The Los Angeles Rams were once again featured in prime time, this time against the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night. The Rams desperately needed a victory over their NFC West rivals in order to stay alive in the playoff hunt.
To begin the night, the Rams boasted a balanced offensive attack. Although, Jared Goff made excellent passes on some bootlegs. Goff completed four out of his four attempts for 66 yards. His critical pass came from a 10-yard touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks to strike first, 7-0 Rams. But, an 82-yard kick return by Richie James placed the 49ers in favorable field position. The Rams defense did manage to hold the Niners to just a 26-yard Robbie Gould field goal. Rams still lead, 7-3. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey picked off Jimmy Garoppolo after Johnny Hekker delivered a short punt.
The Rams took advantage of the turnover and stormed into the end zone thanks to a Todd Gurley 5-yard touchdown run. The Rams take 14-3 lead with 14:55 left in the first half. The urgency became evident to the 49ers as they responded with a 19-yard rushing touchdown from Deebo Samuel. The Rams’ lead cut to 14-10. The Rams retaliated though with plenty of passes to Tyler Higbee. But it was Gurley that found the end zone with a one-yard touchdown run to make the score 21-10. Once again, the Niners weren’t going anywhere after Raheem Mostart scored on a 16-yard rushing touchdown. The Rams lead cut again, 21-17. Goff threw a pick-six to Fred Warner which gave the 49ers their first lead of the game, 24-21.
Darious Williams capitalized off a deflected pass from Ramsey and earned an interception. The Rams weren’t able to take advantage of the situation since Greg Zuerlein missed a 52-yard field goal. After a few defensive stalemates on both sides, the Rams offense got back in a rhythm when Goff found Cooper Kupp for a 22-yard touchdown reception. The Rams regained the lead, 28-24 with 5:06 left in the third quarter.
Garoppolo found George Kittle to take back the lead 6:06 left in the fourth quarter. The 49ers were up 31-28. Zuerlein made up for his previous miss and nailed a 52-yard field goal to tie the game at 31 with 2:30 left in the game. A blown coverage by Taylor Rapp proved to be costly as it setup a chip shot field goal for Gould. The 49ers win, 34-31.
The Rams will return home to Los Angeles for the final matchup of the regular season against the NFC West rivals, the Arizona Cardinals. Kickoff is 1:25 p.m. PST on Sunday, December 29.
Source: ESPN.com
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