Best Los Angeles Rams/Forty Niners games

[74_75_78_79_]

Quite a few historic games between these two division rivals. There already have been two good ones since the Rams returned to LA. First one was penultimate week 2016, SF pulling it off in the end at LA - going for two with :30 left in regulation, and converting it, to make it 22-21 instead of going into OT. Then you have Game 3 this past season, SF rallying at home, scoring a TD late in 4thQ, but failing the two-point try; Rams 41-39 final. Rams looking like a playoff-regular to come and the way SF finished things this year, there looks to be quite a few more classics between these two in the near-future; road-team likely winning them (hey, that’s a rivalry).

Backtracking to 1994, and all the seasons prior, what notable LAR/SF showdowns come to mind?

[ChrisBabcock]

Not that either were memorable games but I thought it fascinating at the time that in 2012 we came pretty close to having the first “two-tie” teams since the beginning of the regular season OT era. And they would have been the same teams tying each other twice! The Rams and 49ers tied the first meeting between the 2. In the second, Zuerlein kicked a field goal with only 26 seconds left in OT to win it for the Rams.

[JohnTurney]

1983 had 2 good, but vry different games.

a 10-7 struggle and a 45-35 shootout, Rams winning first, 49ers the second

[JuggernautJ]

For myself, the best will always be this one:
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... 110ram.htm

Two John Taylor TDs >90 yards, Joe Montana leading a 20 point fourth quarter comeback, Charles Haley being ejected from the game and the defense coming up big afterwards... and Jerry Rice throwing the best blocks I've ever seen from a WR...
Truly a great game.

[Jay Z]

The Rams and 49ers had an interesting rivalry in the early 1970s. The Rams won 5 of 6 games between the two during 1970-72, but the 49ers won the division every year.

Probably the most interesting game was in 1971 in San Francisco on October 10th. A rough first quarter saw the 49ers blow a couple of chances. A fumbled punt by Alvin Haymond was countered by John Brodie getting picked by Gene Howard on the Ram 2. The Rams couldn't do much with the ball, though. By the end of the first quarter Roman Gabriel had thrown one incomplete pass and been knocked from the game by a couple of Cedrick Hardman sacks. Bruce Gossett missed a couple of field goals, then finally connected from 24 after a 31 yard drive. However, John Brodie threw another pick, to Isiah Robertson this time, who returned the ball to the 49er 7. The Rams couldn't punch it in, but David Ray tied the game with a FG from the 12.

Les Josephson broke free on the first play from scrimmage in the second half and ran 57 yards to the 49er 23. Again the Rams could do nothing further, and a Hardman and Dave Wilcox sack of Jerry Rhome pushed the Rams back to the 38. From there, a David Ray field goal attempt was short, but Bruce Taylor's foolish decision to return the kick out of the end zone got him only to the 49er 1. Ken Willard fumbled on the next play, and Gene Howard, having the game of his life, returned the fumble 4 yards for a touchdown and a 10-3 Ram lead.

John Brodie fought back. He completed 6 of 8 passes on the next drive, 4 to Ted Kwalick. The last of these was a 9 yard TD pass on 3rd down. A 10-10 tie. After a Ram punt, the 49ers went to work again. An 11 yard completion to Gene Washington on 3rd and 6 at the Ram 45 was the key play. A Gossett 33 yard field goal gave the 49ers the lead 13-10.

At this point the Rams had gained a total of two first downs with Jerry Rhome at quarterback, one on the Josephson run and another on a personal foul. That didn't get any better on the next drive, as it was another 3 and out. This time, the 49ers punted it back after one first down. A Jerry Rhome completion (only his second of the game) to Lance Rentzel and a three yard Josephson run set up 3rd and 1 at the Ram 34. Larry Smith then burst off left tackle and went all the way! 17-13 Ram lead with 7:51 left.

Things just got worse for the 49ers when Bob Windsor fumbled the kickoff at the 49er 29. Ram Matt Maslowski recovered. The Rams worked the ball down to the 49er 7 where Josephson just missed on 3rd and inches. But David Ray converted the short field goal for a 20-13 lead.

Could Brodie bring the 49ers back? He hit Gene Washington for one first down, but then stalled. With a 4th and 14, and all three time outs remaining, the 49ers punted. Jim McCann's kick was fair caught by Haymond on the Ram 31.

Could Jerry Rhome run out the clock? He could... by handing off. Willie Ellison and Josephson runs got the Rams one first down. Another Ellison 10 yard run got another. The 49ers used all of their time outs. A 49er personal foul gave the Rams their final first down of the game. Jerry Rhome fell on the ball after that.

The Rams gained only 9 first downs, three on their run out the clock drive. Two with Gabriel in the game. Two on their long TD runs. One by another penalty. And one to set up their second FG after the Windsor fumble. With Rhome completing only 2 passes and the Ram QBs getting sacked three times, the Rams had -18 yards passing for the day. It was not actually that uncommon to win a game with negative passing yardage in the 1970s; it happened 20 times. Last time it happened was in 2010 when the Steelers beat the Titans.

The win gave the Rams the division lead at 2-1-1. But they couldn't hold it. They would lose 4 more games, all to playoff teams; the Dolphins, Colts, Cowboys, and Redskins took advantage. 49ers did beat the Vikings, but a loss to the Chiefs was their only other game against a playoff team. The Rams other loss came to the Saints in their opening game, but the 49ers would also lose to the Saints later in the season.

[Rupert Patrick]

The 1954 game in San Francisco was a classic, played in early October in record heat (87 degrees) for that date on 10/7/54. The Rams were up 20-0 in the second quarter before the Rams found themselves with a fourth down at their own 28, and Van Brocklin faked a punt and tried to throw to Night Train Lane but the pass was dropped. San Francisco took over and the momentum started to shift. Five plays later, Tittle connected with Billy Wilson on a TD pass, the Rams punted, and Hugh McElhenny returned the punt 92 yards for a TD, but a clipping call brought it back. Undeterred, the Niners moved to the LA 17 when the half ended, with SF down by 13. San Francisco took the second half kickoff and drove down the field in 15 plays, scoring on a pitch from Tittle to McElhenny who threw a shovel pass to Joe Perry for the score. The Rams scored to make it 27-14, and the 49ers got a break on a Rams punt return for a TD that was called back due to a clipping call. Van Brocklin was sacked by Al Carapella, with the Dutchman fumbling and Lowell Wagner recovering for SF at the Rams 20-yard line. Two plays later, Perry ran it in from 11 yards out to make it 27-21 Rams. Another turnover by the 49ers, this time a pick of Van Brocklin by Rex Berry at the LA 25 followed. Bill Mixon went in from a yard over to put the Niners up 28-27 with nine minutes to play. Van Brocklin went into ball control mode, burning up six minutes, which ended with an 18-yard FG by Ben Agajanian to give the Rams a 30-28 lead. San Fran was 80 yards from victory, and they got their big play when McElhenny took a screen from Tittle 71 yards to the LA 9-yard line. After three running plays burned up most of the remaining time and put the ball at the five, Gordie Soltau came in and nailed a 12-yard FG that many of the Rams players felt was no good. The refs, however, thought it was good, and the 49ers had a 31-30 come from behind victory over the Rams.

[JohnR]

Minor slip up on the date Rupert, that game was in '53.

[BD Sullivan]

The 1968 tie in Week 10 wasn't necessarily memorable, but it set the stage for George Allen to get temporarily fired as head coach after the season was over. After the game, Allen griped about the muddy field at Kezar and Reeves publicly criticized him for the remarks. The subsequent player revolt brought Allen back, but once his five-year deal was done after the 1970 season, he was sent packing

[74_75_78_79_]

A shame they didn’t get to meet in ’49; two great teams, each team a respective runner-up in their league.

[RRMarshall]

One of my favorites was their 2nd meeting in 1969 during Roman Gabriel's MVP season. It was a back-and-forth game with the Niners closing to 34-30 before Gabriel clinched it himself with a TD run. Brodie and Gabriel combind for over 600 yards and 5 TDs which seems like pedestrian figures nowadays but was pretty impressive for the era...