On Oct. 21 of last year, the 7-0 Los Angeles Rams defeated the 1-6 San Francisco 49ers by a score of 39-10. Todd Gurley had three rushing touchdowns and C.J. Beathard threw two interceptions.
A lot has changed over a year, as this week the 4-0 49ers traveled to L.A. to battle with the 3-2 Rams. The 49ers completely outplayed the Rams en route to a 20-7 victory. The 49ers’ defense shined once again, allowing just 157 total yards.
The Rams were without their star running back Todd Gurley, cornerback Aqib Talib, and linebacker Clay Matthews. Malcolm Brown and rookie Darrell Henderson took Gurley’s place and combined for 17 carries and 79 yards.
Garoppolo threw for 243 yards, completing 24 of 33 passes with no touchdowns and one interception. Running backs Tevin Coleman, Matt Breida, and Raheem Mostert combined for 94 yards on 35 carries. Coleman and Garoppolo each had one rushing touchdown.
Defensively, Nick Bosa was quiet with just one tackle, but the 49ers tallied up four team sacks on Goff. This 49ers defense has once again proved themselves as a legitimate NFL defense. They lead the league in yards allowed, with just 1,187 yards allowed after five games. The Bills are second in the NFL, yet have allowed 188 more yards than the 49ers. It is finally time to take this 49ers team seriously.
Following the Rams’ first drive, it seemed as if their offense just didn’t show up for the game at all. They had seven of their ten first downs in the first half. After the touchdown it went punt, punt, turnover on downs, fumble, punt, punt, turnover on downs, turnover on downs, punt, and turnover on downs. The Rams’ offense was nowhere to be found.
The Rams were zero-for-nine on third down attempts and zero-for-four on fourth downs. They were not able to convert in any situation that they needed to. Even while playing at home, they were still not able to succeed on big plays.
The 49ers will travel to Washington to face the 1-5 Redskins on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EST.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, will travel to Atlanta to play Matt Ryan and his Atlanta Falcon, also on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
