SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Four nights after winning the highest-scoring game of the NFL season, the Los Angeles Rams won the only game this year without a touchdown.

Joshua Karty hit four field goals and the Rams survived a slugfest a week after winning the shootout to beat the San Francisco 49ers 12-6 on Thursday night in a key game in the NFC West race.

“What’s really cool is that this team has found a lot of different ways to win football games,” coach Sean McVay said. “The other day we trailed a game 44-42 and then won 12-6. Our group did what they had to do to be able to make it.”

After a high-profile victory over Buffalo, the Rams (8:6) won for the seventh time in nine games after a 1:4 start. The Rams moved within half a game of league leader Seattle. Los Angeles won a game without a touchdown for the first time since 2016.

The 49ers (5-8) led 6-3 early in the fourth quarter but fell short, dealing a major blow to the reigning NFC champions’ dwindling playoff hopes.

This was the fourth time this season that the Niners lost to a division opponent after leading by at least three points in the fourth quarter. They became the first team to do this since New England in 2000 in coach Bill Belichick’s first season with the Patriots.

“It was the story of the year,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “Just didn’t do enough to win games. Don’t play complementary. Just comes out a little short.”

Karty capped a 17-play drive with a game-winning 23-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, then hit a 27-yarder after Matthew Stafford hit a 51-yard pass to Puka Nacua.

Karty made all four kicks after missing four in the final five games of his rookie season.

“He’s stable,” McVay said. “He is consistent. He’s kind of unflappable.”

The Niners then shot within field goal range, but Brock Purdy was intercepted by Darious Williams on a deep pass into the end zone, giving the Rams their first series win against the 49ers since 2018.

Stafford then led a stunning drive capped by Karty’s fourth field goal with 18 seconds to play. Stafford went 16-for-27 for 160 yards, with 137 of those yards coming after halftime when the heavy rain stopped.

“In the second half the weather was good enough to do anything,” Stafford said. “We felt like this game was going to be played that way and it had to be one of those games. We scored 44 points four nights ago and we come here and score 12 points, but they both count as one.”

Purdy finished the game 14 for 31 for 142 yards as the Niners failed to score a touchdown in a game for the first time since 2019.

The first half was played in a pouring rain and had a major impact on the offensive performances as neither team was able to move the ball.

The Rams had no first downs on their first four drives for the first time since 2013 before tying the score with a late field goal. The Niners took the lead three times and scored a field goal.

The teams combined for 11 punts, nine first downs and 197 yards, four days after setting both season highs in points.

The rain mostly stopped by halftime, but the offenses were still struggling.

Injuries

Rams: LB Nick Hampton (chest) left the ball in the second half.

49ers: LB Dre Greenlaw returned for the first time since tearing his left Achilles tendon in the Super Bowl last season. He had eight tackles in the first half but played sparingly in the second half. According to coach Kyle Shanahan, veteran De’Vondre Campbell, who lost his starting role after Greenlaw’s return, refused to come into the game in the second half. … S Ji’Ayir Brown (groin) left in the second half.

Next

Rams: Visit the New York Jets on December 22nd.

49ers: Visit Miami on December 22nd.

——

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL