The regular season has come to a close.
Without 20 of their 22 starters, the Los Angeles Rams lost the final game of the regular season, 34-13, to Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers on New Year's Eve at the L.A. Coliseum.
Garoppolo threw for 292 yards, two interceptions and two touchdowns on the day, as he improved to 5-0 as the starting quarterback for San Francisco.
"They've definitely improved," said L.A. Rams head coach Sean McVay about the new-look Niners with Garoppolo under center. "It's impressive just to watch the way those guys play. I'm impressed with those guys and they did a nice job finishing up the right way this year."
Overall, the man known as "Jimmy G," is 7-0 as a starting quarterback to start his career (two wins with New England).
Jimmy G got the Niners on the board when he found Marquise Goodwin on a screen pass in the first quarter for an 8-yard touchdown pass that put San Francisco up 10-0.
Carlos Hyde had 84 yards and two touchdowns for the Niners who finish the season on a tear, winning six of their last seven games under first-year head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Jimmy G added an extra insurance touchdown to start the fourth quarter when he found Aldrick Robinson over the middle in the end zone for the score.
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Garoppolo @JimmyG_10 lanzando diamantes a @AldrickRobinson para el TD#49ers #SFvsLA
pic.twitter.com/wknx73liLw— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers_es) December 31, 2017
After the Rams clinched the NFC West last week with a win over the Tennessee Titans last week, head coach Sean McVay opted to rest nearly all of his starters before their NFC Wild Card matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.
"We feel good about being able to allow some of our players to get some rest, a little bit of recovery time that I think is much needed for some of those guys and then you keep a couple guys out of harm's way," said McVay of his decision. "Hopefully, they'll be fresh and ready to roll whenever our game is."
Among the notable starters to rest in the game were quarterback Jared Goff, pro-bowl tackle Aaron Donald, and MVP candidate Todd Gurley.
In place of Goff, backup quarterback Sean Mannion made his first career NFL start, and threw for 169 yards with no touchdowns and one lost fumble.
Lance Dunbar scored the only Rams touchdown on the day when he rushed it up the middle for the 5-yard score late in the fourth quarter.
Rams kicker, Sam Ficken, making his second career NFL start, bounced back from a bad week against the Titans, and was 2-for-2 on field goal attempts and 1-1 on extra-point attempts.
"He did a nice job today," McVay said of his kicker. "He made the most of his opportunities, and had some good kickoffs as well. He definitely improved from the previous week, so pleased with Sam today."
Backup cornerback Kevin Peterson had two interceptions for the Rams in the first start of his NFL career.
"I knew going into the game that I was going to get a lot of opportunities," said Peterson of his two interceptions. "They came into a formation that I recognized, and we had a call that matched it well and I just went and got it. I'm really more mad because I feel like I made some worse plays than the interceptions, so I didn't really get a chance to celebrate those."
Scary Moment:
Late in the second quarter, San Francisco 49ers receiver, Marquise Goodwin, was hit in the head by cornerback Blake Countess, and laid motionless on the field for several minutes. He eventually was carted off the field and taken to a nearby hospital with a concussion.
Up Next:
The playoffs! The Los Angeles Rams will host the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday, January 6, at 5:15PM PST in the NFC Wild Card game at the L.A. Coliseum.
