Santa Clara – Depending on how you look at it, this week the Rams’ goodbye comes at the right time or exactly two weeks too late.
He needs a week off to take a deep breath, rest and heal, after two of the worst games a Super Bowl contender can imagine playing.
The off-the-field chaos of the Rams’ recent big trades, big signings and major injury was the start of a mess of the San Francisco 49ers’ loss at Levi’s Stadium on Monday night.
Matthew Stafford again threw two expensive interceptions to set the tone, with the Rams trailing early on their way to a 31-10 loss to the 49ers.
The Rams’ second straight loss, their first on the road this season, dropped them 7–3 and saw them finish first in the NFC West with the Arizona Cardinals.
It was their fifth consecutive loss in three seasons for the 49ers, who improved to 4–5 with their first home win in more than a calendar year.
The game promised something new for the Rams, coach Sean McVay, who has generally been good at pulling back from defeats like last week’s against the Tennessee Titans.
Monday marked the debut of wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who was signed as a free agent after the Cleveland Browns agreed to be released. This marked the debut of outside linebacker Von Miller, who was acquired in a trade with the Denver Broncos. But it was also his first game without Robert Woods when the dependable receiver suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice.
From the outset, instead of something new, it was a shadow of the Ram’s unhappy recent history with the 49ers, with upsets, blown leads and too many mistakes.
Going 0-4 against his oldest division rivals in 2019 and 2020, then-Rams quarterback Jared Goff produced more turnovers (four interceptions, one fumble) than touchdown passes (four).
Stafford should have served the same time as in the past. But last week he threw two poor, game-changing interceptions in the second quarter of the Rams’ 28-16 loss to the Tennessee Titans. And on Monday, on a cold, humid night, he threw two 49ers safety Jimmy Ward in the first quarter.
The first was a deep shot made for Beckham, which he struck from 5 yards to the right in the Rams’ first game.
Jimmy Garoppolo and the Niners had 93 yards to go from there, but he did it on an 18-play drive capped by an 8-yard touchdown catch from George Kittel, the tight end’s third conversion on third down.
The second interception, on the next possession of the Rams, was not Stafford’s fault. He hit a short throw into the hands of Tyler Higby to the right, but it jumped and went straight into the ward. His 27-yard runback for a touchdown made it 14-0.
Higby made amends on a quick, 75-yard drive featuring a 29-yard catch-and-run by Cooper Kupp with a fine catch of a 10-yard touchdown.
The 49ers then supported a penalty on their kickoff return, adding a 91-yard drive to their earlier 93-yard drive and an 8-yard run by wide receiver Deebo Samuel out of the backfield to advance, 21-7. .
The Rams finished the half off what would have been a 35-yard field-goal effort by Matt Gaye and adding a stalled drive problem by making a fake call, coming short of the first down while completing Johnny Hecker’s Kendall Blanton.
To the rescue, the three-wheeled sack machine of Miller, Aaron Donald and Leonard Floyd did not immediately fire. Garoppolo’s only sack security was recorded by Taylor Rapp. Garoppolo completed his first 11 passes before the 49ers were forced to settle for a 50-yard field goal by Robbie Gould to go 24-7 in the third quarter.
The 49ers (who controlled the ball for more than 39 minutes and converted eight of 14 third-down attempts) took the game away, and embarrassment poured over the Rams, when coach Kyle Shanahan took the fourth and – Decided to go for it by 6. LA 40 and Samuel converted a short pass from Garoppolo into a touchdown to make it 31-7.
When the good news is you don’t have a game this week, you know you’re going to have problems.
The Rams will return to practice next week and will do much to prepare to face the Green Bay Packers (8-2) at Lambeau Field on Sunday, November 28.
There is much more to come on this story.
