Joshua Karty kicked four field goals and the Los Angeles Rams survived a slugfest a week after winning a shootout, beating the San Francisco 49ers 12-6 on Thursday night in a key game in the NFC West race.

Four days after beating Josh Allen and Buffalo 44-42 in the NFL's highest-scoring game of the season, the Rams (8-6) outlasted the 49ers (6-8) on a rainy night to move within a half-game of division-leading Seattle. Los Angeles won a game without a touchdown for the first time since 2016.

The Niners led 6-3 heading into the fourth quarter but came up short, dealing a major blow to the dwindling playoff hopes for the defending NFC champions.

This marked the fourth time this season that the Niners lost to a division opponent after leading by at least three points in the fourth quarter, making them the first team to do that since New England in 2000 in coach Bill Belichick's first season with the Patriots.

Karty capped a 17-play drive with a game-tying 23-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter and then hit a 27-yarder after Matthew Stafford connected on a 51-yard pass to Puka Nacua.

The Niners then drove into field-goal range, but Brock Purdy was intercepted on a deep pass into the end zone by Darious Williams, helping the Rams secure their first series sweep against the 49ers since 2018.