Rams’ running game still ineffective vs. 49ers’ woeful defenseBy Ryan Kartje
LOS ANGELES >> No NFL team this season had been worse against the run than the San Francisco 49ers. By most measures, no team had even come close to matching their ineptitude in stopping opposing ground games.
Before Sunday, their opponents had averaged five yards per carry — making San Francisco the only team in the past three seasons to yield a rate so high. To find a team that had allowed as many touchdowns on the ground (23) as the 49ers have this season, you’d have to go back even further — a half-decade, to be exact.
So it would seem like a dream scenario that the Rams would find themselves up by a touchdown, with five minutes remaining and a talented young running back in their backfield, only a few strong rushes away from running out the clock and snapping a five-game losing streak.
But as has been the case with the Rams’ run game all season, even a task as simple as that was too much to ask in a painful, 22-21 defeat.
Todd Gurley took a carry up the middle for one yard. He took another carry up the middle for four more. The next play, quarterback Jared Goff was sacked, and the Rams punted. From there, everything fell apart. The 49ers milked the clock on a game-winning touchdown march, doing the one thing the Rams couldn’t all day: Sustain a single drive.
Read Complete Article
[
www.dailybreeze.com]
