49ers 26, Rams 23: Fourth-down stop secures overtime upset

INGLEWOOD Calif The ers squandered leads throughout an epic night at SoFi Stadium up until the final play of overtime Sunday The Rams went for it on fourth-and- from the -yard line Kyren Williams who fumbled at the with a minute to go in regulation got stuffed for no gain with defensive backs Deommodore Lenoir and Marques Sigle credited for the game-saving stop Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh sprinted onto the field players joyously scattered to celebrate and the ers had emerged with a - triumph What a way for the injury-laden ers -point underdogs to rebound from Sunday s loss to Jacksonville and improve to - overall They re also - in divisional play with a win now over each NFC West rival The Rams fell to - by virtue of losing their first divisional challenge of the season Next up for the ers is another road trip Oct at Tampa Bay Thursday s annual visit here launched a stretch of playing four of five away from Levi s Stadium the earliest such string since for the ers This exhausting win came in stunningly dramatic fashion The ers scored on their first two possession for a - lead that put everyone on upset alert Their lead was - in the third quarter No lead is seemingly safe here not when the ers blew -point fourth-quarter margins last year in Week and in the season s NFC Championship Tournament In the end their winning points came from Eddy Pi eiro who made a -yard field goal on overtime s opening possession his fourth field goal in as a great number of attempts this competition Earlier he had a career-long -yarder to put the ers ahead with remaining That overtime-opening drive began with Mac Jones delivering six consecutive completions to Kyle Juszczyk yards Christian McCaffrey and yards and Jake Tonges yards twice Overtime would end on the next series courtesy of Rams coach Sean McVay s bold decision to go for it on fourth-and- rather than have Joshua Karty attempt a tying field goal Karty made a -yarder with two seconds left in regulation to force overtime The ers led from the first series up until minutes left in regulation but they weren t trailing After Matthew Stafford slipped an -yard touchdown pass past Dee Winters and safely to Williams Jordan Elliott blocked Karty s point-after kick to keep the tally locked at - The ers held a - third-quarter lead before the Rams produced back-to-back touchdown drives the first taking only off the clock before Stafford delivered a -yard scoring strike to Puka Nacua Their follow-up touchdown drive the one capped by Williams -yard figure featured back-to-back completions from Davante Adams but also defensive penalties on Lenoir and C J West JONES BATTLES Jones starting for the third time in four games in place of Brock Purdy directed a field-goal drive on the ers first possession after halftime for a - lead But Jones would aggravate a left-knee injury dating back to the preseason Two weeks after again hurting that posterior cruciate ligament in the ers home-opening win against Arizona Jones got hit twice in the pocket including by Byron Young on a third-and-goal incompletion before Eddy Pineiro s -yard field goal before the fourth quarter Jones finished -of- for yards FIRST SCORING DRIVE Mac Jones capped the -yard opening-drive touchdown with a -yard scoring strike to wide open tight end Jake Tonges who set up the goal-to-go situation with another -yard catch After Skyy Moore botched but recovered the Rams dirty ball kickoff the ers relied on a McCaffrey-heavy start -yard run followed by two -yard receptions before a -yard catch-and-run by Kendrick Bourne got them into the red zone Jones completed all five of his passes for yards on the opening drive Unlike Jones starting debut in Week at New Orleans Purdy did not make this trip nor did fellow Ricky Pearsall knee Jauan Jennings ribs ankle and George Kittle the latter of whom is now eligible to come off Injured Reserve but it s unknown the status of his Week hamstring injury SECOND SCORING DRIVE Shanahan dialed up aggressive calls on the ers second series that spanned yards in plays and -plus minutes The ers twice converted on fourth-and- by Jones and Brian Robinson they executed a reverse flea-flicker to McCaffrey to the -yard line Demarcus Robinson made a back-shoulder catch at the on third-and- and rather than secure their first rushing touchdown of the season McCaffrey leaked out to catch Jones -yard scoring strike for a - lead RAMS FIRST TOUCHDOWN With Jason Pinnock blitzing Kyren Williams was left wide open to result on a -yard reception and cut the ers lead to - about minutes before halftime Matthew Stafford finished that -play -yard drive with five consecutive completions including a third-and- conversion for yards against Marques Sigle for tight end Tyler Ferguson s first career catch Stafford then dialed up passes for and then the -yard total PINEIRO S POINTS Pineiro made a -yard field goal for a - lead as the first half expired capping a two-minute drill that saw third-down conversions in Rams territory by Tonges -yard catch and McCaffrey -yard run to the FUMBLE RECOVERY Down - the Rams responded by reaching the ers -yard line Two plays after converting on fourth-and- the Rams lost the ball specifically Blake Corum botched Matthew Stafford s pitch and it was recovered at the ers by Trevis Gipson The ers couldn t convert that takeaway into points barely traveling midfield before punting INJURIES The ers defense already without Nick Bosa the rest of the season lost two starters before the fourth quarter defensive linemen Kalia Davis hand and Yetur Gross-Matos hamstring Dee Winters returned from a shoulder injury Related Articles ers live updates Niners beat Rams with overtime stand ers keys to upsetting the Rams at Levi s South in NFC West battle Rams Jared Verse says he won t antagonize ers Trent Williams Thursday night Brock Purdy ers top receivers ruled out for Thursday night at Rams Can ers Christian McCaffrey unleash running contest against Rams