San Francisco Stopped The Rams On Fourth And One At Its Own 1, Then Drove 99 Yards

San Francisco beat Los Angeles 27-7 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Thursday evening in the Bay Area and Friday morning in Australia, in front of a paid attendance of 100,021. The game took 2:47. The 49ers are 1-0 and host Miami on September 20.

The score was 17-7 with about four minutes left in the third quarter. What happened over the next nine minutes of game clock is the whole game.

1. Los Angeles spent 7:22 driving 72 yards and scored nothing.

The Rams reached second and three at the San Francisco 3, where Kyren Williams ran right guard for a yard with Jaden Dugger and Fred Warner on the tackle. On third and two from the 2, Matthew Stafford threw short left to Puka Nacua, who was stopped at the 1. On fourth and one at 3:46, Stafford ran right guard for no gain, with Osa Odighizuwa credited on the play. The replay official reviewed the short-of-the-goal-line ruling and upheld it. San Francisco took over at its own 1 and drove 99 yards in 11 plays, ending in a 15-yard touchdown catch by Deebo Samuel. Twelve plays and 72 yards for the Rams, 11 plays and 99 yards for the 49ers, and the margin went from 10 to 17.

2. The five men who started on the offensive line played every snap, and Brock Purdy was not sacked.

Trent Williams, Connor Colby, Jake Brendel, Dominick Puni and Colton McKivitz each played 65 of San Francisco's 65 offensive snaps. Purdy was not sacked once, and the 49ers ran 30 times for 174 yards, an average of 5.8. Colby's start settles a left guard job that was open from the first week of camp, and it matches the September 2 Week 1 sheet, a one-page chart the communications staff assembled and the club publishes nowhere, which listed him first. Brendel, the center, caught a pass for two yards.

3. The 49ers hit Stafford eight times and did not sack him once.

Odighizuwa was credited with four of the eight quarterback hits, the most of any San Francisco player, and no sack. Nick Bosa had two tackles for loss and one hit. Neither team recorded a sack all game. Stafford finished 15 of 25 for 155 yards with no touchdown, one interception and a passer rating of 61.2, and Los Angeles converted two of its nine third downs. The pressure was real and the finish was not, which is a distinction that will matter more against a quarterback who holds the ball longer.

4. Bosa played 59 percent of the defensive snaps in his first game back, and Warner played 87.

Bosa played 36 of 61 defensive snaps. Warner played 53 of 61, led San Francisco with 11 combined tackles, and forced the Tyler Higbee fumble that Keion White recovered at the Los Angeles 43 in the fourth quarter, which produced Eddy Piñeiro's 56-yard field goal. Both men were playing their first regular-season game after injuries that cost them time. Marques Sigle, Deommodore Lenoir and Renardo Green each played all 61.

5. Nine defensive linemen played, and the rotation behind the starters was close to even.

With Alfred Collins on injured reserve, the snaps went Odighizuwa 36, Bosa 36, Gracen Halton 31, Romello Height 30, White 30, C.J. West 23, James Thompson Jr. 21, Khalid Kareem 19 and Ogbo Okoronkwo 18, out of 61. Halton was limited in practice all week and finished third among the linemen. Thompson carried a Questionable designation into the game and played a third of the snaps. Okoronkwo, elevated from the practice squad for the game, was credited with a hit on Stafford.

6. George Kittle started, played 46 percent of the snaps, and got four of his five targets on the opening drive.

Kittle played 30 of 65 offensive snaps. Luke Farrell played 46, or 71 percent, and was the tight end on the field for most of the game. Kittle caught two of five targets for 12 yards, and both catches and four of the five targets came on San Francisco's first possession. His fifth target was the pass Quentin Lake intercepted in the second quarter, which was Purdy's only interception. Kittle made the tackle on the return.

7. Kaelon Black carried more often than Christian McCaffrey.

Black ran 14 times for 65 yards, an average of 4.6, on 28 of 65 snaps. McCaffrey ran 10 times for 68 yards, an average of 6.8 with a long of 16, on 36 snaps, and caught five of eight targets for 20 yards. Purdy ran five times for 29.

8. The longest drive of the day produced three points.

San Francisco's opening possession covered 65 yards in 15 plays and took 7:13, and it ended in a 20-yard field goal. Twelve of the 14 scrimmage plays on it were passes. First and 10 at the Los Angeles 10 became second and eight at the 8, then third and two at the 2, then an incompletion intended for Demarcus Robinson. The 49ers finished two of three in the red zone and one of two in goal-to-go situations. Piñeiro made two of three field goals, missing from 52 off the right upright.

9. De'Zhaun Stribling started at receiver and was not thrown to.

Stribling played 21 of 65 snaps and finished with no targets. He was hurt on a second-quarter play, returned, was hurt again and was listed out of the game in the fourth quarter. Jake Tonges was hurt in the second quarter after eight offensive snaps and did not return. San Francisco had not published a cause for either injury as of Friday morning. Mac Jones was the only active 49er who did not play. Six were inactive: Kurtis Rourke as the third quarterback, Jordan Watkins, Ephesians Prysock, Jordan James, Tatum Bethune and Enrique Cruz Jr.

Robinson caught two of three targets for 50 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown. Mike Evans caught six of seven for 49 and a two-yard score, tied for the team lead in catches in his first game with San Francisco. Samuel caught six of seven for 48, ran once for 12 and returned two kickoffs for 74 yards with a long of 45. Purdy finished 25 of 34 for 205 yards.

Sources: Official NFL game book, San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams, 2026 Week 1; 49ers.com schedule and roster pages; ESPN box score and play-by-play; Associated Press game story.