Recap
AI summary, sourced from 1 period article (ESPN AP)
Matthew Stafford threw four touchdown passes with no interceptions, an NFL record-setting third straight game with that line, and the Los Angeles Rams beat the 49ers 42-26 at Levi's Stadium. The Rams scored touchdowns on their first three possessions to take a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. Stafford completed 24 of 36 for 280 yards; he became the ninth quarterback in NFL history with 400 career touchdown passes. Mac Jones completed 33 of 39 for 319 yards with three touchdowns and one interception for the 49ers. San Francisco falls to 6-4; the Rams improve to 7-2.[1][2][3]
Columnist recap
AI summary, sourced from 1 period article (ESPN AP)
Matthew Stafford is having the kind of season where the postscript on a 42-26 win at Levi's Stadium includes him crossing 400 career touchdown passes, throwing four more without an interception in a single afternoon, and giving Sean McVay the rare luxury of a sideline view of an MVP campaign in the middle of November. He did all three Sunday.
The 49ers tried. Mac Jones threw for 319 with three scores. The 49ers offense moved the ball at a 33-for-39 clip when they needed to. The defense, without Bosa and Warner, did not get off the field. The Rams scored touchdowns on their first three possessions and turned a Sunday matchup into a Sunday lesson. 'It is looked like MVP play to me all year, to be honest,' Davante Adams said about his quarterback. He should know.
'We thought we could slow them down and find a way to get them off on third down,' Kyle Shanahan said. They did not slow them down. They did not get them off on third down. 6-4 with the Rams now in front of them in the NFC West and the schedule entering its second half. The wild card is now the road back.
By the numbers
AI summary, sourced from 1 period article (ESPN AP)
Rams 42, 49ers 26. Margin: -16. Ten-game record: 6-4, -10 differential.
- Stafford: 24-of-36 for 280, 4 TD, 0 INT (NFL-record 3rd straight 4-TD/0-INT game).
- Stafford career TD passes: now 400+ (9th all-time).
- Kyren Williams: 2 rushing TDs.
- Davante Adams: catches in 8 of 9 games this year with a TD.
- Rams scored TDs on first three possessions.
- Mac Jones: 33-of-39 for 319, 3 TD, 1 INT.
- 49ers: 0 sacks of Stafford.
- 49ers 6-4; Rams 7-2. LAR now alone atop NFC West.
Film room
AI summary, sourced from 1 period article (ESPN AP)
A 42-26 loss at Levi's Stadium. The 49ers fall to 6-4.
How it unfolded
Matthew Stafford and the Rams opened on a touchdown drive, then went 80 yards on the second possession for another touchdown, then 75 on the third. The 49ers were down 21-0 before they put points on the board. Mac Jones brought them back into hailing distance with a pair of long touchdown drives in the second and third quarters, but every time the 49ers cut it to a one-score game Stafford answered. Davante Adams caught his eighth touchdown of the season midway through the fourth quarter to put it away. Kyren Williams added two rushing touchdowns. The 49ers' last meaningful possession ended in a fourth-quarter interception.
The turning point
The Rams' opening three possessions. The defense, without Bosa or Warner, gave up touchdowns on three straight long drives to open the game. The 49ers offense could not match that pace. The game was decided by the time Mac Jones found his rhythm.
By the numbers
Stafford 24-of-36 for 280, four TDs, no INTs (NFL record for the third straight game). His career touchdown total crossed 400 in the second half. Mac Jones 33-of-39 for 319, three TDs, one INT; the volume looked good but the time-of-possession battle was lost early. Kyren Williams two rushing TDs. The 49ers' defense did not record a sack.
Personnel watch
The absence of Nick Bosa and Fred Warner showed up Sunday in a way it had not since Week 8. Stafford was not pressured on enough of his dropbacks. The secondary, even with rotational help, could not stay with Adams in the red zone. The offense, returning Pearsall and Jennings, looked fine for a half but was playing from behind the whole afternoon.
What it means
6-4 with the Rams up by a game in the NFC West and a divisional tiebreaker that no longer belongs to San Francisco. The Cardinals on the road next, then Carolina at home in Week 12. The path back to a high seed runs through wild-card math.
