INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Entering Thursday night's game against the Los Angeles Rams , the San Francisco 49ers had zero receivers or tight ends on the roster who caught a pass for them in 2024.

There was no George Kittle , Brandon Aiyuk , Ricky Pearsall or Jauan Jennings available. They didn't have starting quarterback Brock Purdy , either. On paper, everything about Thursday night screamed Rams in a runaway.

Everything, that is, except the scoreboard. The Niners came up with their gutsiest performance of the first five weeks, beating the Rams 26-23 and staking their claim to first place in the NFC West at 4-1 and 3-0 in the division.

As in their three other wins, the Niners had multiple surprise heroes. This time, it was rookie defensive tackle Alfred Collins forcing and

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