The Los Angeles Rams were supposed to make a statement to the rest of the NFL world tonight on Monday Night Football. The San Francisco 49ers had other plans in mind.
The Rams began the game with the football and immediately found Odell Beckham Jr. on a short hitch route. A few plays later, Matthew Stafford tried to hit OBJ on a deep strike, but 49ers defensive back Jimmie Ward was in position and intercepted the pass.
Jimmy Garoppolo and company then orchestrated a vintage Kyle Shanahan drive, taking over 10 minutes off the clock and scoring on a 8-yard touchdown catch from George Kittle.
The Rams tried to respond on the ensuing drive, but Ward snuffed out a receiver screen, intercepted Stafford’s pass and took it to the house to make it a 14-0 San Francisco lead late in the first quarter.
THAT’S DOS FOR NUMERO 1️⃣#LARvsSF on ESPN/49ers app pic.twitter.com/1Hkjhg8BuL
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) November 16, 2021
No one expected this start from a beaten-up 49ers team. In fact, most were expecting a Rams blowout.
Have the 49ers finally turned a corner? We don’t know. But the 49ers are putting on a show in front of their home crowd for the first time all season.
It’s the uniforms is what it is 😍 https://t.co/iiFjLjK9Zv
— Ryan Forsyth (@rizzo_forsyth) November 16, 2021
NICE I LIKE THIS! Makes me smile😁 https://t.co/d7iyyaCeuu
— Rappiidzz (@akarappiidzz) November 16, 2021
Hell of a quarter https://t.co/msySMDaTz2
— AlaskaAirlines17✈️ (@AlaskaAir_17) November 16, 2021
It’s going to be tough for the San Francisco 49ers to keep this pace. The Rams aren’t going to go down without a fight; sure enough, they have already responded to trim the deficit to 14-7.
Given their defensive struggles this season, Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco offense will have to keep their foot on the gas.
Catch the 49ers-Rams game right now on ESPN.
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