Vegas oddsmakers had the 49ers as the biggest underdogs they’d been in five years, but a cast of no-name Niner back-ups stepped up and stunned a national TV audience with a 26-23 overtime victory over the LA Rams.

With the San Francisco 49ers missing effectively their three best players in Brock Purdy, George Kittle, and Nick Bosa, they came into Thursday night’s game against the LA Rams as 8.5-point underdogs, which was the biggest point spread against the Niners in five years.

Yeah, well fuck you gambling community, because the 49ers shocked everyone with a 26-23 overtime win over the Rams in front of a national TV audience (well, Amazon Prime audience, at least). ESPN also describes last night’s 49ers win as “the largest upset of the 2025 season so far, surpassing the Cleveland Browns' win against the Green Bay Packers in Week 3 as 7.5-point underdogs.”

And Niner Nation has to be proud not only of the win, but the fact that visiting 49ers fans were noticeably much louder than the Rams fans, despite this game being played in LA. And this was a thriller that was not decided until deep into the overtime period.


Our new kicker who I think we like, Eddy Piñeiro, hit the game-winning kick with the overtime field goal above, though we didn’t know it was the game-winner at the time. And it was a doink that hit the upright! But it was one of those doinks that actually bounced in, giving the 49ers the 23-20 lead that they would not relinquish.


The 49ers were awfully good right out of the gate. Journeyman backup quarterback Mac Jones got the start with Purdy sidelined, and Jones was also without his most favored receiver Ricky Pearsall. But Mac Jones has his old Patriots teammate Kendrick Bourne to rely upon, and the 49ers were up 14-0 just two minutes into the second half.


Check out how dominant the Niners were in the first quarter! What is not mentioned above is the Rams had minus-six passing yards in that first quarter. Mac Jones enjoyed his best game as a 49er (he is now 3-0 as a 49ers starter?), and maybe the best game of his whole career, though I would not know because I did not watch much New England or Jacksonville football when he played for them. Regardless, Piñeiro hit another field goal just as the second quarter expired, putting the 49ers up 17-7 at halftime.


You knew the very talented Rams would mount a comeback, and they did. Puka Nacua got his obligatory touchdown late in the third quarter to trim the 49ers lead to 20-14. And as seen in the above video, Rams running back Kyren Williams tauntingly danced into the end zone on a fourth quarter touchdown that tied the game 20-20.

Oh, the 49ers would make him regret that display of showmanship.

Because that is the exact same Kyren Williams who fumbled the ball with the Rams barreling in for what seemed certain to be the game-winning touchdown with 1:07 left in the fourth quarter. Once again the 49ers defense saved the day, and this contest would head to overtime.

Piñeiro made that doink-field goal to give the Niners their 23-20 overtime advantage. But the Rams would get their shot at scoring in overtime too.


Many of us were shitting bricks as the Rams drove all the way down to the 49ers 11-yard line. This was chip-shot field goal range to tie the game, but the Rams decided to roll the dice and go for it on fourth-and-one. That dancing showboater Kyren Williams was stuffed for no gain, and he might have even fumbled again. But it didn't matter, because the 49ers automatically won the game on the basis of the fourth-down stop.

Image: NFL.com


So that brings the 4-1 San Francisco 49ers into sole possession of first place in the NFC West division. Even if the second-place Seahawks beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, the 49ers hold the tiebreaker based on their opening day win over the Seahawks. Moreover, the Niners are sitting pretty with a 3-0 division record, and wins over each of the other three NFC West teams.

So now the Niners have the ten-day “mini-bye,” and won’t play again until they too visit Tampa Bay next Sunday, October 12 at 1:25 pm PT.

Related: 49ers Beat Cardinals 16-15 at the Last Second to Stay Undefeated, And Maybe We Finally Have a Kicker We Like [SFist]

Image: INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 02: Fred Warner #54 and Curtis Robinson #59 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrate a missed field goal by Joshua Karty #16 of the Los Angeles Rams during the third quarter at SoFi Stadium on October 02, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)