Rams roll over 49ers 42-26 for fourth consecutive win
Matthew Stafford threw his 400th career touchdown pass, and the Rams blew out the 49ers 42-26 on Sunday.
The Rams quarterback was 24-of-36 for 280 yards and four touchdowns. He has 20 touchdowns and no interceptions in the past five games and a league-leading 25 touchdowns for the season.
He threw touchdown passes of 22 yards to Puka Nacua, 4 yards to Davis Allen, 2 yards to Davante Adams and 16 yards to Colby Parkinson. Stafford now has 402 career passing touchdowns, joining Tom Brady (649), Drew Brees (571), Peyton Manning (539), Aaron Rodgers (517), Brett Favre (508), Philip Rivers (421), Dan Marino (420) and Ben Roethlisberger (418) in the 400 club.
Adams caught six passes for 77 yards and a touchdown, and Nacua had five receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown.
Kyren Williams ran for 73 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.
The Rams led 21-0 early in the second quarter, and every time the 49ers made a run to get within one score, Los Angeles answered.
The Rams had 401 yards.
The 49ers, who beat the Rams 26-23 in overtime on Oct. 2, had 393 yards but committed two turnovers and once turned it over on downs. Mac Jones was 33-of-39 for 319 yards with three touchdowns and an interception, with George Kittle catching nine for 84 yards and a touchdown and Jauan Jennings six for 71 yards and a touchdown.
The Rams are 7-2, with four consecutive wins since their loss to the San Francisco, while the 49ers fell to 6-4.
Dan Campbell takes over play calling, leads Lions to a blowout win over Commanders: 'We wanted to mix things up'
Dan Campbell took over play calling duties from offensive coordinator John Morton on Sunday afternoon. (AP/Stephanie Scarbrough)
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The Detroit Lions made a change offensively on Sunday afternoon, and it looks like it was a great move.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell was spotted holding a play sheet on the sidelines at Northwest Stadium and appeared to be calling plays during the Lions’ blowout 44-22 win over the Washington Commanders. He confirmed as much at halftime.
“It’s just a changeup,” he told Fox’s Megan Olivi at the break. “We wanted to mix things up.”
That changeup worked.
The Lions scored on their first eight drives on Sunday in Maryland. They took a 25-10 lead into the locker room, thanks to a pair of touchdowns from running back Jahmyr Gibbs and a 9-yard reception from Amon-Ra St. Brown. Jameson Williams caught a 14-yard pass to add to that lead out of the break, too, and then Gibbs erupted for a 44-yard score in the fourth quarter.
Everything was clicking perfectly, and it allowed them to roll to the 22-point win without any issue whatsoever.
Jared Goff went 25 of 33 for 320 yards with three touchdowns in the win. Gibbs finished with 142 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries on the ground, and he had another 30 yards and a touchdown on three catches. David Montgomery had 71 rushing yards on 15 carries, too, and Williams had 119 yards and a score on six catches. The win pushed the Lions to 6-3 on the year.
While it’s not their highest-scoring day of the season — they dropped 52 points on the Chicago Bears back in September — it came close. The Lions’ 44 points trail only that Week 2 win, and nearly doubled their point totals from the last two games. Campbell was asked how he planned to jumpstart their offense after the team fell to the Minnesota Vikings last week, and was a little vague about what he was going to try.
“I’ve got a million ideas,” he said, via the Detroit Free Press. “And I believe it’s going to work this week. And if it doesn’t, then I’ve got another idea. I’ve got plenty. We’ll get this thing going.”
To be fair, the Lions are catching the Commanders at the perfect time. The team has now lost five straight, which moved them to 3-7 on the season. Marcus Mariota went 16 of 22 for 213 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Jacory Croskey-Marritt had 30 yards on 11 carries, and Treylon Burks had 58 yards on three catches.
But thanks in part to Campbell taking the reins from offensive coordinator John Morton, the Lions have found their offense again. Whether this version is sustainable — the Lions will take on the Philadelphia Eagles on the road next Sunday night in what’s sure to be a great test — remains to be seen.
49ers cut their deficit to 21-14 on first drive of second half
The 49ers are back in it.
San Francisco, which trailed 21-0 early in the second quarter, has cut its deficit to 21-14 with 9:33 remaining in the third quarter.
The 49ers scored a touchdown with 3:15 left in the first half on Jauan Jennings' 6-yard touchdown reception. They opened the second half with a 10-play, 65-yard touchdown drive.
San Francisco, which had 31 rushing yards in the first half, had 28 on its first drive of the second half. Brian Robinson had five carries for 24 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown run on the possession.
Mac Jones is 19-of-23 for 188 yards and a touchdown.