49ers @ Rams
Final Score: 49ers 26, Rams 23 (OT)
Writer: Brett Ford (@FadeThatMan)
Thursday night started Week 5 with a battle of NFC West contenders as the Los Angeles Rams hosted the San Francisco 49ers. In a game that could have implications later in the season, the 49ers were missing several pieces of their offensive, including starting wide receivers Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall, who joined Brock Purdy and George Kittle on the sideline in street clothes. Both teams entered with 3-1 records after the 49ers dropped their first game of the season to the Jaguars in Week 4. With first place in the division on the line, San Francisco force-fed running back Christian McCaffrey (like they had any other choice) and saw Kendrick Bourne step up in the receiving corps. Meanwhile, the Rams leaned on the usual suspects as Puka Nacua, Davante Adams and Kyren Williams did most of the heavy lifting.
San Francisco jumped out to an early lead as Kyle Shanahan put on a first half master class, but the Rams made adjustments and leveled the score in the final minute to force yet another overtime game in prime time. In the extra frame, Jones led his team down the field for a field goal. McVay played to win, but with the game on the line took the ball out of Stafford’s hands and saw his running back get stopped at the line to take the loss.
Let’s dig in.
Three Up
- Puka Nacua – A down game for Puka is still a big game for just about anyone else
- Mac Jones – Yeah, I said it. Jones looked as good as we’ve ever seen him and seems completely comfortable in Shanahan’s offense
- Kendrick Bourne – Bourne looked like an alpha wide receiver, creating separation, flashing sure hands and showing chemistry with his quarterback
Two Down
- Blake Corum – After seeing his snap share and usage increase over the first three weeks of the season, Corum made a couple mistakes and disappeared after that.
- Brock Purdy – Even if there’s no true QB controversy in SF, Jones’ 3-0 performance so far this season will allow the Niners to take their time with Purdy’s recovery.
San Francisco 49ers
Quarterback
Mac Jones: 33/49, 342 Yards, 2 TD | 4 Carries, 5 Yards
Everything that San Francisco did in the passing game – at least early on – was in the short areas, averaging under 5.0 yards on their collective ADOT through the first couple of drives. Jones completed his first seven passes, looking confident and decisive as he worked through his progressions. As the game went on, it became more and more clear that Jones was battling an injury throughout the course of the game. His performance was gutsy and likely made an impression on his teammates, as they fought hard for the quarterback to get the win.
Running Back
Christian McCaffrey: 22 Carries, 57 Yards | 9 Targets, 8 Receptions, 82 Yards, TD
CMC may as well have pulled up to a Las Vegas casino buffet, because he got all he could eat out of the backfield on Thursday night. Any time CMC was matched up with a linebacker in coverage, which happened a handful of times as Shanahan schemed it that way, Jones took advantage by feeding his running back in the passing game. McVay made some defensive adjustments at halftime to reduce CMC’s effectiveness, but the man still got 30 touches. Ridiculous volume for a ridiculous talent.
Brian Robinson Jr.: 5 Carries, 12 Yards
Robinson Jr. has been downgraded from a starting running back in Washington to a mobile oxygen tank in San Francisco. He only entered the game when CMC needed to take a breather.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Jauan Jennings: DNP
Ricky Pearsall: DNP
Demarcus Robinson: 7 Targets, 3 Receptions, 39 Yards
Robinson was less involved than most thought as Bourne overshadowed him quite a bit. He was on the field consistently but just didn’t seem to have the chemistry with his quarterback like Bourne did all game long.
Kendrick Bourne: 11 Targets, 10 Receptions, 142 Yards
Bourne had a bad drop on a third down at midfield, but was outstanding outside of that lapse of concentration. The receiver showed confidence in his route running and chemistry with his former Patriots teammate Mac Jones, pulling in a career-high 10 receptions for 142 yards. I’m not sure anyone had Bourne outscoring CMC on their bingo card for Thursday night, but it happened. We’ll see if the volume continues as the 49ers get healthier in the coming weeks.
Jake Tonges: 11 Targets, 7 Receptions, 41 Yards
Tonges was vital on the first drive of the day, pulling in the first touchdown of the night as the 49ers caught the Rams with poor eye discipline on defense. Other than that, he functioned primarily as a check down option for Jones who fed him with underneath passes most of the evening.
Kyle Juszczyk: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 21 Yards
Los Angeles Rams
Quarterback
Matthew Stafford: 30/47, 389 Yards, 3 TD | 1 Carry
Watching this guy never gets old. With the 49ers struggling to generate a pass rush, Stafford was able to sit back in the pocket, analyze the defense and pick it apart. He was much more effective in the second half when McVay gave him the keys to the Ferrari that is the Rams’ offense. Stafford was moving the offense down the field in overtime, but on fourth and short for the game, his coach took the ball out of his hands. In games against teams with a below average pass rush (at Baltimore in Week 6), Stafford should thrive just like he did on Thursday night.
Running Back
Kyren Williams: 14 Carries, 65 Yards | 10 Targets, 8 Receptions, 66 yards, 2 TD
Williams was heavily involved in the offense on Thursday, out-touching Corum, 14-1. Williams was extremely effective in the passing game, coming out of the backfield and catching the ball in the flats on both of his touchdown receptions. It appeared that on both plays, the Niners just didn’t have a player to account for him, or whomever it was was drawn away by Puka or Davante. Williams should have had a rushing touchdown, too, but had the ball punched out as he approached the goal line in the final minute of the game. He redeemed himself with a catch to get into field goal range on the final drive, but in overtime couldn’t earn a one-yard gain with the game on the line.
Blake Corum: 1 Carry, 13 Yards, Fumble (LOST) | 2 Targets
Corum was brilliant on his first touch, dodging a defender in the backfield for a 13-yard gain. On the very next play, he dropped a pitch and lost a fumble. The only time I saw him on the field after that, he dropped a swing pass in the flats. It was all Kyren from that point on.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Puka Nacua: 12 Targets, 10 Receptions, 85 Yards, TD
A slow night for Puka is a career night for most receivers. The all-pro wide receiver caught almost every pass thrown his way, including a nifty shield screen touchdown quick-hitter from the 1-yard line.
Puka Nacua now has 49 catches on the year.
That ties the record for most by anyone in NFL history through the first 5 games of a season, joining former Rams teammate Cooper Kupp.pic.twitter.com/aymGlA5D2h
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) October 3, 2025
Davante Adams: 11 Targets, 5 Receptions, 88 yards
Adams didn’t do much at all until the fourth quarter when he caught two crucial passes for first down on the game-tying touchdown drive. Nearly all of his production came in the final frame as he finished as the Rams’ top pass catcher from a yardage perspective.
Tutu Atwell: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 72 yards
Atwell made a pair of big catches, including a long 38-yard gain where he outran the safety on a deep crossing route to set the Rams up in plus territory. He appeared to be the favored pass-catching receiver behind the two superstars, but he rotated in and out with Whittington for most of the game.
Jordan Whittington: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 33 yards
Whittingham … er… Whittington… was used as a rotational receiver, mostly for run blocking. He ran a few routes and caught a couple passes but was less involved than the box score indicates.
Davis Allen: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 24 yards
Colby Parkinson: 1 Target
Terrance Ferguson: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 21 yards
With Higbee out, we hoped we might see more out of Ferguson but he was barely on the field and caught his only target on a 50-50 ball over a defender on a huge first down conversion. Hopefully, that will generate some confidence and the Rams will run him out there more often moving forward.
Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X; @justinparadis.bsky.social on BlueSky)