Rams-49ers on 'Thursday Night Football': What We Learned from Los Angeles' 12-6 win 

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• REWATCH: Rams-49ers on NFL+
• READ: Niners fall to NFC's 11th seed
• READ: Shanahan says LB Campbell refused to play vs. Rams

1. Rams earned ugly, rain-soaked but important win for the playoffs. The cardiac Rams had to sweat out an ugly-but-significant victory to keep their playoff chances in good standing, bludgeoning the 49ers with the run game when poor conditions hindered both teams’ passing games. If you like rain-soaked, field-goal battles, this one was just for you. The rain fell with increasing strength in the first half, and the offenses melted away with it. The Rams punted five straight times. Cooper Kupp had zero catches in a game for only the third time in his career. Things picked up slightly in the second half, but we finished with the first touchdown-less game of the 2024 NFL season. Joshua Karty's fourth field goal of the night with 20 seconds left spared this one from being the season’s lowest-scoring game. There was even a late hold-your-breath moment when the Rams committed an unforgivable horse collar penalty on the ensuing kickoff, giving the 49ers a puncher’s chance to win it, but the Rams held on. In doing so, they received a huge bump in their playoff chances, echoing last year’s miracle run, and they now get 10 days off. That’s now seven of their eight victories by a single score. They’ve earned it.
2. Niners couldn’t draft off Sunday’s performance. On Sunday, the 49ers played as well as they have all season against the Bears, especially in the first half, serving as a what-might-have-been reminder about the talent on this team. Four days later -- with several injured players returning to the lineup -- the Niners fell flat. The defense gave them a chance, keeping the Rams completely in check in the first half and blanking them (0 for 3) in the red zone. The returns of Dre Greenlaw, playing his first game since last season's Super Bowl loss, and Nick Bosa really lifted the unit. But Brock Purdy and the passing game really struggled in the rain early, completing only 8 of his 21 passes for 80 yards, two sacks and a pick after the first quarter. The overthrow interception in the end zone was a back breaker, with the Niners trailing by three points with just over five minutes left. The Rams milked the clock, and that was that. And even though it felt academic before Thursday, that just about did it for the 49ers’ playoff chances this season. A frustrating, but fitting end to an injury-marred season.
3. Williams fueled the Rams' stalled offense. Things were ugly early for the Rams. They went backward on their first possession of the night. Matthew Stafford started the game with two of his first four passes nearly getting picked, and he was 4-for-12 passing for 24 yards at the half. He got hot in the fourth quarter, and Puka Nacua gave the Rams a few lifts with big plays. But when the Rams absolutely needed to move the ball and control the clock, the ball was going into Kyren Williams’ hands. Twice he ran the ball four straight plays, and one time Williams handled the ball on five straight. He also was a horse in pass protection, with a key blitz pickup in the second half. Williams finished with 108 yards on 28 carries, none of them longer than 10 yards, but 10 of his carries went for five yards or more. Let’s give Karty his props for a 4-for-4 kicking, and punter Ethan Evans was huge, too. But without Williams, the Rams’ offense might have been stuck in neutral even longer.
4. Deebo’s downturn continued with another tough night. Some of the offensive struggles can be blamed on the wet fields -- it clearly affected both teams -- but the 49ers still were unable to unlock Deebo Samuel amid one of his worst slumps. Samuel voiced frustration about his role in the offense, and there seemed to be a concerted effort to get him the ball early, with four touches in the first 10 plays. But little was working early, with a third-down false start in the first half and a wicked drop midway through the third quarter on third-and-10 on what would have been a first down -- and could have been a touchdown. Samuel finished with three catches for 16 yards (on seven targets) and two runs for 3 yards. That’s now five straight games for him with 35 scrimmage yards or fewer. Even with the weather, there’s something wrong here. With Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk out, the 49ers need Samuel, even with the season remaining being played mostly for pride at this point.
5. Rams defense comes up big. Lest we finish without giving a nod to the Rams’ defense, which only allowed the 49ers to cross midfield three times on Thursday, allowing a total of six points. On the third possession in Rams territory, as the 49ers were attempting to take the lead in a 9-6 game with just over five minutes left, Darious Williams made the play of the game. He was not fooled on Jauan Jennings double move, reading Purdy’s throw perfectly and intercepting the deep ball in the end zone. The Rams marched on the game-sealing drive thereafter. But, just for good measure, after the late kickoff snafu, Christian Rozeboom sacked Brock Purdy to end it. The Rams supplied good pressure all night, preventing Purdy from getting comfortable in the pocket or generating any big downfield completions. Kobie Turner had the Rams’ other two sacks, along with five pressures. Byron Young made some big stops. Williams and Ahkello Witherspoon were great in coverage. The weather might have helped, but the Rams’ D stepped up.

Next Gen Stats Insight for Rams-49ers (via NFL Pro): Puka Nacua caught seven of eight targets for 97 yards, going in motion on 48% of his snaps (24 times), the second-highest rate of his career. Nacua now has 443 scrimmage yards on plays in motion this season, most in the NFL and the third most by any player since 2018.

NFL Research: The 49ers’ six points were the second-fewest in the Kyle Shanahan era, trailing only the three points they scored against the Panthers in Week 1, 2017 -- Shanahan’s first game as head coach.