A few feet from the end zone, the ball was out. Kyren Williams, once the hero of the comeback, suddenly found himself on the wrong side of the highlight reel. And just like that, a game the Rams had clawed their way back into evaporated.

In the fluorescent hum of the post-game presser, Sean McVay didn’t duck or deflect. Asked about the fourth-down call that led to the fumble, he offered no coach-speak. “It was a bad call,” McVay said, the words hanging in the air. “It was a bad call by me.” It wasn’t just an admission; it was a confession. He said he wished he’d sent the kicking unit out, that instead, he put his players in a “shitty” spot. And that one spot, that one yard, is where this 23-20 loss to a battered 49ers squad will live in his memory.

The call was a vote of confidence in Williams, who had been cooking with 2 touchdown catches that night. It was trust in an offense that had just dragged the Rams back from a 17-7 halftime deficit. But instead of a game-winning plunge, the 49ers’ second-round rookie Alfred Collins played spoiler, punching the ball loose right at the goal line. Turnover.

A drive that should’ve ended with, at worst, a chip-shot field goal to take the lead, ended with the Niners taking over at their own one-yard line. It was the kind of gut-punch mistake a team can’t make against a rival.

Rams gave away a golden chance

While the Rams eschewed an easy 3 points, the 49ers won the game on the leg of a guy they practically just met. Eddy Pineiro, who took over for a struggling Jake Moody in Week 2, stepped up and drilled a 59-yarder to seal it. Think about that. A journeyman kicker, cool as you like, from nearly 60 yds out, while the Rams fumbled away their chance from inches. 

They were down Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Nick Bosa, basically half their Pro Bowl roster. Mac Jones was steady (had fans begging), not spectacular, and Christian McCaffrey did his thing (18 touches, 89 yds in the first half alone), but the door was wide open for LA.

The Rams had walked through it, too. After a clunky first half marred by a Blake Corum turnover, Matthew Stafford started finding his rhythm. He found Puka Nacua for a TD to cut the lead to 20-14. He hit Davante Adams on two big gains of 25 and 24 yds. Then he connected with Williams for an 8-yd score to tie it 20-20, though a blocked extra point felt like a bad omen.

But a game isn’t just about momentum; it’s about moments. And in the biggest moment, McVay chose aggression over assurance. He put his players in that spot, and now he has to live with the regret. The final score will say the 49ers won, but the Rams know the truth.