Rams embarrassed by 49ers, 31-10: Everything we know from Week 10 loss

The Rams welcomed Von Miller and Odell Beckham Jr. to the starting lineup on Monday night against the 49ers. There was a lot of anticipation and excitement about their debuts, but the hype overshadowed the dismal product the Rams put on the field at Levi’s Stadium.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the Rams were embarrassed by the 49ers. For the second week in a row, they were absolutely blown out against a team they were favored to beat. The offense was out of sync, the defense couldn’t do anything to stop San Francisco and the special teams unit made no meaningful contributions – again.

Last week’s loss to the Titans was disappointing, given how well Tennessee is playing right now. This defeat at the hands of the 49ers is highly concerning for a team that’s supposed to be a Super Bowl contender.

Final score: 49ers 31, Rams 10

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This game was as lopsided as the final score indicates. The Rams were blown out and dominated in every facet, allowing four touchdowns and gaining less than 300 yards on offense.

It got away from the Rams right away after they fell behind 14-0, which then turned into a 24-7 deficit in the second half. At no point did it look like they were going to come back and win this game after the 49ers went up 21-7.

For whatever reason, Sean McVay decided to kick a field goal down 31-7 late in the fourth quarter, making it a 21-point game at the end.

Game notes

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Defensively, the Rams simply could not get off the field on third down. They allowed the 49ers to convert their first four third-down attempts, seven of their first eight and eight of 10 in the first three quarters, allowing them to extend drive after drive. The 49ers’ opening drive went for 18 plays, 93 yards and took up 11:03 of game clock, which set the tone for the entire night.

The offense couldn’t get into a rhythm at all, playing just as poorly as the defense did. Matthew Stafford threw two first-half interceptions – one of which was off the hands of Tyler Higbee on a screen – and nearly had two other passes picked off during the game, too. Cooper Kupp dropped an easy third-down pass in the third quarter, as did Higbee again later in the game, and Stafford never got on the same page as Ben Skowronek.

The running backs were moving the ball effectively, gaining 51 yards on nine carries, but with the score getting out of hand early, McVay was quick to abandon the run.

One of the worst calls by McVay this season came at the end of the first half when he attempted a fake field goal with 18 seconds left. It came up way short after Johnny Hekker completed a pass to Kendall Blanton, but even if the Rams converted, they would’ve had one or two cracks at the end zone before settling for a field goal anyway. It was a terrible call no matter how you look at it.

The absences of Sebastian Joseph-Day and Robert Woods were certainly felt. The 49ers had no trouble running the ball up the middle, and the Rams’ passing game was off all night. Woods would’ve been a nice safety valve for Stafford because there was a lack of connection with Jefferson and Skowronek.

It was over when...

…Jimmy Garoppolo hit Deebo Samuel for a 40-yard touchdown on fourth-and-5 with 11:07 left in the game. The Rams were trailing 24-7 at the time and a stop would’ve at least given them a chance to make things interesting at the end. But Samuel found a hole in the zone and was off to the races, blowing by the Rams’ last line of defense for the score.

What's next?

(Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)

The Rams get a much-needed break in Week 11 with their bye, giving them some time off before beginning the second part of their schedule. They’ll be back on the field in Week 12 when they visit the Packers at Lambeau Field, the site where their season ended a year ago in the divisional round of the playoffs.

At 7-3, the Rams are still in good shape, but the second half of their schedule is significantly harder than their first 10 games were, which is bad news for L.A.

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