Garoppolo tosses 3 TDs as 49ers dump Rams to end skid
Jimmy Garoppolo threw three first-half touchdown passes and Jason Verrett stalled a Los Angeles Rams rally with an end-zone interception Sunday night as the host San Francisco 49ers ended a two-game losing streak with a 24-16 victory in a matchup of the last two NFC champions.
George Kittle caught seven passes for 109 yards and one touchdown to spark a 49ers offense that did most of its damage in the first half en route to a 21-6 lead.
The San Francisco defense, which was last seen serving up 436 yards and 43 points in a blowout home loss to the Miami Dolphins last week, slowed the Rams in large part by limiting Jared Goff, who finished with 198 passing yards on 19 of 38 completions.
Garoppolo’s big first half featured TD throws to Deebo Samuel for six yards, Kittle for 44 and Brandon Aiyuk for two. He went 17-for-21 for 215 yards in the half without an interception.
Garoppolo, who was pulled at halftime of last week’s loss to Miami, finished the game 23-for-33 for 268 yards and the three scores. He was not intercepted.
San Francisco running back Raheem Mostert ran 17 times for 65 yards before suffering an ankle injury and leaving the game early in the third quarter.
In an attempt to win at home for the first time in four outings this season, the connections with Samuel and Kittle gave the 49ers (3-3) a 14-0 lead in the first minute of the second quarter before the Rams countered with their only score of the half on a 10-yard pass from Goff to Robert Woods.
Samuel Sloman’s PAT was blocked, allowing the 49ers to go 15 points up when Aiyuk corralled his short TD catch with 1:47 left in the half.
Goff was just 5-for-12 in the half for 42 yards. The Rams were outgained 291-102 in the turnover-free first 30 minutes.
In the second half, the teams could only trade field goals — a 42-yarder by Sloman and a 49-yarder by the 49ers’ Robbie Gould — until the Rams (4-2), seeking a third straight win, made it a one-score margin on a 40-yard pass from Goff to Josh Reynolds with still 3:24 to play.
However, the Rams never got the ball back.
LA’s other threat in the second half came at the end of a nine-play, 60-yard drive in the third period. But on a fourth-and-goal at the 2, Verrett picked off a pass intended for Reynolds, allowing San Francisco to retain a 21-9 lead.
Goff finished with two TD passes and one interception. LA’s Darrell Henderson Jr. was the game’s leading rusher with 88 yards on 14 carries.
–Field Level Media
