49ers And Rams End In Tie, First In NFL Since 2008

The 49ers and Rams played to a 24-24 tie on Sunday, the first in four years in the NFL.

The teams each had a chance to win the game in overtime and both missed field goals, sending the game to the NFL’s first draw since 2008.

Both the 49ers and Rams had plenty of chances to end the game, ESPN noted. On the first play of overtime, Rams quarterback Sam Bradford hit Danny Amendola for an 80-yard pass, but it was called back for an illegal formation.

The Rams later moved into field goal range, but after being pushed back by penalty rookie kicker Greg Zuerlein pushed it wide.

The 49ers got their chance to win as well, but kicker David Akers missed on a 41-yard attempt.

“I don’t know what to make of this,” said 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis. “We have one of the best kickers in the game, and it came down to him at the end and he misses it. That tells you right there something wasn’t right.”

The tie brought the 49ers to 6-2-1 while the Rams moved to 3-5-1. Ties count as a half win and half loss, which could make the standings interesting come playoff time.

The game was particularly damaging to San Francisco, which lost quarterback Alex Smith to injury. Colin Kaepernick was solid in relief, CBS Sports noted.

“Kap did a very good job,” said 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh. “He came in, good focus, good demeanor, made plays, and I thought he handled himself pretty well.”

The last tie in the NFL came in 2008, when the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles played to a 13-13 draw.