Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Week 5 Thursday Night Football Result – Mac Jones, Christian McCaffrey Lead 49ers to Thrilling OT Win despite Matthew Stafford Heroics

49ers cling on in SoFi despite missing several key starters to go 4-1 on the year!

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The NFL kicked off week 5 of the 2025 season with the Thursday Night Football game between the Los Angeles Rams vs the San Francisco 49ers. Both teams came into this NFC West divisional matchup with a 3-1 record and with the chance to take the top spot in the race for supremacy.

One of the biggest storylines heading into this game revolved around the 49ers’ roster and the multiple starters that were missing from the game due to injury. Brock Purdy, Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, George Kittle, Nick Bosa, and Ricky Pearsall all missed the game, as the 49ers had to start with many backups.

49ers offensive starters tonight: pic.twitter.com/nSKkTLVJSe
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 2, 2025

49ers Start Aggressively on Both Sides of the Ball

San Francisco got off to a quick start on its opening drive, and as expected, the offense ran through running back Christian McCaffrey. With most of the starters on offense not playing this game, McCaffrey was the focal point throughout the game and ended up with more receiving yards than rushing.

The opening drive concluded after 10 minutes with Mac Jones finding Jake Tonges for a wide-open touchdown as the 49ers went up 7-0. San Francisco’s defense forced a quick 3 and out as the offense once again marched down the length of the field for a second touchdown, this time via a catch by McCaffrey.

Mac Jones is picking up where he left off. 14-0 #49ers. pic.twitter.com/uHVKDd4ETL
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 3, 2025

Following a couple of possessions with no further scores, the Rams finally stitched together a perfect 8-play, 85-yard drive that saw all pass plays. Rams’ quarterback Matthew Stafford found Kyren Williams as L.A. reduced the deficit to 14-7.

San Francisco then closed out the first half via an Eddy Pineiro 37-yard field goal to hand them a 17-7 advantage. Mac Jones was brimming with confidence in the first half, avoiding risks and taking checkdowns whenever there was nothing happening downfield.

For the Rams, Puka Nacua tied Justin Jefferson to become the second-fastest receiver to hit the 3,000 yards receiving mark through just 33 games.

Rams WR Puka Nacua surpasses 3,000 career yards in only 33 career games 😤

Nacua is tied with Vikings star Justin Jefferson for second-fastest to reach the accolade all-time 🔥 pic.twitter.com/lAXgcKNoHo
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) October 3, 2025

Rams Offense Gets Going after Halftime

The Rams’ offense started to show more life after halftime, but they missed a 53-yard field goal, while the 49ers made another one to increase the lead to 20-7. Stafford then found Tutu Atwell for a 34-yard gain in the ensuing drive, which later set up a short touchdown pass from Stafford to Nacua, reducing the deficit to 20-14.

After the Rams’ defense forced a punt, Stafford hit Davante Adams with a pair of big passes that put the Rams in the red zone. Stafford completed an 8-yard pass to Kyren Williams, but the extra point kick went wide left, tying the game at 20-20.

TUUUUUU TUUUUUU!!!

📺 @NFLonPrime | #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/JxststgznK
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) October 3, 2025

High Drama at the End and OT

With the 49ers ahead 23-20 following a field goal, the Rams got the ball back and marched all the way down to inside the 49ers’ 5-yard line. With first and goal and just over a minute to go in the game, San Francisco came up with the play of the day, forcing a fumble on the 1-yard line.

While rushing for the go-ahead touchdown, the ball was punched out of Kyren Williams’ grasp by Alfred Collins, saving a sure-shot touchdown. The Rams’ defense was able to stop the 49ers from advancing and, with all three timeouts, were able to get the ball back to set up a game-tying field goal, forcing overtime at 23-23.

In overtime, the 49ers got the ball first but could only manage a 41-yard field goal by Pineiro, which doinked off the upright to go in. L.A. then got the ball down 26-23 and was looking to put the game to bed. Stafford found Atwell once again for a huge 38-yard gain, but the Niners’ defense came up with big plays to stop the Rams on 4th and 1 at the 11-yard line, forcing yet another fumble to bring the game to an end.

Los Angeles Rams vs San Francisco 49ers Game Stats

For the Rams, Stafford went 22/34 for 284 yards and 3 touchdowns, while Kyren Williams was held to just 40 yards from 10 carries. Davante Adams and Puca Nacua had 70 and 65 receiving yards, respectively.

The 49ers, on the other hand, were led superbly by Mac Jones, who went 26/39 for 282 yards and 2 touchdowns. Christian McCaffrey had 56 rushing yards from 20 carries and 60 receiving yards with a touchdown. However, veteran receiver Kendrick Bourne came up big in the absence of all starting receivers to finish with 9 receptions for 132 yards.

Team Stats

Los Angeles Rams	Category	San Francisco Rams
456	Total yards	407
378	Passing yards	333
78	Rushing yards	74
1	Sacks allowed	1
5 (36)	Penalties (yards)	8 (44)
2	Fumbles lost	0
0	Interceptions	0

The 49ers now head into week 6 with a 4-1 record and are currently atop the NFC West. Their next game will be against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Rams now fall to 3-2 and will play the Baltimore Ravens in week 6.

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

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Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!