The Rams came into the season as one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl. On Saturday night against the 49ers, their season effectively ended. With a heartbreaking loss to the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium, the Rams were eliminated from playoff contention.
They lost 34-31 on a last-second field goal by Robbie Gould, sending the Rams back to Los Angeles with very little to play for in Week 17.
Player of the Game: Jalen Ramsey
He had two pass breakups, including an interception. His other deflection led to an interception by Darious Williams, too, so he was the cause of two turnovers. Additionally, he laid a huge hit on Emmanuel Sanders to set the tone in the second quarter.
Stat to know: 5-for-13
The Rams only converted on five of their 13 third-down attempts, which caused drives to stall, especially early in the second half.
Game notes
- Two third-and-16 conversions on the 49ers’ final drive proved to be the difference. The Rams had a great chance to get off the field and get the ball back and win the game, but the defense gave up two huge plays – including a 46-yarder to Emmanuel Sanders.
- Jared Goff played relatively well aside from an ugly pick-six right before halftime. It was a back-breaker, giving the 49ers the lead after they were trailing by 11 points just a few minutes prior. Goff finished with 323 yards and two touchdowns, making several excellent throws down the field. He did nearly throw an interception late in the fourth quarter, which was dropped by Marcell Harris, but it was a good performance by Goff.
- Todd Gurley had two touchdowns, but his longest run was 8 yards. He didn’t seem to have much juice aside from his touchdown run, on which he showed off his speed to get to the edge. The 49ers didn’t give him much room to run, holding him to 48 yards on 15 carries.
- Robert Woods and Tyler Higbee have carried the offense in recent weeks, and that was the case on Saturday. They both went over 100 yards receiving, catching 17 passes combined. They’ve clearly become Goff’s favorite targets, especially on the bootlegs to the right side.
- The Rams gave up 34 points, but the defense was great until the final drive. Jalen Ramsey was especially good, breaking up two passes, including an interception. Darious Williams more than held his own in his first start, also deflecting one pass and picking off another. On the night, San Francisco only had 334 total yards, 60 of which came on the final drive.
- Sean McVay has clearly realized Goff’s strengths right now and has utilized an abundance of screen passes and bootlegs to maximize his ability. Goff was outstanding on the run against the 49ers, and most of his completions came on designed rollouts. It’s not ideal when a coach has to constantly call bootlegs and cut the field in half, but it’s one of the few things working with Goff at the moment.
- Aaron Donald and Dante Fowler Jr. had strong performances, combining for four sacks, five QB hits and four tackles for loss. The Rams had six sacks as a team with Morgan Fox and Samson Ebukam recording the other two.