jake Moody missed a 55-yard field goal attempt for San Francisco with 2:43 left. Stafford hit Atwell for a 50-yard pass to the San Francisco 5, and Williams completed the pass two plays later.
Ronnie Bell then dropped a long pass with 1:02 minutes left that would have put San Francisco within field goal range, and Xavier Smith – who was brought in from the Rams’ practice squad for this game – his first punt return over 38 yards to the midfield.
A 25-yard pass interference penalty on linebacker De’Vondre Campbell put the Rams within striking distance and their rookie kicker converted the kick.
San Francisco threw several sideways passes as time expired, but the final play failed on the Rams’ sideline.
Purdy threw for 292 yards in the Super Bowl favorite’s second straight road loss after suffering a loss at Minnesota last week.
“A lot of opportunities,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “I can only speak for myself, and it wasn’t good enough. We’ve got to knock them out when we have a chance. … It’s definitely a rough start, but we’ve been through some rough patches, but we just have to stick together.”
Both teams were missing most of their best offensive players due to injuries. The 49ers played without Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle, while the Rams were without Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua and Tyler Higbee.
Purdy focused on Jennings, who caught two touchdown passes in the first quarter and another in the third, becoming the first 49ers wide receiver to catch three touchdowns in a game since Terrell Owens in 2001.
The former seventh-round pick caught more touchdowns on Sunday than in the previous two seasons combined, and his total catches and yards were higher than in his two previous best games combined.
“Jauan was unbelievable,” said 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan. “The numbers show it, but more than the numbers, he was a warrior the whole game. That’s how he always is. He had a lot more chances today and he capitalized on every single one of them.”
Jennings’ most impressive catch was a 32-yard catch over Quentin Lake set up a field goal that gave the Niners a 24-14 lead.
Stafford was unable to complete a pass until Atwell caught a ball on the run with about eight minutes left in the first half. Williams then caught the ball short and performed a forward somersault into the end zone.
Jennings caught a 31-yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter. Williams responded by scoring a rushing touchdown in his sixth consecutive game, tying the franchise record set by Marshall Faulk in 2001.
49ers: LB Dee Winters injured his ankle in the first half of his season debut but returned. … DT Javon Hargrave injured his triceps. Shanahan hopes it’s a bruise.
Rams: Los Angeles reported no injuries after several players missed the first two games with serious injuries.
49ers: Host New England on September 29th.
Rams: At Chicago on September 29th.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL
