Rams lose 3rd straight as offense stalls vs. 49ers

LOS ANGELES — Behind a large contingent of fans chanting, “Let’s go, Niners!” at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Los Angeles Rams a 20-7, delivering the Rams their third consecutive loss of the season.

It is the first time since Sean McVay was hired as coach in 2017 that the Rams have lost three straight games. The skid comes a season after McVay led the Rams to an NFC championship and a Super Bowl appearance.

Quarterback Jared Goff passed for a career-low 78 yards, completing 13 of 24 passes. He was sacked four times. Goff’s previous low was 90 passing yards in his rookie season, in a 22-21 loss to the 49ers in 2016.

On Sunday, the Rams played without running back Todd Gurley, cornerback Aqib Talib and outside linebacker Clay Matthews, who were all inactive because of injuries.

Running back Malcolm Brown started in place of Gurley and rushed for 40 yards on 11 carries. Rookie Darrell Henderson rushed for 39 yards on six carries.

The Rams took an early 7-0 lead on an 8-yard touchdown run by receiver Robert Woods, but the 49ers scored 20 unanswered points behind a 2-yard touchdown run by Tevin Coleman and a 1-yard run by quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

The Rams had the chance to cut into the 49ers’ 20-7 lead with 8:49 to play in the fourth quarter. Defensive tackle Aaron Donald strip-sacked Garoppolo, and linebacker Cory Littleton recovered, then tossed a lateral to cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman, who stepped out of bounds at the 49ers’ 36-yard line. But the Rams were unable to convert the takeaway into points, as they were stopped on fourth down.

The Rams were 0-3 on third down against the 49ers. The last time they went for it on fourth down at least three times with no conversions was against the Seahawks on Dec. 15, 2016, when they went 0-4 on fourth down.

Rams left guard Joe Noteboom left the game in the first quarter because of a knee injury, and safety John Johnson was sidelined in the second half because of a shoulder injury.

The Rams also were upset in Week 4 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 55-40, then fell to the Seattle Seahawks 30-29 after Greg Zuerlein‘s 44-yard field goal attempt missed wide right with 15 seconds to play in Week 5.

The Rams (3-3) are in third place in the NFC West behind the 49ers (5-0) and Seahawks (5-1), putting their run at a third consecutive division title in jeopardy.

The Rams now will play a host of teams with losing records as they travel away from the Coliseum for the next month. They are scheduled to take on the Atlanta Falcons next Sunday at Mercedes Benz Stadium, then will travel to London to play the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 8 before a Week 9 bye. In Week 10, the Rams return to the East Coast to play the Pittsburgh Steelers.