Following that soul-crushing opening salvo by the 49ers, Ward had yet another interception, returning this one for a touchdown when a Matthew Stafford pass was dropped by Tyler Higbee and cradled by Ward. The start was emphatic and methodical, and quick and staggering.
“We wanted to make it as physical as possible and we knew if we did that, it would come down to the turnover battle,” said 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, whose team won the turnover battle, 2-0, thanks to Ward’s two interceptions.
The 49ers had forced their will, while the Rams seemed to have lost theirs.
It was hardly following the script, as the 49ers, reeling all season, were supposed to be the first foe vanquished by the new-age band of Rams with Beckham and Miller adding to the all-star cast that is the Los Angeles roster. But it didn’t go that way.
Los Angeles, despite its additions over the last few weeks, has lost two in row to the Titans and 49ers, with each defeat coming by double-digit margins and the Rams’ high-octane offense held to an average of 13 points.
“I choose to believe that these last couple weeks are not who we are. I refuse to believe that, event that, you know what, you’re only as good as your last game,” McVay said. “These last two weeks have certainly been humbling.”
Heading into Monday, this game was very much all about the Rams and the hopeful debuts of Miller and Beckham, but the Niners apparently didn’t get the memo.
Stafford wasted no time in getting Beckham introduced to the Rams offense, hooking up with the former Browns and Giants wideout on the first play from scrimmage for a 5-yard gain. Unfortunately, Beckham tallied his first tackle as a Ram on the drive when a Stafford deep ball was intercepted. It appeared that Beckham and Stafford might not have been on the same page on the play. Perhaps Beckham didn’t run the deep route Stafford expected or perhaps it was just a bad ball.
“We didn’t make enough plays,” said McVay, whose team lost the time of possession battle, 39:03-20:57. “Our best players didn’t play up to their standards.”
Stafford hooked up with Higbee for the Rams’ only touchdown of the evening to cut the score to 14-7, but the 49ers responded with an 11-play, 91-yard scoring drive, underscoring that this was San Francisco’s night and their style of game.
“We were ready to play them today and we were excited to,” Shanahan said.
At one point, Jalen Ramsey could be seen yelling on the sidelines, while Miller was getting oxygen on the bench.
When the loss had settled, Beckham and Miller, each downplayed it, simply chalking it up to a bad night against a team that played better.
“Any given Sunday any team can win,” Beckham said. “Tonight, the Niners came out and they played better than us in all phases of the game. And that’s really the moral of the story. There’s no trying to find what happened, they just outplayed us.”
