LA Rams coach Sean McVay praised his side for their resilience as Joshua Karty kicked four field goals in a scruffy and wet 12-6 win over rivals the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night.
Four nights after winning the highest-scoring game of the NFL season – the 44-42 thriller against the Buffalo Bills – Karty’s boot ensured the Rams won the only game this year that didn’t have a touchdown.
“What’s really cool is this team has found a bunch of different ways to be able to win football games,” coach McVay said.
“You come off a 44-42 game the other day and then you win 12-6. Our group did what they needed to do to be able to get it done.”
RB Kyren Williams (@Kyrenwilliams23) rushed for at least 60 yards in his 12th-consecutive game, passing Eric Dickerson (11 games) for the longest streak in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/9dJ9sJQLVC
— Los Angeles Rams PR (@TheLARamsPR) December 13, 2024
The Rams (8-6) followed up the high-scoring win over Buffalo by winning for the seventh time in nine games following a 1-4 start. The Rams moved within a half-game of division-leading Seattle. Los Angeles won a game without a touchdown for the first time since 2016.
The 49ers (5-8) led 6-3 heading into the fourth quarter but came up short, dealing a major blow to the dwindling playoff hopes for the defending NFC champions.
This marked the fourth time this season that the Niners lost to a division opponent after leading by at least three points in the fourth quarter, making them the first team to do that since New England in 2000 in coach Bill Belichick’s first season with the Patriots.
“It was the story of the year,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “Just not doing enough to win games. Not playing complementary. Just coming out a little too short.”
Rams quarterback Matt Stafford led a clock-killing drive that was capped by Karty’s fourth field goal with 18 seconds to play. Stafford went 16 for 27 for 160 yards, with 137 of those yards coming after half time when the heavy rain stopped.
“In the second half, the weather was good enough to do it all,” Stafford said. “We had the feeling that that was the kind of way this game was going to be played and it’s going to have to be one of those games.
“We scored 44 four nights ago and come out here and score 12 but they both count for one.”
