Bad start and a big day from Matthew Stafford bury 49ers in 42-26 loss to Rams

The realities of an injury-depleted roster were on display for the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, and they weren't pretty.

The 49ers faced a Los Angeles Rams team at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara on Sunday that it knocked off in an overtime instant classic in Week 5, but both the product the 49ers put on the field Sunday as well as the result were quite different from that game. The 49ers looked lost on defense to start Sunday's game, digging themselves in a 21-0 first half hole, then were unable to come up with stops down the stretch as the Rams fought off a 49ers comeback attempt for a 42-26 victory.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford entered the day with MVP buzz and strengthened his case by slicing and dicing the young 49ers defense for 280 yards and four touchdowns on 24-of-36 passing. 49ers quarterback Mac Jones put up 319 yards, three touchdowns and one interception on 33-of-39 passing in the loss.

Rams come out on fire to build big first-half lead

The Rams wasted no time out of the gate, marching 64 yards on 10 plays to reach the end zone on their first possession. Stafford completed 4-of-6 passes for 39 yards on the drive, while running back Kyren Williams chipped in four carries for 25 yards. Williams finished the drive off with a two-yard scoring run to take a 7-0 lead.

The Rams got the ball right back after a three-and-out from the 49ers and took a 14-0 lead with a seven-play, 86-yard drive that was capped by a 22-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Puka Nacua. The Rams moved down the field in chunks with a 15-yard run by Blake Corum, a 23-yard completion to wide receiver Davante Adams, and a 14-yard completion to wide receiver Xavier Smith, then Nacua took a short pass and weaved through traffic for his fourth touchdown of the season.

A few good vibes came the 49ers' way when they started the next drive with a dazzling diving catch by tight end George Kittle followed by a first down grab by wide receiver Jauan Jennings, but those were quickly dashed after Jennings committed the first turnover of the game. On a 2nd-and-10 from the Rams' 39-yard line, Jones found Jennings for what would have been another first down, but the ball was knocked out and recovered by safety Kamren Kinchens, who advanced the ball 13 yards to give the Rams possession at their own 41.

The Rams capitalized off the turnover with a nine-play, 59-yard drive that saw them take a 21-0 lead on a four-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to tight end Davis Allen. Multiple runs from Williams as well as 15-yard completions to Nacua and tight end Tyler Higbee got the Rams inside the red zone, then Stafford found Allen wide open in the back of the end zone on a 2nd-and-Goal play to extend the lead.

The 49ers responded with their best drive of the first half to that point -- a nine-play, 54-yard drive that moved the ball into the red zone -- but they wound up coming away empty-handed. A 20-yard completion to Kittle early in the drive moved the ball to the Rams' 31-yard line, then an 11-yard run by running back Brian Robinson Jr. moved the ball to the 20. But four plays later, the 49ers went for a first down on a 4th-and-1 run by Christian McCaffrey and were stopped for no gain, leading to a turnover on downs at the 8:32 mark in the second quarter.

A three-and-out after the turnover on downs led to the first punt of the game for the Rams, which return man Skyy Moore used to put some momentum back in the 49ers' favor. Moore fielded the punt at the 49ers' 37-yard line and worked his way downfield for a 27-yard return, setting the 49ers up at the Rams' 36-yard line.

The 49ers cashed in on the opportunity with the help of two more key catches by Kittle, one of them being an 11-yard catch that gave the 49ers a 1st-and-Goal at the 6. On the next play, Jones connected with Jennings to get the 49ers on the board with a touchdown pass, cutting the deficit to 14 with just over three minutes left in the half.

The 49ers forced a punt on the ensuing possession after seven plays and took over on their own 16-yard line with 1:06 remaining before halftime. Completions to Jennings and wide receiver Demarcus Robinson moved the ball to midfield, but the drive stalled from there, forcing the 49ers to punt. The Rams then took a knee to move into halftime with a 21-7 lead.

The 49ers ended the half with some solid numbers on offense, putting up 182 total yards with Jones throwing for 151 yards and one touchdown on 15-of-19 passing. But the Rams were able to finish more drives and held an advantage in most key categories while following Stafford (173 yards, two touchdowns on 14-of-23 passing) to a 14-point edge.

49ers offense can't catch up in second half

The 49ers started the second half with the big drive they needed, thanks in large part to the team's running backs. Christian McCaffrey made his mark on the drive as a receiver, catching two passes for 32 yards. On the ground it was Robinson, who had five carries for 24 yards. Robinson did the honors of finishing things off with a powerful 1-yard touchdown run to get the 49ers back within striking distance at 21-14.

The Rams responded with a big drive of their own -- a 12-play, 62-yard drive that ended in a touchdown pass to Adams to retake a 14-point lead. The drive included a key conversion on a 4th-and-3 pass to Nacua at the 49ers' 28-yard line, then after moving to the 1-yard line and losing a yard on a 1st-and-Goal run by Corum, Stafford found Adams from two yards out for his ninth touchdown catch of the season and a 28-14 late third quarter lead.

The 49ers kept fighting and kept themselves in the game with a 10-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, albeit one that ended with a rare mistake in the kicking game. The 49ers moved downfield mostly on a series of short gains along with a 19-yard completion to wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, then they finished the drive when Jones escaped pressure on a 1st-and-Goal and dumped the ball off to tight end Luke Farrell for a nine-yard score. But the extra point from kicker Eddy Pineiro was blocked, marking just the second missed kick from Pineiro (both of them extra points) since he joined the 49ers in September. The blocked kick left the score at 28-20 with over 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Stafford quickly took momentum back from the 49ers by engineering a five-play, 64-yard drive that ended with the second rushing touchdown of the game for Williams. The drive took just over two minutes to complete as Stafford completed a 13-yard pass to Nacua, a 32-yard pass to tight end Terrance Ferguson and a 12-yard pass to tight end Colby Parkinson to move the ball to the 7-yard line, then Williams ran in from there to put the Rams up 35-20.

The door was all but slammed on the 49ers on the ensuing possession, which ended in a turnover that started sending fans to the exits. Facing a 4th-and-4 at the 49ers' 41-yard line, Jones dumped the ball into traffic under pressure and was picked off by cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr., giving the Rams the ball with a short field at the 36.

The Rams ran a few minutes off the clock after the turnover, then Stafford finished the 49ers off with his fourth touchdown pass of the day. This time it was Parkinson, who was wide open on what looked like somewhat of a no-look pass for a 16-yard score.

The 49ers added one more touchdown on a seven-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard touchdown catch by Kittle. It was another highlight play for Kittle, who was all alone when he made the catch then dove to touch the pylon for the touchdown. A two-point conversion attempt after the touchdown failed, leaving the score at 42-26.

The Rams were able to run out the clock after the touchdown, finishing out the win. The Rams improved to 7-2 with the win, keeping pace with the Seattle Seahawks (7-2) atop of the NFC West. The 49ers fell to 6-4 with the loss.

Game Notes

Sunday's game was the 154th meeting in the history of the Rams-49ers rivalry. The 49ers lead the series with a record of 79-72-1... The Rams were 5.5-point favorites over the 49ers heading into the game... The second quarter touchdown pass to Allen was the 400th of Stafford's career... Next up for the 49ers will be a road game against the Arizona Cardinals (3-6) on Sunday, November 16. Kickoff time will be at 4:05 p.m. ET/1:05 ET, with the game being televised on FOX.

Scoring Summary

• Q1 10:18 — LA 7, SF 0
  K. Williams 2 yd. run (H. Mevis kick) (10 plays, 64 yds, 4:46)
• Q1 05:41 — LA 14, SF 0
  P. Nacua 22 yd. pass from M. Stafford (H. Mevis kick) (7 plays, 86 yds, 3:20)
• Q2 13:48 — LA 21, SF 0
  D. Allen 4 yd. pass from M. Stafford (H. Mevis kick) (9 plays, 59 yds, 4:33)
• Q2 03:19 — LA 21, SF 7
  J. Jennings 6 yd. pass from M. Jones (E. Pineiro kick) (7 plays, 36 yds, 3:29)
• Q3 09:37 — LA 21, SF 14
  B. Robinson 1 yd. run (E. Pineiro kick) (10 plays, 65 yds, 5:27)
• Q3 02:44 — LA 28, SF 14
  D. Adams 2 yd. pass from M. Stafford (H. Mevis kick) (12 plays, 64 yds, 6:54)
• Q4 12:36 — LA 28, SF 20
  L. Farrell 9 yd. pass from M. Jones (kick blocked) (10 plays, 70 yds, 5:10)
• Q4 10:07 — LA 35, SF 20
  K. Williams 7 yd. run (H. Mevis kick) (5 plays, 64 yds, 2:25)
• Q4 05:17 — LA 42, SF 20
  C. Parkinson 16 yd. pass from M. Stafford (H. Mevis kick) (6 plays, 38 yds, 3:19)
• Q4 03:05 — LA 42, SF 26
  G. Kittle 13 yd. pass from M. Jones (pass failed) (7 plays, 65 yds, 2:11)

Game and Player Stats