Garoppolo fires 3 TD passes as 49ers hold off L.A. Rams
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Jimmy Garoppolo threw three TD passes in the first half and Jason Verrett’s first interception in more than four years helped preserve the lead, giving the San Francisco 49ers a 24-16 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night.
Garoppolo bounced back after a rough performance last week in a loss to Miami when he got pulled at halftime after struggling on a bum ankle to help the defending NFC champion 49ers (3-3) snap a two-game skid.
He staked the Niners to a 21-6 halftime lead over the Rams (4-2) by relying mostly on short passes and connecting on TDs with Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk.
San Francisco’s defense stepped up with some key stops in the second half. Los Angeles got in the red zone on its first possession of the third quarter, but settled for a field goal after Andrew Whitworth committed a false start on third-and-1.
The Rams were in position to cut even more into the deficit before Dre Greenlaw stopped Darrell Henderson for a 1-yard loss on second-and-goal from the 1, Cooper Kupp dropped a pass in the end zone on third down and Verrett came up with the interception on fourth down.
Verrett has ended up on injured reserve in five of his six seasons in the NFL and played only 66 defensive snaps the past three years. But he has gotten back to his 2015 Pro Bowl level this season for the 49ers, helping fill the void created by an injury to Richard Sherman.
Verrett’s interception was part of a rough day overall for Goff, who also missed an open Kupp on a deep ball earlier in the second half. Goff went 19 for 38 for 198 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
OUT OF AIR
The 49ers didn’t exactly air it out on the opening drive with all four of Garoppolo’s passes being thrown behind the line of scrimmage. Two were glorified handoffs that counted as passes because the receiver was running in front of Garoppolo and Samuel took one 35 yards and then scored a 6-yard TD on the other. Garoppolo had minus-20 air yards on the drive with 89 yards coming after the catch.
GO FOR IT
One week after getting stopped on an early fourth-and-1 gamble, the Niners converted in a big way. Garoppolo found Kittle on a one-on-one matchup with Darious Williams on a fourth-and-2 play that turned into a 44-yard TD.