49ers stifle Rams offense, come out with dominating 20-7 win

In a game not nearly as close as the score indicated, the San Francisco 49ers stayed undefeated, beating the Los Angeles Rams 20-7. Niner Noise recaps the action.

The San Francisco 49ers continued to stake their claim for a playoff spot, staying undefeated as they beat the Los Angeles Rams 20-7 on the road in Week 6.

As in most Niners games so far this year, the final score was not indicative of the performance.

The game started off rough, with the Niners dealing with a 3-and-out and then letting the Rams run the ball right down their throat, resulting in a Robert Woods rushing touchdown, the first rushing touchdown allowed by the defense this year:

https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/1183478621467332608

The 49ers responded with a touchdown drive of their own, a methodical drive which calmed the team down.

From there, the defense got to work. They stopped the Rams easily, allowing the 49ers to march all the way down the field to the 1-yard line, where quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo threw one of the worst interceptions possible:

Head coach Kyle Shanahan later told reporters he wasn’t upset at Garoppolo for the throw, since it was both the play and read Shanahan wanted.

Still, it was a bad play all around that pushed momentum firmly in the Rams hands, but the 49ers defense continued to amaze. They stopped the Rams at the 1-yard line twice, and after a Robbie Gould miss to end the half, the teams were tied.

https://twitter.com/49ers/status/1183491789086281728

In the second half, the 49ers defense didn’t let up. Defensive end Arik Armstead recovered a fumble, Garoppolo scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown and they never looked back.

The rest of the game followed a similar pattern: the offense patiently pushing the ball down the field and eventually stalling out, while the defense continued to stymie the Rams offense. Los Angeles quarterback Jared Goff was constantly under duress, suffering four sacks and only gaining 56 yards in total passing offense. The 49ers even had two more defensive stands on fourth down, both by the hands of defensive back Jimmie Ward.

If anyone considered the 49ers not legitimate, this game must have allayed most of those concerns. Without their starting tackles and fullback, the Niners still managed to rush for 99 yards and accumulate over 300 yards of offense. Tight end George Kittle, coming into the game with a groin injury, racked up 103 passing yards.

Apart from yet another miss from the field-goal unit, the Niners played incredibly well.

The biggest takeaway from this game, as has been with many 49ers games during this undefeated stretch, is how the Niners haven’t reached their full potential. Injuries have costed this team valuable time to jell, but the offense has consistently played below their ability, yet they still win.

This game followed the preview that Peter Panacy set to a T.

Two or three games, it may be a fluke, but five games in, it’s been incredibly clear that these 49ers are no joke. Now they’ll have to keep it going.

All stats courtesy of ESPN.