The San Francisco 49ers came through with a win on the road Thursday night, escaping Inglewood with a 26-23 victory via overtime against the Los Angeles Rams. The Niners, with Mac Jones under center in lieu of the injured Brock Purdy, pulled off the win despite not just being the visiting team at SoFi Stadium but also as a significant underdog.
In fact, it's the first time in 14 years that the Niners have managed to score such an upset win.
“The 49ers closed against the Rams as an 8.5-point underdog according to Odds by ESPN BET Sportsbook. They haven't won a game outright as that big of an underdog since 2011 Week 4 at Eagles as a 9.5-point underdog,” ESPN Insights shared in a social media post on X, formerly Twitter, following San Francisco's triumph over its NFC West division rival.
The 49ers got off to a solid start in Week 5's edition of Thursday Night Football versus the Rams, as they scored the first 14 points of the contest.
They also had a 13-point lead in the third quarter, but that got whittled down by the Rams, who scored the next 13 points to force overtime.
The outcome of the contest could have been different had Los Angeles kicker Joshua Karty's extra-point attempt after a Kyren Williams receiving touchdown in the fourth quarter was not blocked. A made attempt by Karty would have put Los Angeles ahead by a point with over 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
And once again, Jones delivered the goods for the 49ers with him as the starter this season. They are 3-0 to date in 2025 when the former Alabama Crimson Tide star gets the starting gig. He passed for 342 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions, while completing 33-of-49 throws.
Meanwhile, running back Christian McCaffrey rushed 22 times for 57 rushing yards to go with 82 receiving yards and a touchdown on eight receptions and nine targets.
Not to be overlooked was wide receiver Kendrick Bourne's explosive performance, as he came away with 142 receiving yards on 10 catches and 11 targets for the 49ers, who improved to 3-1 overall.
San Francisco now gets to enjoy a much-deserved long rest before facing Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6.
