Instant analysis: 49ers rally past Rams 30-23 to start season 2-0
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Deebo Samuel snared the ball, banged his way up the left sideline, and bounded over the goal line for a 49ers touchdown that exemplified their not-so-easy, 30-23 win Sunday.
Samuel’s 11-yard catch-and-run put the 49ers ahead 27-17 in the fourth quarter, and, unlike the 2021 season’s NFC Championship Game here, that proved too much for the Rams to overcome, much to the delight of a pro-49ers crowd inside SoFi Stadium
Deommodore Lenoir’s fourth-quarter interception sealed the 49ers’ victory, their ninth straight in regular-season action against the Rams. It made the 49ers 2-0 for the third time in five seasons, and next up is Thursday night in their home opener against the New York Giants.
This wasn’t the cakewalk like last Sunday’s opener, when the 49ers rolled the host Pittsburgh Steelers 30-7.
Then again, that’s back-to-back games with 30 points. What is their weekly potential?
“It’s high,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said, “but I feel that way every year. I’m extremely irritated when we don’t score. You expect to score. That’s how you try to attack and what our players expect.”
With 5:29 left and a 7-point lead to protect, the 49ers’ exhausted defense had 75 yards to stop the Rams from pulling even. Barely 30 seconds into that drive, the Los Angeles-native Lenoir came through with a third-down interception of Matthew Stafford, who was getting pressured by Nick Bosa.
The 49ers converted that gem into points: a 26-yard field goal by rookie Jake Moody. In fact, it was the second interception of the half they parlayed a takeaway into a field goal. Earlier, with the score tied at 17, Isaiah Oliver picked off Stafford, and Moody eventually followed with a go-ahead, 58-yard field goal.
As for touchdowns, Samuel’s first of the season came in trademark fashion. In what was classified as a touchdown run, Samuel caught Brock Purdy’s backward pass, left three Rams defenders on the ground at the 10-yard line, cut inside linebacker Ernest Jones’ attempted arm tackle at the 5, found a lane behind Colton McKivitz’s block and pulled linebacker Michael Hoecht with him across the goal line with 11:28 remaining.
“I’ve gotten used to it with him,” Shanahan said of Samuel’s style. “That was the look we wanted, which usually means it get 6 yards. Then Deebo has a knack for getting a lot more than that.”
That left a lot of time for Stafford, but the Rams could only respond with a 48-yard field goal from Brett Maher to cut the 49ers’ lead to 27-20. Maher kicked another field goal in the final seconds, but that 38-yarder left no time attempt an ensuing onside kick or last-ditch rally.
Purdy improved to 7-0 in regular-season starts, passing for 206 yards (17-of-25, no touchdowns, no interceptions) and running for a fourth-down, 1-yard touchdown as the first half expired to pull the 49ers into a 17-17 tie.
“Everyone is less shocked now when he makes great plays and good decisions. That’s just who he is. That’s part of winning football games,” Christian McCaffrey said. “It’s a four-quarter fight. He did a great job taking care of the ball, always does. Keep it up.”
Purdy opened the fourth quarter completing 16- and 31-yard strikes to Samuel and Jauan Jennings. A third-and-1 conversion by Purdy preceded Samuel’s first touchdown of the season.
Moody’s career-best 57-yard field goal is what put the 49ers in front , 20-17, and it was the payoff for Isaiah Oliver’s interception of Stafford in 49ers’ territory. Purdy, however, overthrew Samuel at the goal line on a potential 39-yard touchdown strike the previous snap. It wasn’t surprising, considering that Purdy had earlier overthrows, also, on third-down shots to Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings.
Were those a matter of Purdy not knowing his own strength after his March 10 elbow surgery?
“No, I don’t think so,” Purdy answered. “=We’ve hit those deep balls at practice. It comes down to that when the bullets are flying, make accurate throws, don’t overthrow, don’t underthrow, and be on point. That’s what you have to do as a NFL quarterback and I put that on myself.”
Purdy could counter all that by noting his emphasis was to not commit a turnover, and his coach agreed. “The main thing he did today was protect the ball,” Shanahan said.
Rams defensive star Aaron Donald had no tackles, no sacks and just one hit on Purdy.
“We commit everything to (stop) him, because if you don’t, he wrecks everything,” Shanahan said. “It didn’t feel like that (stat dominance). Felt he defeated a number of blocks, and we were able to get rid of (the ball) before he got there.”
As for the 49ers’ defensive mainstay, Nick Bosa, he remains without a sack through two games, but he had three quarterback hurries this outing and felt he improved. As for his heavier workload with only a few days to rest before facing the Giants, Bosa said he is not concerned about his conditioning. “I needed a couple of games to get my body into football shape,” Bosa said. “Now that I’m through two and had a pretty good output, I’m only going to be up from here.”
Stafford had picked apart the 49ers’ pass defense by completing 22-of-25 passes (205 yards) until Oliver intercepted a pass off Kyren Williams’ hands. That first turnover of the game staved off a go-ahead score by the Rams, and it put the 49ers at their own 28-yard line 4:10 before the fourth quarter.
Stafford proved mortal again on his next series, when Fred Warner blitzed and recorded the 49ers’ first sack of the game to force a three-and-out.
The 49ers had to rally for a 17-17 halftime tie, scoring as the half expired when Brock Purdy’s pushed across on a fourth-and-goal plunge to cap their two-minute drill. Purdy’s completions to Deebo Samuel (19 yards) and Jauan Jennings (20 yards) were key along the way, as were two end-zone penalties on the Rams to set up the 49ers at the 1-yard line with 1 second left for Purdy’s final snap and score.
That touchdown drive provided the perfect response after the Rams took their first lead of the game. Defensive breakdowns against the run, against the pass, against the rules (key penalties) all yielded two touchdown drives to the Rams, who surprisingly deactivated Week 1 starting running back Cam Akers. Both those Rams’ scores came from Kyren Williams (6-yard catch, 4-yard run).
For the second time in as many games, the 49ers scored on their opening possession, with Christian McCaffrey scoring on a 14-yard. That 75-yard march was mostly stressless, until Brandon Aiyuk appeared to injure his shoulder on a third-down conversion to the 22-yard line. McCaffrey finished with 116 yards on 20 carries.
After the Rams answered with a 43-yard field goal from Brett Maher, the 49ers quickly got back into scoring territory, when McCaffrey broke free 51 yards down the left sideline to the 13-yard line, where ex-49er Ahkello Witherspon made a touchdown-saving tackle despite a stiff-arm from McCaffrey. Witherspoon then jawed with McCaffrey, who returned in kind to end the first quarter.
The 49ers’ early lead vanished in the second quarter, one play after a Dre Greenlaw personal foul set the stage for Matthew Stafford’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Williams. Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga and Charvarius Ward stopped Puka Nucau for no gain on the previous play, but Greenlaw’s extracurricular efforts drew a penalty.
That game-tying drive by the Rams started at the 40-yard line, courtesy of Moody sending the kickoff out of bounds after his 27-yard field goal had put the 49ers up 10-3.
For a second straight game, the 49ers appeared to escape without any significant injuries. Cornerback Ambry Thomas (knee) exited in the second quarter, and a corresponding move saw the 49ers insert Isaiah Oliver at nickel back to keep Lenoir at right cornerback. Oliver promptly missed a tackle on Kyren Williams. Thomas returned late in the third quarter to replace Lenoir, who was evaluated for a possible concussion and ultimately cleared. Aiyuk appeared to possibly injure his shoulder on a third-down conversion on the first series, and although he remained in the game, rookie Ronnie Bell rotated in with him.