The 49ers won their first home game in more than a year as they controlled possession to dominate the Rams 31-10. The hosts led by 14-0 after the first quarter thanks to an interception and pick six from Jimmie Ward either side of Jimmy Garoppolo's touchdown pass to George Kittle
Tuesday 16 November 2021 10:11, UK
Jimmy Garoppolo threw two touchdown passes and the San Francisco 49ers played keep-away en route to a resounding 31-10 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night.
Deebo Samuel caught a touchdown pass and rushed for another score and George Kittle added a touchdown reception as San Francisco (4-5) held the ball for 39 minutes and three seconds. Jimmie Ward recorded two interceptions and returned one for a touchdown as the 49ers beat the NFC West-rival Rams for the fifth straight time.
Matthew Stafford completed 26 of 41 passes for 243 yards, one touchdown, to Tyler Higbee, and two interceptions for Los Angeles (7-3), who dropped their second straight game.
Odell Beckham Jr. caught two passes for 18 yards while playing sparingly in his first game since joining the Rams, and the NFL's receiving leader Cooper Kupp matched his season high of 11 catches, good for 122 yards.
Garoppolo completed 15 of 19 passes for 182 yards as San Francisco won at home for the first time in five attempts this season. Los Angeles dropped to 4-1 on the road.
The 49ers outgained the Rams 335 yards to 278 while winning for just the second time in their past seven games. Samuel had five receptions for 97 yards alongside 36 rushing yards from five carries, and Elijah Mitchell gained 91 yards on 27 attempts.
Rams
49ers
San Francisco set the tone quickly after Ward grabbed his first pick of Stafford just 2:03 into the game, the Rams quarterback having been targeting Beckham deep.
The 49ers subsequently launched an 18-play, 93-yard drive lasting 11.03 that saw them run the ball 13 times and Garoppolo go five-for-five passing, including an eight-yard strike to Kittle with 1.54 left in the quarter.
Just 65 seconds later, the 49ers had doubled their lead to 14-0. Higbee failed to catch Stafford's short pass and the ball caromed to Ward, who returned the pick 27 yards for a touchdown.
Los Angeles got on the board with 13:16 left in the half when Stafford tossed a 10-yard scoring pass to Higbee after Kupp's 29-yard catch had pushed the Rams downfield.
The 49ers answered with another marathon excursion as Samuel scored on an eight-yard run to cap an 11-play, 91-yard drive that took 7:52 off the clock.
San Francisco increased its lead to 24-7 on Robbie Gould's 50-yard field goal with 4:38 remaining in the third quarter, before putting the game away in the fourth when Garoppolo connected with Samuel on a 40-yard touchdown on fourth-and-six to make it 31-7 with 11.07 left in the contest.
The Rams' Matt Gay kicked a consolation 37-yard field goal with 3:48 to play.
The Rams enter a bye week before facing the Green Bay Packers on the road on November 28, while the 49ers are due to visit the Jacksonville Jaguars this Sunday.
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