INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Here is how the 49ers (4-1) graded in Thursday night’s 26-23 overtime win at the Los Angeles Rams (3-2):
PASS OFFENSE: A
Mac Jones won for the third time in as many starts in place of Brock Purdy, throwing for 342 yards with two touchdown passes, no interceptions, no fumbles, no Ricky Pearsall, no Jauan Jennings, no George Kittle and no Brandon Aiyuk. No kidding. Kendrick Bourne, after Sunday’s three-drop fiasco, was Jones’ favorite target (10 catches, 142 yards, one drop). Jones delivered scoring strikes to Jake Tonges and Christian McCaffrey for a stunning 14-0 lead, then even after aggravating a left-knee injury, Jones rallied. He was 6-of-9 for 61 yards to set up a 59-yard, go-ahead field goal late in regulation. The overtime drive opened with completions to Kyle Juszczyk, McCaffrey and Tonges before Jones took his one and only sack.
RUN OFFENSE: D
After McCaffrey averaged a season-low 2.6 yards per carry (57 yards, 22 carries), he aptly summed up this season’s woes: “Everyone and their mother wants the run game to get going more, myself included. We have to keep chipping at it and getting guys back and keep pushing.” Brian Robinson Jr. was worse, with six yards on three carries. Numbers aside, the Rams’ defensive front is menacing and deserves credit.
PASS DEFENSE: C-
The 49ers went a franchise-record 12th straight game without an interception, and they gave up 389 yards and three touchdowns to Matthew Stafford. But they made some clutch plays. Deommodore Lenoir was called three times for holding, but he made a couple pass breakups deep in 49ers territory late in the game. Bryce Huff had the lone sack on Stafford, and the only other hit on him came by Alfred Collins.
RUN DEFENSE: A+
The biggest play of the 49ers’ season so far came with a fourth-and-1 stop at their 11-yard line to end overtime. Lenoir and Marques Sigle bottled up Kyren Williams for no gain after Chase Lucas, Fred Warner, Mykel Williams and Collins impeded any escape route. Speaking of Collins, he forced and recovered a Williams fumble at the 1-yard line with just over a minute left in regulation. Blake Corum fumbled a Stafford pitch that Trevis Gipson recovered. Sigle had 13 tackles, Warner 12.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A-
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Eddy Piñeiro is 11-for-11 on field-goal attempts since replacing Jake Moody, and each of Piñeiro’s four field goals Thursday seemed valuable. A career-long 59-yarder put the 49ers ahead with three-plus minutes left in regulation, and his 41-yarder in overtime proved the winning points. Jordan Elliott blocked a fourth-quarter point-after kick to keep the score at 20-20 and prevent the 49ers from ever falling behind in this crazy game. Skyy Moore failed to cleanly field the Rams’ first two “dirty ball” kickoffs, but that Rams’ strategy backfired in overtime when Josh Karty failed to reach the landing zone and put the 49ers at their 40-yard line for their final possession.
COACHING: A
Kyle Shanahan was aggressive on offense. Robert Saleh was aggressive on defense. When it came to special teams, Shanahan made a bold call to attempt a 59-yarder that, if missed, would have put the Rams in great position to take their first lead late in regulation. The 49ers are undermanned but alone on top of the NFC West. Wild.
