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5 interesting stats from Rams' Week 15 win over 49ers: A defensive battle in the bay ends with zero touchdowns on Thursday Night Football

The Rams and 49ers scored zero combined touchdowns and had 13 combined punts on the rain-soaked grass at Levi's Stadium. The Thursday Night Football game between two divisional foes put San Francisco's playoff hopes in grave danger as Los Angeles came out victorious, moving to 8-6 on the season.

The Rams' third-straight win featured one of their "most complete" defensive performances of the season, said head coach Sean McVay, and more punts than either team would have liked. Still, L.A. found a way. And, as running back Kyren Williams said after the game, it "makes us feel like we're the big brothers now," after they completed a sweep of the reigning NFC champions.

Here are five interesting stats from the Rams' 12-6 win over San Francisco in Week 15:

The Rams' -0.32 Expected Points Added (EPA) per play on defense was their second-best of the season, via Next Gen Stats

EPA measures the value of each play in terms of how much it contributes to the offense's likelihood of scoring – that means the Rams' defense took 0.32 expected points off the board per play. The conditions were clearly a factor, but the Rams' defense deserves credit where it's due for shutting down the 49ers' offense. NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said it best: "When it rains, your run game is your best friend," and the Rams didn't give an inch on the ground.

The Rams allowed 3.3 yards per carry, their third-best mark of the season, and just 63 total yards on the ground. The 49ers gained an average of 1.8 yards after contact, which is the fewest the Rams have given up all season. The Los Angeles front came up in a big way in the bay.

Thursday was the first time the Rams won a game without scoring a touchdown since Week 2 of 2016, when they beat Seattle 9-3

It's been over eight years since the Rams won a game without scoring a touchdown. That was the team's first season back in Los Angeles.

A week after winning a 44-42 shootout in L.A., the Rams won with 12 points in the bay. That's what good teams do: They find ways to win. After the game, McVay said "what's really cool is this team has found a bunch of different ways to win football games." And kicker Joshua Karty hitting all four of his field goal attempts was the way on Thursday.

The last time L.A. won a game without scoring an offensive touchdown was Week 17 of 2020 when they beat Arizona, but they still found the end zone.

In the first half, Kobie Turner was double-teamed four times and generated four pressures and two sacks, via Next Gen Stats

Since the start of last season, no player has more pressures against double teams than Kobie Turner (42). When McVay heard that stat on Monday's media availability, he said "alright, how 'bout that! I love it, that's cool." When the Rams needed him most on Thursday, Turner came through with two clutch sacks on third downs, both against double teams.

"The Conductor" finished the night with five pressures, which led the team, along with four stops. Turner helped the Rams to a 35.3% pressure rate in a game where 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy's pocket was disrupted in the most important moments.

Darious Williams' fourth-quarter interception added 32% to the Rams' win probability, via Next Gen Stats

Williams' first interception of the season couldn't have come at a better time. The Rams had a 44% chance of winning when Purdy dropped back to pass on second-and-10 from the Rams' 33-yard line. After Williams fell into the end zone with the ball in his hands, they had a 76% chance to win. With starting cornerback Cobie Durant out with an injury, Williams showed up big in a game where L.A. needed him to do exactly that.

The Rams proceeded to run 4:56 off the clock on a 13-play drive that ended in a field goal, leaving just 18 seconds for the 49ers to make something happen. They didn't, and the Rams' defense, fittingly, ended the game with a sack.

11 punts in the first half was tied for the most in a first half this season

Hey, I said they were interesting, not good. After the game, quarterback Matthew Stafford said it was "tough to hold on to the football" in the second quarter because of the rain, so it's not surprising that these offenses struggled to move the ball early on. McVay said the weather was "a lot more of an issue" than what fans at home and in the stadium probably recognized.

Punter Ethan Evans had a busy day, but performed well, averaging 45.7 net yards on his six punts.

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