The winless Los Angeles Rams had just come off a tough 31-point loss and were missing their top two receivers when they faced a rival that had dominated them for the past five years.
The Rams fell behind the San Francisco 49ers by 14 points in the second half and were still trailing by double digits midway through the fourth quarter.
Even with his experience in the NFL, Matthew Stafford found the Rams’ exciting 27-24 comeback victory remarkable—both for how it happened and for the determination his team showed in difficult conditions.
“I’m not into improbable, probable,” Stafford said. “NFL is an improbable business, I’ll tell you that much. You never know what’s gonna happen week in and week out. You’ve got to go out there and earn it and prove it, and we did that.”
Kyren Williams rushed 4 yards to score his third touchdown with 1:51 left, and Joshua Karty kicked a 37-yard field goal with just 2 seconds remaining to finish the impressive comeback by Los Angeles, which outscored San Francisco 20-3 in the last 19 minutes.
The Rams (1-2) achieved their largest second-half comeback since 2006 and secured their second straight win over the 49ers (1-2) after losing nine of their previous ten matchups.
Williams caught a touchdown pass and rushed for two scores, helping the Rams avoid their first 0-3 start under coach Sean McVay. Stafford threw for 221 yards, and Tutu Atwell made four catches for 93 yards.
“I think there are the games where you bring just a little bit more juice,” Williams said. “Just the games where you can’t wait to play, when everybody’s doubting you and everybody’s saying, ‘There’s no way the Rams are gonna win.
The Rams are gonna start 0-3.’ We feel it for sure, but it’s something that fuels us.”
Jauan Jennings had a career game for the 49ers, with 11 catches for 175 yards and three touchdowns. This marked the first time since 2018 that they lost a lead of at least 14 points.
While the Rams found hope for their season, the defending NFC champions were left feeling frustrated and found themselves under .500 for the first time since Brock Purdy became their starting quarterback in 2022.
The Niners were ahead 24-14 midway through the fourth quarter, but Jake Moody missed a 55-yard field goal attempt for San Francisco with 2:43 left to play. Stafford connected with Atwell for a 50-yard gain to the San Francisco 5-yard line, and Williams scored two plays later.
Ronnie Bell then dropped a long pass with 1:02 remaining that would have put San Francisco in field goal range. Xavier Smith, who was promoted from the Rams’ practice squad for this game, returned his first career punt 38 yards to midfield.
A 25-yard pass interference penalty against linebacker De’Vondre Campbell put the Rams in position, and their rookie kicker made the kick.
San Francisco tried several laterals after time expired, but the final play ended on the Rams’ sideline.
Purdy threw for 292 yards in the Super Bowl favorites’ second straight road loss after losing to Minnesota the week before.
“Plenty of opportunities,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “I can only speak for myself, and it wasn’t good enough. We’ve got to close them out when we have a chance. … It’s definitely a rough start, but we’ve been through some tough stretches before, but we just have to stay together.”
Both teams were missing many of their top offensive players due to injuries. The 49ers played without Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle, while the Rams were without Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua, and Tyler Higbee.
Purdy focused on Jennings, who caught two touchdown passes in the first quarter and another in the third, becoming the first 49ers wide receiver with three touchdown catches in a game since Terrell Owens in 2001.
The former seventh-round pick had more touchdown catches on Sunday than he did in the previous two seasons combined, and his total catches and yards exceeded both of his two previous best games combined.
“Jauan was unbelievable,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “The numbers show it, but more than the numbers, he was a warrior the whole game. He’s always like that. Got a lot more opportunities today, and he was automatic on every single one.”
Jennings’ most impressive catch was a leaping 32-yard grab over Quentin Lake, which helped set up a field goal that put the Niners ahead 24-14.
Stafford didn’t complete a pass until Atwell made a running catch with about eight minutes remaining in the first half. Williams then caught a short pass and did a full front-flip somersault into the end zone.
In the third quarter, Jennings caught a 31-yard touchdown pass. Williams answered by scoring a rushing touchdown for the sixth game in a row, tying the franchise record set by Marshall Faulk in 2001.
