The score says the San Francisco 49ers bullied the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night, and it isn’t wrong. Sitting at 1-2 and in desperate need of a normal victory, following three weeks of skies opening and long-heralded limbs breaking and reunions blooming and souring, the Niners came out and pushed the reigning division and league champions around, 24-9. The formula was familiar: a lot of defense, a dash of Deebo.
The last time these two teams met, in January’s NFC Championship Game, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford led three fourth-quarter scoring drives to dig his team out of a double-digit deficit and deliver them to the Super Bowl.