Martinez Tribune The website of the Martinez Tribune.
BY DANIEL GLUSKOTER
Jimmie Ward’s two first quarter interceptions of Matthew Stafford set the tone early as the 49ers shocked the Los Angeles Rams 31–10 in a Monday Night Football game at Levi’s stadium.
Jimmie Ward (1) of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates his first quarter interception return for a touchdown during the Niners 31-10 win over the Los Angeles Rams Monday night. Ward’s second interception of the game against Rams QB Matthew Stafford helped San Francisco break their eight game losing streak at Levi’s Stadium.
Ward’s second interception, a 27-yard return for a touchdown with just under a minute to go in the opening quarter, gave San Francisco what would prove to be an insurmountable early 14–0 lead as they bounced back rather emphatically from their embarrassing loss to Arizona last week.
Deebo Samuel (19) fights for extra yardage during the Niners 31-10 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Samuel scored a pair of touchdowns as he caught five passes for 97 yards while adding 36 yards rushing on five carries.
The win snapped the Niners (4-5) eight game losing streak at Levi’s stretching back to the 2020 season and was their fifth consecutive victory against the Rams (7-3). It also helped revive San Francisco’s wild card prospects in the NFC, where they’ve re-emerged in a six team fight for the final two playoff spots. It was the second blowout loss in a row for the Rams following last weeks destruction at home by the Tennessee Titans.
49ers tight end George Kittle celebrates a first down during the Niners 31-10 win over the Los Angeles Rams Monday night at Levi’s Stadium. Kittle caught five passes for 50 yards and a touchdown.
Jimmy Garoppolo was a mistake free 15-19 for 182 yards and two touchdowns for the Niners, but it was San Francisco’s backfield that controlled the pace of the contest, running the ball 44 times as the 49ers nearly doubled the Rams time of possession, holding onto the ball for 39 minutes. Eli Mitchell did the bulk of the damage, accumulating 91 yards on 27 carries. Meanwhile the Rams Stafford, an MVP front-runner prior to back-to-back blowout losses the past two weeks, finished 26-41 for 243 yards and a touchdown along with the two picks. Cooper Kupp remained Stafford’s favorite target, hauling in 11 passes for 122 yards.
Matthew Stafford throws a pass during the Rams 31-10 loss to the 49ers Monday night. The one time MVP front runner had his second straight dismal performance in prime time, getting intercepted twice in the first quarter when the Niners took control of the game.
San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan was asked how it felt to finally win a home game;” That’s been frustrating. The last time we did win at home was versus the Rams. We had one game after that versus the Packers. And we spent are our home games in Arizona. But just going to this year was very frustrating. Especially, the crowds that we’ve had, the way our fans have been. They were awesome today. Just like they were awesome last week. But I’m glad we gave them something to be proud of today.”
The Niners will now try to maintain their new found momentum as they travel cross country in a short week to face the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-7) on Sunday. The Jags have split their last four games since opening the season with a five game losing streak.
GAME NOTES:
The Niners win was their 50th on Monday Night Football, tying them with the Steelers for the most in NFL history.
The 49ers improved to 74-68-3 overall against the Rams, including a 37-34-2 record at home. Shanahan improved to 6-3 in his career against the Rams.
San Francisco’s offense opened the game with an 18 play, 93-yard touchdown drive culminating in an eight yard TD pass from Garoppolo to Kittle. The teams second possession was an 11 play, 91-yard TD drive ending with another eight yard TD from Garoppolo, this time to Deebo Samuel.
Robbie Gould became just the tenth player in NFL history to register 500-or-more points with multiple franchises.
