Rams secure No. 2 seed in NFC with victory over 49ers
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Rams left nothing to chance Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.
With the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs within reach, the Rams played nearly every starter and continued their recent momentum with a 48-32 victory in front of 72,161 at the Coliseum.
Jared Goff passed for four touchdowns, C.J. Anderson rushed for more than 100 yards for the second game in a row, and the defense forced four first-half turnovers as the Rams clinched a bye through the wild-card round of the playoffs.
The Rams, seeded second behind the New Orleans Saints, will play the highest-seeded team left after wildcard games in a divisional-round game at the Coliseum on Jan. 12 or 13.
The Rams finished the regular season with a 13-3 record under secondyear coach Sean McVay.
And they will enter the postseason with momentum after rebounding from consecutive losses against the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles with victories over the Arizona Cardinals and the 49ers.
It wasn’t all good news for the Rams. Left tackle Andrew Whitworth left in the second quarter because of a knee injury and safety Blake Countess left to be evaluated for a concussion.
Those injuries, coupled with the knee soreness that kept star running back Todd Gurley sidelined for the second consecutive game, will be cause for concern as the Rams rest and heal in preparation for the play-
offs.
But the Rams are encouraged by the way Goff rebounded from a three-game mini-slump, and by a defense that has improved since cornerback Aqib Talib returned to the lineup Dec. 2 at Detroit.
Goff, coming off an efficient performance against the Cardinals, completed 15 of 26 passes for 199 yards against the 49ers. He finished the season with 32 touchdown passes, with 12 interceptions.
Anderson followed his 167yard rushing performance against the Cardinals with 132 yards and a touchdown.
Receivers Brandin Cooks and Josh Reynolds each caught two touchdown passes.
Talib’s fumble return Sunday set up the Rams’ first touchdown.
Countess, starting in place of injured Lamarcus Joyner, intercepted a pass, and linebacker Cory Littleton picked off two passes, returning the second for a touchdown.
Defensive tackle Aaron Donald had one sack to finish the season with 20 1/2, two shy of Michael Strahan’s NFL season record.
Rookie Nick Mullens completed 23 of 33 passes for 282 yards, with three interceptions, for the 49ers, who finished 4-12 under second-year coach Kyle Shanahan. Tight end George Kittle caught nine passes for 149 yards and a touchdown.
The Rams led 31-10 at halftime and extended the lead with Goff’s 29-yard touchdown pass to Reynolds on the first series of the third quarter.
Alfred Morris’ short touchdown run pulled the 49ers to within 38-17, but Goff finished his day with a short touchdown pass to Reynolds with about three minutes left in the third quarter.
The Rams forced four turnovers that led to 21 points and a 28-10 halftime lead.
On the first series, 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk fumbled and the ball was scooped by Talib. The 11th-year pro returned the ball 47 yards to the seven-yard line.
Anderson carried the ball twice before Goff faked a handoff, rolled right and then fired a three-yard touchdown pass to Cooks for a 7-0 lead.
On the next possession, the Rams hit Mullens as he was throwing a third-down pass, and the ball fluttered into the arms of Littleton, who returned it 22 yards to the 49ers’ 13.
Anderson’s one-yard touchdown run put the Rams ahead 14-0 just more than four minutes into the game.
The 49ers put together a good drive on the ensuing possession, but Donald helped create the third turnover when he hit Mullens on a third-and-six play at the Rams’ 16. The ball wobbled toward tight end George Kittle at the goal line, and safety John Johnson leaped and tipped the ball away. Countess dived and caught the ball in the end zone for a touchback.
The 49ers finally executed a drive without a turnover when running back Alfred Morris broke off a 51-yard run to set up Robbie Gould’s 30yard field goal.
Early in the second quarter, Rams punter Johnny Hekker placed a punt at the 49ers’ sixyard line.
Three plays into the 49ers’ series, Littleton intercepted another pass, returning it 19 yards for a touchdown and a 21-3 lead.