St. Louis Rams upset San Francisco 49ers to stay unbeaten against NFC West opponents – NFL Recap
San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh’s decision to retain Colin Kaepernick starting quarterback did not pay off as his team faltered against the St. Louis Rams, who defeated National Football Conference (NFC) West leaders to stay unbeaten in the division.
A rematch of Week 10 game that ended in a tie, this game, too, saw a bit of drama as it was forced to overtime. However, the Rams, despite facing tough time from the visitors, did not miss a field goal opportunity this time and the crowd in Edward Jones
Dome went jubilant as Greg Zuerlein scored the game-winning field goal with just 26 seconds left in the game.
Although Kaepernick played well, he was unable to secure scoring moves. He was 21 of 32 for 208 yards, while he also rushed for 84 yards on nine carries.
“I thought he made clutch plays,” Harbaugh said of Colin after the game. The head coach continued:
“It was a tough game for a quarterback to play in. I thought he did well.”
It was second straight win for the Rams who have now improved their record to 5-6-1. After play a tie earlier against the 49ers, the Rams were determined to get an outcome of this matchup and that, too, in their favour. Linebacker James Laurinaitis said
after the win:
“We knew it was going to be a heavyweight fight. We expected that. We really wanted to finish the fight. We talked about it all week. If it took another five rounds, if it needed to go another five rounds, we said we’d finish it this time. I never thought
it would go another five rounds. If I had to go five more, I would to get a ‘W’.”
49ers started the game positively, but the offence could not keep the momentum going and eventually paid the price. Frank Gore got the first scoring move of the game as he rushed for a one-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
The second quarter went scoreless, while the Rams finally got something on the scoreboard as they sacked Colin in his own end zone to gain two safety points in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, David Akers kicked a field goal to increase the 49ers’ lead, but what followed was a tale on utter disappointment for San Francisco.
49ers’ fumbled the ball near their end zone, allowing Rams rookie cornerback Janoris Jenkins to score a touchdown on a two-yard run. The touchdown was followed by successful two-point conversion that tied the score 10-10.
In the final two minutes 49ers and Rams scored a field goal each as the game was forced to overtime during which the Rams got the winning score.
49ers still have lead in NFC West. They will face Miami Dolphins next week, while Rams will now take on Buffalo Bills.
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