SANTA CLARA — Alfred Collins turns 24 on Wednesday, but he felt Monday as if he’d already had his celebration.

The 49ers’ rookie defensive tackle came through with a game-saving play in Thursday night’s 26-23 overtime road win over the Los Angeles Rams. Los Angeles had first-and-goal at the 3-yard line with 1:07 left in regulation, quarterback Matthew Stafford gave the ball to Kyren Williams, and the Rams were poised to begin celebrating an apparent 27-23 win.

Collins, a second-round draft pick out of Texas, made a perfect swipe at the ball, and lo and behold, there it was right in front of him on the ground to recover.

“I don’t know if I even saw it,” Collins said Monday. “I thought they scored, and then the ball’s right there. It was awesome to make that play for my team. I mean, just

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