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Rams' Kyren Williams Got Punched in the Facemask Before Key Fumble vs. 49ers

Game-changing play prevented a late go-ahead touchdown.

Kyle Koster

Rams' Kyren Williams had a pivotal fumble in a Thursday night loss to the 49ers.
Rams' Kyren Williams had a pivotal fumble in a Thursday night loss to the 49ers. / TNF on Prime Video
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Kyren Williams and the Los Angeles Rams suffered a painful overtime loss at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday Night Football and two plays involving the running back proved the most crucial. Williams was stuffed on a short-yardage fourth down attempt to end the game—a call Sean McVay will see in his nightmares. This came after the running back fumbled what looked to be a go-ahead touchdown with 1:07 left in regulation.

On that turnover, the ball was jarred loose and then recovered by 49ers defensive tackle Alfred Collins who cleverly punched it free with a desperate swipe. But Collins' big paw did not make first contact with the football. The first thing it hit was Williams' facemask.

Defensive players have been using versions of the ball-punching technique ever since Peanut Tillman put it on the map. It's grown in popularity as a tactic and has an obvious reward to go against the risk. Yet it's unusual to see what is essentially someone socking a ball-carrier in the facemask parlay that move to hero status.

Williams was quick to put the blame on himself after the game.

He'll likely have his head on a swivel out there from now on but in this case it would have just resulted in a more direct hit.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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