INGLEWOOD, Calif. — After fumbling near the goal line in the Los Angeles Rams‘ 26-23 overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night, running back Kyren Williams said he felt as if he “let the team down.”
On first-and-goal from the San Francisco 3 with 1 minute, 7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, 49ers defensive tackle Alfred Collins punched out the ball and forced the fumble.
“S— sucks,” Williams said. “I don’t know. For me, I just got to hold onto the ball. I feel like I let the team down at the 1-yard line, not securing the one thing that matters and scoring the touchdown. So for me, I put this all on me, honestly, and just knowing that I got to be better.”
Since the start of 2023, Williams’ seven fumbles lost are the most among running backs over that span, according to ESPN Research.
After the fumble, the Rams’ defense got a stop on the next drive and quarterback Matthew Stafford led the team down the field for a tying 48-yard field goal by Joshua Karty to force overtime. In overtime, the Rams lost after Williams was stopped on fourth down at the San Francisco 11.
After the game, Rams head coach Sean McVay said the fourth-down call “was a poor decision by me right there.”
“We had plenty of chances throughout this game,” McVay said. “We stayed in it, we fought, we battled, but there’s a lot of things that we have to be able to clean up and a lot of football left, but I’m pretty sick right now. I’m sick of the spot that I put our group in to end the game.”
Williams said he felt as if the Rams wouldn’t have even been in that position “if I would’ve just held on to the ball.”
The failed rush on fourth-and-1 was the Rams’ only running back carry to not gain a yard Thursday.
Williams finished the game with 14 rushes for 65 yards and eight catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns. According to ESPN Research, Williams has scored 35 touchdowns since the start of 2023, tying Jahmyr Gibbs for the most in the NFL over that span.
With the loss to the 49ers, the Rams fell to 3-2 on the season.
