INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Entering Thursday night’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, the San Francisco 49ers had zero receivers or tight ends on the roster who caught a pass for them in 2024.
There was no George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Ricky Pearsall or Jauan Jennings available. They didn’t have starting quarterback Brock Purdy, either. On paper, everything about Thursday night screamed Rams in a runaway.
Everything, that is, except the scoreboard. The Niners came up with their gutsiest performance of the first five weeks, beating the Rams 26-23 and staking their claim to first place in the NFC West at 4-1 and 3-0 in the division.
As in their three other wins, the Niners had multiple surprise heroes. This time, it was rookie defensive tackle Alfred Collins forcing and recovering a fumble at his own goal line in regulation, with a lot of quarterback Mac Jones and receiver Kendrick Bourne and kicker Eddy Piñeiro mixed in. And then the Niners’ defense got the stop it needed on fourth-and-1 in overtime to put it away.
In the process, coach Kyle Shanahan’s team provided plenty of evidence that this is a group made of the right stuff. With a few extra days to rest, the Niners’ slate doesn’t get any easier from here as they travel to Tampa Bay in Week 6.
But the extra down time should help the team get relatively healthy, and Thursday’s win offers hope that this is a season with plenty of potential.
San Francisco 49ers (4-1)
Stat to know: The 49ers did not record an interception Thursday, making this their 12th game in a row without one dating to last season — the longest in NFL history. That’s a frustration point for the Niners, who get their hands on passes but are repeatedly unable to haul them in. They had at least two catchable interceptions against the Rams that they were unable to secure in a game where even one could have made things much easier.
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Most surprising performance: WR Kendrick Bourne.
Given all the injuries at receiver, Bourne delivered for the Niners. He had a couple of hiccups, including a third-down drop in the first half, but he bounced back strong after his three-drop performance against Jacksonville on Sunday. Bourne emerged as QB Mac Jones’ top option in the passing game, finishing with 10 catches for 142 yards, a career high and only his second time reaching triple-digit yardage in a game.
What to make of the QB performance: Jones already proved his mettle to his teammates in his two previous starts against the Saints and Cardinals, playing through a left knee injury in the late stages of the comeback win against Arizona.
But Thursday cemented that status as Jones took big hits and kept getting up. He came out firing, and even after staying down holding that left leg in the second half, he returned for more.
Jones finished 33-of-49 for 342 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. It remains to be seen when Brock Purdy will return from his toe injury, but the Niners are in good hands in the meantime.
Next game: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS)
Los Angeles Rams (3-2)
It’s just five weeks into the season, but the Rams missed an opportunity to take the lead — at least temporarily — in a competitive NFC West.
Despite playing an injured 49ers team missing starting quarterback Brock Purdy, wide receivers Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall and Brandon Aiyuk, and tight end George Kittle, the Rams fell to 3-2, failing to take advantage in their first divisional game of the season.
A big blow was a fumble at the San Francisco goal line by running back Kyren Williams, who also had a drive-stalling dropped pass earlier in the game. The fumble was the team’s second inside the 49ers’ 25.
This is the first time the Rams have lost multiple fumbles in a regular-season game under coach Sean McVay, according to ESPN Research.
The Rams also had three dropped passes (one each by running backs Williams, Blake Corum and Jordan Whittington) on Thursday. Entering the game, the Rams had four drops total in their first four weeks, according to ESPN Research.
What to make of the QB performance: Stafford put the Rams in position to win the game late in the fourth quarter and again in overtime. He completed 30 of 47 passes for 389 yards and three touchdowns. Stafford’s 11 passing TDs this season are the third most in his first five games of a season in his career after 2011 (13) and 2021 (12, led Rams to Super Bowl win).
Trend to watch: Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua continued his torrid start to the season, catching 10 of 12 targets for 76 yards and a touchdown. With 10 catches, he passed former teammate Cooper Kupp (49 in 2022) for the most receptions by a player in his team’s first five games of a season in NFL history, according to ESPN Research.
Stat to know: Williams had 12.2 yards of separation at the throw arrival on his second-quarter touchdown catch from Matthew Stafford, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. That was the second-greatest separation on any passing touchdown this season. It was the third-most separation on any Stafford TD pass since the start of 2016 when Next Gen Stats began tracking the metric.
Next game: at Baltimore Ravens (1 p.m. ET, Fox)
