The Rams were shut out in their first game since returning to Los Angeles after 21 seasons in St. Louis.
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A few months ago, this game looked like it would feature 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Rams No. 1 draft pick Jared Goff.
Bob Eckelkamp, 70, who helped coordinate the event, said one of the highlights of the night was shooting paintballs at a poster of Kroenke. “The money downs are a big difference in the game, but overall they just out-coached us and out-played us”.
“This doesn’t change anything as far as the quarterbacks are concerned”, Fisher said. “Certainly not what I expected with our first game back in L.A”. Goff, the rookie from California, will spend the first game of his National Football League career in street clothes. They finally broke that drought when Keenum completed a 5-yard pass to Tavon Austin on third-and-4 late in the third quarter to get to the San Francisco 27. He was sacked twice and hit hard multiple times.
Running backs aside, this night belonged to the 49ers defense, to which nose tackle Mike Purcell said: “I don’t think there was one guy to single out”.
“I just let emotions get the best of me”, he said. The Rams had 120 passing yards and almost matched that in penalty yardage with 102. The multidimensional wideout was expected to have a major role in the opener, but he caught only four passes and carried the ball only once. Any thought that Keenum would be an effective game manager who could lead the Rams down the field on long, patient drives, ended early.
Hyde rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns in 18 carries.
“We went out expecting the Rams to play better than they did and to get the ball into their playmakers’ hands”, linebacker NaVorro Bowman said. In that case, 49ers fans still may not have much of an idea about the possibilities for this team until they play the defending NFC champion Panthers this coming Sunday.
In the first half, the 49ers out-gained the Rams 203-87, with Gabbert scrambling for the 49ers’ first three first downs and avoiding dramatic errors in the passing game. Mix in a near-perfect defense plus busy special-teams units and the 49ers had themselves a 28-0 shutout.
The Rams lost the ball on a turnover and couldn’t capitalize when they forced one.
-The 49ers did not commit a penalty until the 14:20 mark of the fourth quarter when Tiller was called for a false start.
Picking a favorite for this match will be close to impossible, as both teams are incredibly evenly matched. bet365 gives the advantage to the Rams are at 1.71, while the 49ers are at 2.20, but that could go either way.
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Hyde took a handoff, stutter-stepped to the right and then planted his left foot, seemingly freezing the entire defense.
