St. Louis Rams Fall Short Monday Night Against San Francisco 49ers

On the  night the St. Louis Rams honored the 15th anniversary of the Greatest Show on Turf, the Rams fell to the rival San Francisco 49ers 31-17 on Monday Night Football and fall to a 1-4 record on the season, their worst start through five games since 2011 when the team started 0-6.

For the second time in three weeks the Rams came out hot scoring the game first points and gaining a comfortable two score lead. This time it was a Benny Cunningham one yard touchdown run and Lance Kendricks touchdown reception to put the Rams up an early 14-0.

Looking like the Rams would go into the half with the score 14-3, is right when the game changed. Cornerback Janoris Jenkins bit on a Brandon Lloyd double move allowing the wide receiver to go 80-yards for a touchdown with just :14 seconds left in the first half.

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Instead of being up 14-3 the Rams were only up by four points with the 49ers getting the ball to start the second half. Two touchdown passes in the third quarter by Colin Kaepernick put the 49ers up 24-14 headed into the final frame.

A Greg Zuerlein field goal made the score 24-17 with a little over three minutes remaining. The defense got the stop that they needed but because of a failed onside kick attempt, the Rams offense got stuck with the ball at the nine yard line with 1:05 to go and no timeouts.

For the third straight game the offense had the ball with a chance to win or tie, but for the third straight game, the offense came up short. An Austin Davis interception went for a touchdown to put the nail in the coffin and end the game.

Although the score and the fact that the Rams had a chance to tie at the end of the game may say otherwise, the 49ers dominated this game on all fronts for the final two and a half quarters.

After 238 total yards in the first half the Rams only managed 71 yards in the second half and at one point Davis went on a stretch in which he threw eight straight incomplete passes.

Once again the officiating was inconsistent and made controversial calls that seemed to change the game in the 49ers favor. However, the offense still failed to get anything going in the second half and didnt help the Rams’ cause.

With no sacks on the night and only one on the season, the Rams have the fewest sacks through a team’s first five games in NFL history.

The Rams play at home against another division opponent in the Seattle Seahawks. The defending Super Bowl Champions will be coming in after a tough loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The Seahawks are currently third in the NFC West and will be looking to get back on track.