Todd Gurley looks like his old self, thanks to Sean McVay

Even with the Rams flying on offense, the 49ers remained within striking distance due to their work inside the 2-yard line on both sides of the field in the third quarter. And quarterback Brian Hoyer had struggled mightily when attempting to push the ball down the field.

The Rams were 8 for 12 on third down, including all three of Goff’s touchdown passes. It was the exact opposite of what we’re used to when it comes to Thursday Night Football.

San Francisco would not go quietly into the Bay Area night as they quickly responded with a touchdown from Hoyer to Trent Taylor that once again put the 49ers within a single score.

DROUGHT BUSTER: The 49ers came into the game without a touchdown on the season but broke through in the first quarter with some help from the Rams. Hoyer passed for a mere 99 yards in Week 2, and the offense has yet to score a touchdown in 2017. Washington torched the defense for 229 rushing yards. The drive was clearly positive for San Francisco, but the 49ers did receive a bit of negative news as running back Carlos Hyde suffered a hip injury. Even though he’s only thrown for two scores, that has come at the price of only one interception. As for the 49ers, they’re something of a train wreck right now, and the first thing you can point to is the lack of a touchdown from anyone this season. We’ve got the weapons out there to make plays – to make big plays and we get ourselves back in the game. The Rams have Aaron Donald back and the more he plays and shakes the rust off, the more dominant he’ll become.

Hyde scored on the ensuing possession on his third straight run from the Rams’ 1-yard line. Goff has completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 530 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.

Flashback to their season opener against the same team in 2016 in which they were shut out by the San Francisco 49ers.

Tartt and Ward had the task of containing Rams deep-threat receivers Gerald Everett, Cooper Kupp, Woods and Watkins.

Watkins finished with six catches for 106 yards and his first two touchdowns as a member of the Rams, who acquired him in an August trade with the Bills. There were many takeaways from this game, but here are three main ones. Last year’s team scored just 224 points all season. “It was exciting. It was fun”. The Rams will need Gurley to continue to be that dual-threat player against the 49ers defense. The excitement for the season should be tempered.

“I was Really pleased with Jared tonight”, said Rams head coach Sean McVay, who also calls the plays on offense.

At this point, though, the Rams defense had seen enough. His team has managed nine points over two games. Pierre Garcon and Marquise Goodwin both put up three catches for 26 yards to lead the 49ers on a rough receiving day.

The Rams will face much stiffer tests in the next two weeks when they travel to Dallas next Sunday before a tilt with the Seahawks in Los Angeles on October 8. They played well defensively in the latter, and almost stole one on the road – falling 12-9 to the Seahawks.