No Brock Purdy. No Ricky Pearsall. No Jauan Jennings. No Nick Bosa. No George Kittle ... And, yet, no problem for San Francisco.
The 49ers defeated the Rams 26-23 in overtime behind a terrific performance from Mac Jones, another workmanlike effort from Christian McCaffrey, a career night from Kendrick Bourne and several clutch red zone plays from their defense.
Eddy Pineiro made a 41-yard field goal on the 49ers' opening drive of overtime, and San Francisco stopped Kyren Williams on a fourth and 1 from the 11-yard line to preserve the win.
That followed a wild end to regulation. Pineiro nailed a go-ahead 59-yard field goal with just over two minutes left to give San Francisco the lead, but it looked like it wouldn't hold up. Matthew Stafford quickly led the Rams back down the field into the red zone. However, with Williams running with a head full of steam just 2 yards from the end zone, Alfred Collins came up with the biggest play of his young NFL career, punching the ball out. He also recovered the ball.
However, the 49ers (4-1), backed up at their own 1-yard line, dialed up three conservative plays and went three and out, enabling the Rams (3-2) to get one last shot. Stafford got Los Angeles into field goal range before Joshua Karty's 48-yarder sent the contest to the extra session.
Jones finished 33 for 49 for 342 passing yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and just one sack despite taking multiple hits. McCaffrey had 30 touches for 139 yards, and Bourne had 10 catches for a career-high 142 yards.
Jones led a quick start, connecting on 11 of 13 passes for 131 and two touchdowns, the first to Jake Tonges from 6 yards out, the second a 1-yarder to McCaffrey. Overall, he went 15 for 23 for 179 yards, in the first half.
Los Angeles finally got its offense going shortly before halftime, with Stafford finding Williams out of the backfield for a 14-yard touchdown.
The 49ers put together a strong response, though, and got a Pineiro 37-yard field goal as time expired in the half.
The 49ers had a moment of panic in the third quarter when Jones got rocked by Byron Young and clutched at his left leg; he has had a bothersome left knee early in the season, and he appeared to be in significant pain. However, after trainers helped him to his feet, he was able to jog off the field and did not miss any time. The 49ers' backup quarterback is Adrian Martinez, who has never appeared in an NFL game.
The 49ers extended their lead to 20-7 before Stafford led a long drive and fired a quick pass to Puka Nacua for a 1-yard score to cut it to 20-14. Stafford then led a second consecutive scoring drive and again found Williams for a touchdown, this time from 8 yards out. It's Williams' second career game with multiple receiving touchdowns.
However, the extra point was blocked, leaving the game tied at 20-20. That set up a wild finish that ultimately went San Francisco's way.
Here are our takeaways from the game:
For all the players the 49ers are without, it's one of the few healthy stars -- middle linebacker Fred Warner -- who came up with a huge stop in the game-clinching moment.
"They wanted to see who wanted it more, and it looked like we did," Warner told the "Thursday Night Football" crew after the game.
Of course, Warner wouldn't have even gotten that chance to make that play if Collins didn't make this one:
If you want to see why Kyle Shanahan initially wanted Mac Jones so badly leading into the 2021 NFL Draft and signed him to be Purdy's backup this offseason, it was on display Thursday night.
Jones was accurate on his short passes and operated the offense cleanly even though he had missed practices over the past few weeks. He was mostly kept clean throughout the game, but even when there was pressure, he made some impressive throws. He located a beautiful third-and-9 back-shoulder throw to DeMarcus Robinson, for example, on an early touchdown drive.
Jones' biggest strengths -- his accuracy and his ability to process information and make the correct read quickly -- are especially on display in this offense. He's now 3-0 in his brief 49ers career.
| 3-0 Record, 800+ Pass Yds, 6+ Pass TD in 1st 3 starts With a Team - Since 1950 | ||
| 2025 | Mac Jones | 49ers |
| 2021 | Matthew Stafford | Rams |
| 2017-18 | Patrick Mahomes | Chiefs |
| 1999 | Kurt Warner | Rams |
That Jones played through significant pain -- after the game, he said he was OK and dealing with cramps in that left leg that's already been injured -- was symbolic of a 49ers team that did what it needed to win with contributions up and down the roster.
"I can't say enough good things about Mac," McCaffrey said. "He's a warrior the way he shows up every day at practice, the way he competes out there, he's so loose. When you have a backup quarterback like that, that plays like a starter, it makes our job a lot easier. It's just so much fun playing with him ... He's so poised throughout the entire game and I think just think his toughness, his overall grit, [is] something that helped us win this football game."
When this season started, Jones was the backup, neither Bourne nor Pineiro was even on the roster, Collins had never played a regular-season game and Tonges had never caught a pass. To see their names leading the way in a crucial division win is a testament to them, to coach Kyle Shanahan, to general manager John Lynch, and to their entire organization.
Bourne spent his first four seasons with the 49ers before spending the next four with the Patriots, where he had a career year with Jones as his quarterback. With Pearsall and Jennings out, it looked just like the old days for Jones and Bourne, just in different uniforms. Bourne made tough catches over the middle and showed his speed and toughness after the catch. Pineiro, brought in after Jake Moody struggled in Week 1, is now 11 for 11 on field goals with the 49ers.
Williams' goal-line fumble crushed the Rams' chances to win in overtime, but it was him getting stopped on the last play of the game that crushed the Rams' chances of taking sole possession of first place. I didn't love the play call considering Stafford (389 passing yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions) had shredded the 49ers' secondary and hardly faced any pressure all night.
Those will get the headlines, but there were plenty more mistakes.
The 49ers will hope some of the bumps and bruises heal over the next week-plus before a trip to face the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay. The Rams also head across the country in Week 5, to face the Ravens in Baltimore.
What a win for San Francisco: The 49ers stuff Kyren Williams on fourth and 1 at the 11-yard line to preserve the win. They're 4-1, while Los Angeles falls to 3-2.
The Rams defense stiffened in the red zone with their pass rush finally getting to Mac Jones, and Eddy Pineiro hit a go-ahead 41-yard field goal that kissed in off the left upright.
Jones is in a ton of pain on the sideline. What an effort tonight from him.
Sixty minutes will not be enough. The Rams and the 49ers will require the extra session after the Rams got a 48-yard field goal from Joshua Karty in the final seconds of regulation.
The Rams started the drive at midfield after getting a quick stop following Kyren Williams' fumble, and Williams played a big role in getting Los Angeles into field goal range with a 13-yard catch on a fourth and 4.
Alfred Collins just made the biggest play of his very young NFL career. The second-round rookie out of Texas just punched the ball out of Kyren Williams' hands just a few feet before the goal line, and the 49ers are going to take over at their own 1-yard line, leading 23-20.
The Rams do have all three timeouts, and if they get a quick stop, they can get the ball back.
Eddy Pineiro didn't join the 49ers until Week 2, when Jake Moody's considerable struggles finally cost him his job, and, my goodness, is Kyle Shanahan happy he made the switch. Pineiro just drilled a 59-yard field goal -- his third field goal of the game -- to give the 49ers a 23-20 lead. He is now 10-10 on field goals this season.
We have a tie game on our hands! Matthew Stafford and Davante Adams led the Rams down the field, but it's Kyren Williams who's on the receiving end of an 8-yard toss from Stafford for the touchdown. Joshua Karty's extra point was blocked, leaving the score tied 20-20.
It's Williams' second career game with multiple receiving touchdowns. The 49ers defense, though, is starting to show cracks. With no Nick Bosa, there's not a ton of pass rush, and Stafford is starting to find openings in the secondary. Adams had catches of 25 and 24 yards on the series.
The Rams are within six points, 20-14, after Matthew Stafford's 1-yard touchdown pass to Puka Nacua.
Nacua had just three catches for 24 yards in the first half. He already has four catches for 32 yards through two offensive drives in the second half; Sean McVay and Stafford have made it a point to get him the ball quickly and let him work thereafter.
Mac Jones went down in a significant amount of pain after being hit by Byron Young. Jones, who is already playing in place of Brock Purdy, has been dealing with a knee injury and playing with a brace, and that was the area he was grabbing. Jones was able to get up and jog to the sideline under his own power.
Adrian Martinez is the 49ers' current backup. He has never played in an NFL game. San Francisco leads 20-7.
This was not the start to the second half the Rams envisioned. After moving into 49ers territory, Los Angeles had back-to-back drops from Jordan Whittington and Kyren Williams, and then Joshua Karty missed a 53-yard field goal, his first miss of the season that wasn't blocked.
The 49ers maintain a 17-7 lead, and they'll be ecstatic that their defense bent but didn't break yet again.
It took a bit, but the Rams offense got rolling here just before halftime, and Matthew Stafford found a wide-open Kyren Williams for a 14-yard touchdown with 2:09 left in the second quarter.
That's an eight-play, 85-yard drive from Los Angeles when it badly needed it. Rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson came up with a huge contested catch that gained 21 yards on third and 4. It was his first career reception.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan is pulling out all the stops so far. He dialed up an interesting-looking trick play, which resulted in an 8-yard catch by Christian McCaffrey. San Francisco is controlling this game in terms of time of possession, and that's the strategy that's going to be needed to pull off an upset as an 8.5-point underdog.
The 49ers have 163 yards of total offense, while the Rams have just seven on the one drive.
Going back down memory lane, the 49ers were once a touchdown underdog back in 2020 against the Rams on the road. The 49ers started backup quarterback Nick Mullens and walked away with a 23-20 win.
The methodical 49ers are grinding through the Rams here early. San Francisco just capped a 17-play, 76-yard drive with Mac Jones' second touchdown toss of the day, this one to Christian McCaffrey.
The drive took eight minutes and 15 seconds and included two fourth-and-1 conversions and a third-and-9 conversion. McCaffrey already has 13 touches for 68 yards, and even when the Rams have contained him, Jones has been precise. He's 11 of 13 for 131 yards through two drives.
What a start from San Francisco! The 49ers march right down the field, and Mac Jones finds Jake Tonges wide open from 6 yards out for the score.
It's a brilliant start and a wonderful opening script from Kyle Shanahan. McCaffrey had five touches (three carries, two catches) for 43 total yards on the drive, and Jones is getting the ball out quickly to avoid a fearsome Los Angeles pass rush. He went five for five for 77 yards, with the big one being a 35-yard catch-and-run by Kendrick Bourne when the 49ers were backed up on first and 20.
You couldn't have scripted a better start, and Shanahan once again shows few script them up better than he does.
The 49ers, led by Mac Jones, will start with the ball.
Given the 49ers' injuries at its skill positions, expect another large dose of Christian McCaffrey tonight. The versatile running back leads the NFL with 100 touches (69 carries, 31 receptions) and his 530 yards from scrimmage are third to Bijan Robinson and Puka Nacua.
In two career games for the 49ers against the Rams, McCaffrey has 284 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns. McCaffrey's 3.3 yards per carry this season, though, rank 39th out of 47 qualified running backs. San Francisco needs better ground production to have a chance.
Limiting Puka Nacua was already difficult enough before Davante Adams arrived. Now that Adams is lining up opposite him, Nacua has been nearly unstoppable, leading the NFL in receptions (42) and receiving yards (503) through four weeks. Adams, meanwhile, has 17 catches for 269 yards and three touchdowns.
Both Nacua (4.62) and Adams (2.27) rank in the top dozen in yards per route run against man coverage, and Nacua (4.20) leads the NFL in yards per route run against zone coverage. San Francisco cornerbacks Renardo Green and Deommodore Lenoir will have their hands full.
The Rams come into this game much healthier than the 49ers, as evidenced by their relatively clean injury report this week. Tyler Higbee (hip) and Rob Havenstein (ankle) were both listed as doubtful and are indeed out. Those were the only players who entered the game with an injury designation.
As had been previously announced, quarterback Brock Purdy and wide receivers Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings and Jordan Watkins are all out tonight. That leaves Mac Jones' top wide receivers as ...
