The 49ers entered Sunday’s game having defeated the Rams in every regular-season matchup since the start of the 2019 season.
The streak continues.
Led by a hat trick of touchdowns by running back Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco beat Los Angeles 31-14 on Sunday afternoon.
In just his second game with the 49ers, McCaffrey became the first player to record a passing, receiving, and rushing touchdown in the same game since Hall of Famer LaDanian Tomlinson in 2005.
McCaffrey put the first 49ers points on the board with a 34-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brandon Aiyuk early in the second quarter. He then made an impressive catch for a 9-yard touchdown late in the third quarter to put San Francisco up 17-14.
Then early in the fourth quarter, McCaffrey finished off the hat trick with a 1-yard touchdown run.
McCaffrey finished the game with 149 yards from scrimmage on 26 touches, clearly setting the pace for San Francisco’s offense.
But, according to the FOX broadcast, Jimmy Garoppolo had the highest completion percentage for a 49ers quarterback since Steve Young in 1997. He finished 21-of-25 passing for 235 yards with a pair of TDs. Playing without Deebo Samuel — who missed the game with an injured hamstring — Brandon Aiyuk led the team with six catches for 81 yards with a TD.
Tight end George Kittle had three receptions for 39 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown with 6:41 left that sealed the game.
The Rams started the game well and had a 14-10 lead at halftime. But the team didn’t score a point in the second half.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford finished 22-of-33 for 187 yards with a touchdown. Los Angeles couldn’t get anything going running the ball, managing just 56 yards on 21 carries.
Receiver Cooper Kupp had eight catches for 79 yards with a touchdown. But to add injury to insult, he went down with just over a minute left in the game with an apparent leg injury. Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times noted Kupp was not walking with a limp as he walked from the field to the locker room after the game, but it will certainly be something to monitor for the Rams in Week Nine.
After the victory, the 4-4 49ers have a bye next week.
At a disappointing 3-4, the Rams will travel to Florida to face another struggling team in the 3-5 Buccaneers.