Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – San Francisco’s Eddy Pineiro booted a 41-yard field goal in overtime and the 49ers defense came up big in a tense 26-23 NFL victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday. Pineiro banked in the game-winner off the inside of the left upright with 5:51 left in overtime. San Francisco’s defense thwarted the Rams’ ensuing drive with Deommodore Lenoir and Marques Sigle credited for the game-winning fourth-down stop of Rams running back Kyren Williams.
Pineiro’s 59-yard field goal with 2:52 left in the fourth quarter had put San Francisco up 23-20, and the 49ers then forced a goalline fumble from Williams with 1:07 remaining. Rookie lineman Alfred Collins punched the ball away from Williams then fell on it. “It was a must-have-it play because if I didn’t do that, they would have scored,” Collins said. “When I saw the ball, I cocked it back and hit it.” However, on their resulting possession, the 49ers were forced to punt, and Rams kicker Joshua Karty drilled a 48-yard field goal with two seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
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It was a gritty win for quarterback Mac Jones and the banged-up 49ers over an NFC West division rival that had won their last three encounters. Jones, standing in again for injured Brock Purdy, battled through a knee injury as well as arm and leg cramps, throwing for 342 yards and two touchdowns. “It came down to who was going to be the toughest team, and I think it was us,” Jones said.
Kendrick Bourne caught 10 passes for 142 yards, Christian McCaffrey had eight catches for 82 yards and a TD, and the Niners led 17-7 at halftime and were up 20-7 in the third quarter. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passed for 389 yards and three touchdowns — two to Williams and one to Puka Nacua. Nacua now has 52 catches this season, the most ever through five games of a season.
Stafford connected with Williams on an eight-yard scoring pass that made it 20-20 early in the fourth quarter, but the missed extra point attempt by Karty denied the Rams their first lead of the game. The 49ers rebounded from a loss to Jacksonville to improve to 4-1 overall, 3-0 against division foes. They did it with not only Purdy but also Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall, George Kittle, and Nick Bosa among those sidelined by injury.
“I can’t say enough about the guys, they were unbelievable,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “That was a huge character win.”
© 2024 AFP
