The Los Angeles Rams welcomed the undefeated San Francisco 49ers to town for a big division matchup in Week 6 as they looked to snap a two-game losing streak.
They were dominated in every facet of the game on their own home turf though, resulting in a 20-7 win for the 49ers. The loss dropped the Rams to 3-3 on the season after starting off 3-0. It also marked the first three-game losing streak in the Sean McVay era.
First Quarter
The Rams defense looked good to begin the game, forcing a quick three-and-out thanks to an Aaron Donald sack. Then Malcolm Brown, who started in place of Todd Gurley, came in and made quick work of one of the NFL’s best rushing defenses.
He had a handful of solid carries to work the ball down the field, and then Robert Woods converted on an 8-yard touchdown to give the Rams an early 7-0 lead.
The 49ers came back and answered, however, running the ball through Matt Breida for much of their drive and eventually punching it in with Tevin Coleman to tie the game at seven. The Rams appeared to force another three-and-out, but a second offsides penalty on Dante Fowler Jr. kick-started the 49ers on their scoring drive.
Second Quarter
The 49ers were driving again to begin the second quarter thanks to some nice catch and runs by tight end George Kittle Marcus Peters came to the rescue though, grabbing an interception in the end zone to keep points off the board.
Throughout the game, Aaron Donald seemed to come alive for really this first time this year. Donald and the whole Rams defense really put pressure on the 49ers after the Peters interception. The Niners were backed up to their own 3-yard line before punting for the three-and-out.
Then, in the latter half of the second quarter, the Rams unleashed rookie running back Darrell Henderson. After Henderson ran for 40 yards on three plays, getting the Rams near the goal line, they attempted to punch it in with Malcolm Brown twice before turning it over on downs, leaving the score 7-7 going into the halftime locker room.
Third Quarter
Coming back onto the field to receive the kickoff was the only moment the Rams had sturdy hands on the ball. On the first play, Jared Goff attempted to pitch the ball to Henderson, who fumbled it and turned it over to the 49ers in the red zone. Jimmy Garoppolo eventually snuck it in for a touchdown, giving his team a 14-7 lead.
The Rams offense was not seen much during the third quarter. Although Henderson had a great start to his game, rookie mistakes began to show in the second half. The 49ers defense seemed to be too much for the Rams as they forced another three-and-out after a few penalties.
Despite the 49ers offense picking up during the second half, the Rams defense remained resilient. They limited San Francisco to somewhat small gains on each play, but the 49ers advanced nonetheless. They scored the lone points of the third quarter with a field goal towards the end of the quarter, bringing the score up to 17-7 in favor of the visitors.
Fourth Quarter
Another field goal a the start of the fourth quarter extended San Francisco’s lead to 20-7, and that was enough as the Rams offensive line simply could not protect Goff well enough to put any drives together.
The Rams defense came up with a big turnover on a sack-fumble of Garoppolo to keep them in the game, but the offense could not capitalize as they were stopped on fourth down in the red zone once again.
Goff finished the day with only 78 passing yards in what was one of his worst performances, although it doesn’t help that he didn’t have any time to throw all day.
