The Los Angeles Rams remained hot in the Bay Area.
Puka Nacua and the Rams beat the San Francisco 49ers 12-6 in a defensive game with big playoff implications.
The Rams (8-6) have won three straight games over the 49ers (6-8) and have swept the season series.
Los Angeles, which is on a three-game winning streak, is just a half-game behind the NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks (8-5). Seattle hosts the Green Bay Packers on ‘Sunday Night Football.’
The 49ers dropped to last in the division with the loss. Their playoff hopes are in serious jeopardy.
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USA TODAY Sports provides the winners and losers from the NFC West battle:
Winners
Kickers
Rams kicker Joshua Karty and 49ers kicker Jake Moody were the only source of points.
Karty connected on all four of his field goal attempts and Moody made both of his.
Karty came into Week 15 having only made 77% of his field goal attempts on the season.
Punters
Rams punter Ethan Evans and 49ers punter Pat O’Donnell were busy, combining for 13 punts. Evans had six punts for 325 yards and O’Donnell had seven punts for 316 yards.
Puka Nacua
After producing 12 catches, 162 yards and a touchdown last week, the wideout tallied seven catches for 97 yards in the victory.
Nacua had an exceptional catch in the first quarter where he pinned the football on Charvarius Ward’s helmet as he was falling to the ground.
Nacua’s 51-yard reception in the fourth quarter was the longest play of the night.
He was the only Rams wide receiver with more than one catch. Cooper Kupp was held without a catch.
Kyren Williams
Williams and Nacua were the Rams’ offense Thursday night. The Rams running back had 29 carries for 108 yards. It was his third 100-yard rushing game of the season.
Dre Greenlaw
Greenlaw made his season debut after being activated off injured reserve. It was the linebacker’s first game since suffering a torn Achilles in Super Bowl 58.
The inside linebacker got the start in his long-awaited return; however, he was unable to play the entire game.
Still, he finished with eight tackles in the loss.
The 49ers’ social media team deserves a shoutout for their clever announcement regarding Greenlaw’s return. They didn’t forget about Dre.
Fred Warner
Warner continues to showcase why he’s arguably the best inside linebacker in the NFL.
The 49ers’ leading tackler compiled a game-high 15 tackles and was all over the field in the loss.
Losers
Deebo Samuel, 49ers wide receivers
Samuel said he was frustrated over not getting the ball enough this season. The 49ers attempted to feature him early, but he wasn’t very effective.
Samuel dropped the football on a slant route in the third quarter when he had nothing but green grass in front of him and could’ve scored. The 49ers had to settle for a field goal on the drive.
San Francisco wide receivers had six total catches.
49ers’ offense
The 49ers’ offense has been decimated by injuries this year. They miss left tackle Trent Williams, running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who are all on injured reserve.
The 49ers’ offense was held to 191 total yards.
De’Vondre Campbell
According to 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, Campbell refused to enter the game in the third quarter when asked to check in to replace linebacker Dre Greenlaw.
The Prime Video cameras captured footage of Campbell, helmet in hand, walking off the field and heading to the locker room.
Rams’ first-half offense
Nacua had that highlight catch in the first quarter, but the first half was littered with lowlights for the Rams.
Nacua had three of Los Angeles’ four total receptions in the first half and the Rams had just 23 receiving yards when they entered the locker.
Rams QB Matthew Stafford was 4-of-12 passing through the first two quarters.