What. A. Game.
The 49ers beat the Rams 34-31 on a walk-off field goal from Robbie Gould. San Francisco can take the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a win in Seattle next week.
Here are our observations from Saturday night’s thriller:
– Marcell Harris got beat in coverage for a first down on the Rams’ first drive. He was matched up against WR Robert Woods who hauled in a 12-yard catch for a first down.
– Now Josh Reynolds gets loose. Nick Bosa bit on play action and Azeez Al-Shaair got sucked in to let Reynolds cross unimpeded. He picked up 24 yards down to the San Francisco 33.
– This is easy for the Rams. Goff is moving the pocket and finding easy throws down the field. He hit Tyler Higbee for 20 yards to the 49ers’ 13.
– Touchdown, Rams. Brandin Cooks hauls it in against Ahkello Witherspoon and just like the first meeting between these teams, it’s 7-0 Rams after their first drive. Last game they ran their way down the field, this time it was all Goff. He went 4-for-4 for 66 yards and a touchdown.
– Well then. Richie James Jr. opens San Francisco’s first possession with an 81-yard kick return that set the 49ers up at the Rams’ 18-yard line.
– Daniel Brunskill started at right guard. The 49ers’ first play was a crosser to Deebo Samuel for a gain of 9. Jalen Ramsey was in coverage.
– Near disaster after San Francisco picked up the first down to give them a first-and-goal at the 7. Ben Garland’s shotgun snap rolled to Jimmy Garoppolo, who picked it up and fell forward for a loss of one.
– Garoppolo’s third-down throw intended for George Kittle was incomplete. Linebacker Cory Littleton had good coverage on the play. Kittle isn’t particularly good in those contested catch situations, but Littleton made a nice play on the ball before Kittle had a chance. A 26-yard field goal for Robbie Gould made it 7-3.
– Dre Greenlaw made a really nice play on a screen to shed his block and make a tackle against Cooks. It’s dangerous if Cooks gets going downhill. The tackle brought up a third-and-10.
– Arik Armstead has made a couple nice plays, including a pass breakup on a third-down screen intended for Todd Gurley. He was unhappy about his Pro Bowl snub and he’s come up big early.
– Another bad snap nearly sails over Garoppolo’s head, but he pulled it down and was able to get the handoff to Raheem Mostert.
– Richard Sherman was slow to get up after making a tackle on a running play to his side. It looked like an arm injury, but he immediately went into the medical tent. He came out and appeared to be okay, shaking out his left arm.
– Great field position for the 49ers’ third series thanks to another shanked punt by Johnny Hekker. However, Garoppolo was immediately intercepted on a floated throw intended for Emmanuel Sanders. He lobbed it up between three Rams, and Ramsey, who was in coverage on Kittle, read the throw and jumped underneath it.
– Third-and-12 and an easy conversion for Jared Goff, who rolled left and lofted a dime to Robert Woods for 29 and a first down.
– Harris flagged for unnecessary roughness when Goff sat down right in front of him as he launched for a tackle. That is a brutal call on the 49ers’ safety.
– It’s a 5-yard touchdown one play later on an outside run by Todd Gurley. This is on its way to blowout territory. 14-3, Rams.
– Deebo Samuel has gotten involved after the Rams touchdown. A sweep to him and a screen accounted for 28 yards. Now a screen to Juszczyk picks up 23 and the 49ers are in the red zone. A few really well-designed plays on this series.
– Deebo again. He takes another reverse 19 yards for a touchdown. He turned on the jets to get the corner and into the end zone. That was nice from the rookie. It’s 14-10 and San Francisco badly needed that touchdown.
– Goff has all day to throw. This is not the same 49ers defense that went to LA in Week 6. They’re getting torched. Even when he rolls out and everything is covered up he’s getting five yards on scrambles.
– Another Rams touchdown. It’s Gurley again from 1-yard out and the Rams are up 21-10. There’s an adjustment the 49ers have to make or they’re not going to get a stop all night.
– The 49ers finally get Kittle involved on a screen that picks up 13 yards. All their shots to him had been down the field.
– A direct handoff to Samuel who lined up at running back. Interesting. His run went nowhere because the 49ers OL got cooked inside.
– Well-blocked play by the 49ers’ offensive line on a 16-yard touchdown run by Raheem Mostert. That’s his fifth-consecutive game with a rushing touchdown, and he’s the first 49er to do that since Derek Loville did in in six straight weeks in 1995.
– The 49ers are getting screened to death. Their inexperience is showing on their over-pursuits and missed assignments.
– Well then. Fred Warner caught on to the Rams’ offensive attack. He jumped a swing pass in the flat and housed it for his first-career interception and first-career touchdown. The 49ers BADLY needed that. It’s 24-21, 49ers.
– Another interception for Garoppolo to open the second half. Jalen Ramsey batted a pass intended for Emmanuel Sanders in the air, and Darious Williams pulled it down for the pick. That’s a catastrophic start to the second half for San Francisco.
– The 49ers defense holds behind a couple of well-timed blitzes from Saleh. Third-and-9 resulted in an intentional grounding penalty that backed LA up for a 52-yard field goal attempt. Greg Zuerlein missed it wide left. 49ers still lead 24-21, now they set up shop at their own 42.
– Mitch Wishnowsky launched a terrific punt that DJ Reed downed at the 5. A holding penalty on the Rams pushed them back to the 2.5-yard line to start their series.
– Now it looks like Week 6. The 49ers defense is swarming and Goff buried two throws under pressure in his own end zone. The Rams will punt from their own 4.
– Near disaster as Garoppolo is crushed by Clay Matthews as he throws. It looked like Juszczyk was open down the field, but he wasn’t Garoppolo’s first read and by the time he got there, Matthews was home.
– Now a sack by Morgan Fox on third-and-5 and the 49ers will punt again. This offensive line is getting worked bad.
– Huge mistake by DJ Reed. He ran into punt returner Nsimba Webster after Webster called for a fair catch. That’ll give the Rams great field position after they initially would’ve taken over at the 18.
– Solomon Thomas made a nice play to get in the backfield, but he missed a tackle on Todd Gurley.
– Ahkello Witherspoon got beat bad by Robert Woods on a third-and-5. The catch went for 26 yards and first down deep into 49ers territory.
– Now Witherspoon gets beat by Cooper Kupp for a 22-yard touchdown. Not Witherspoon’s best series. It’s 28-24, Rams and LA has all the momentum back.
– Back-to-back sacks to open the drive after the touchdown. This does not look like a playoff team. Now a punt. Biggest drive of the year for the defense coming up.
– Arik Armstead has been in the backfield a lot. He still doesn’t have a sack to show for it, but he’s been disruptive.
– The defense got a stop it badly needed. Now the offense needs to respond – something they’ve not done consistently.
– And a sack on third-and-7 ends the 49ers’ drive. Pretty pathetic showing from the offense.
– Now Witherspoon misses a tackle that let Todd Gurley get to the edge and rumble ahead for an 8-yard gain. He’s been terrible.
– Azeez Al-Shaair nicely diagnosed a screen and blew it up for no gain on a third-and-1. That’s a terrific play by the undrafted rookie.
– Oh look, George Kittle. He made a catch for 36 yards after the 49ers started on their own 9.
– WOW. Ross Dwelley now. 25-yard catch for him and he got walloped. Garoppolo made a sweet throw over the linebacker too. A penalty on hte hit put the 49ers at the Rams’ 10.
– What a play by Garoppolo to find Kittle for a touchdown. The tight end had to work back toward the sideline, but found some space to settle down in the end zone for 6. That’s a big-time play by the QB and the TE. It’s a 6-play, 91-yard drive to put the 49ers up 31-28.
– Goff nearly threw a backbreaking interception. He floated a ball over the middle thanks to pressure from DeForest Buckner. Marcell Harris had his first-career interception in his hands and he outright dropped it.
– Harris redeemed himself with a nice tackle on third-and-10 to hold the Rams to a gain of 4. Zuerlein drilled a 52-yard field goal to tie the game with 2:30 left.
– Another huge drive for the offense coming up, and they start it with a sack. Garoppolo goes down for the fifth time to bring up a second-and-16 at the 2:00 warning.
– There’s Kendriick Bourne. On third-and-16, Garoppolo drilled a throw over the middle to Bourne, who turned and dove forward for a gain of 18 and a first down. Enormous.
– And another sack on second-and-9 brings up another third-and-16. That can’t happen after a timeout, which the 49ers took before that play. More bad stuff from the offense.
– Oh. My. Goodness. Garoppolo airs one out for Emmanuel Sanders and completes it for 46 yards. Back-to-back third-and-16 conversions and the 49ers are at the Rams’ 24. Unbelievable stuff from Garoppolo in this fourth quarter.
– The 49ers are lining up for a 33-yard field goal to win it at the buzzer…
– Drills it. Ball game. 49ers win 34-31. Unbelievable.