Beside that point, Rams fans and analysts still continued to hype the Rams up for the first game of the season. The Rams struggled against the San Francisco 49ers in the first half with no score, which continued on through most of the third quarter.
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Carlos Hyde outran the more heralded Todd Gurley, San Francisco’s defensive front proved more fearsome than Los Angeles’ line and the resumption of the all-California NFC West rivalry after a more than 21-year wait proved to be decidedly one-sided. He completed 17-of-35 passes, threw for a mere 130 yards and added two interceptions.
Oh, and before you try to state that Hyde only averaged 3.8 yards per carry, let’s not forget that the 49ers had this game in hand and were essentially just running out the game down the home stretch. After the preseason, head coach Jeff Fisher said that while Goff had improved, he wasn’t ready to be the second quarterback behind Case Keenum (that title went to Sean Mannion). “We just keep that mindset”. “We just stayed together as a group and worked together”. Often playing on the opposite side from Josh Norman and tormenting cornerback Bashaud Breeland, Brown made eight catches for 126 yards.
Last year for Carolina, the season began with teams not as good and gradually got harder; this year it seems to be the opposite, and next week we’ll see how Cam Newton and company respond to an early season loss unlike what they had last year. “We didn’t convert (fourth downs) and we weren’t very good on third downs”, Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. “I know we were missing some pieces tonight, but we had 7”. Overall, this grade may be a bit generous, but we’re giving Gurley the benefit of the doubt, as his quarterback and the offensive line didn’t help him out much.
Washington led 6-0 and appeared to have another scoring opportunity late in the first quarter when linebacker Ryan Kerrigan sacked and stripped Roethlisberger deep in Pittsburgh territory. The Rams searched for a miracle on the field with each pass. He finished the night with 88 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns.
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Washington got it as close as 24-16 on Chris Thompson’s fourth-quarter touchdown.
