Injury-riddled 49ers defense crumbles as Rams score 6 touchdowns in blowout win

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The way Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams picked apart the injury-riddled defense for San Francisco, it raised questions about why the 49ers weren't more aggressive before last week's trade deadline.

But the problems might have been big enough that even adding another pass rusher might not be enough for a unit that has already lost Fred Warner, Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams to season-ending injuries.

The Niners allowed six touchdowns on Los Angeles' first eight drives of the game and fell further behind in the NFC West race with a 42-26 loss to the Rams on Sunday.

“We all know that it’s a challenge with how many guys that are missing on D, so we truly understand that,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. "I know we can do better than what we did today though and I believe the offense can do better than what they did today.”

Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has done a good job most of the season piecing together a defense that lost Bosa to a season-ending knee injury in Week 3 and Warner to a season-ending ankle injury in Week 6.

San Francisco made one small trade two weeks ago to acquire defensive lineman Keion White from New England and he combined on the only sack of the game for the 49ers. But San Francisco didn't make another move after losing Williams to a torn ACL last week.

“We believe everybody, even backups here, is a starter,” cornerback Deommodore Lenoir said. “So next man up is always the mentality.”

The Niners have been competitive most of the season despite lacking a consistent pass rush and struggling to create turnovers. They rank last in the NFL in sacks per game and have the fifth-fewest takeaways per game.

But the Rams proved too difficult to slow down with Stafford playing the best football of his career, taking advantage of a pass-catching group with Davante Adams, Puka Nacua and a deep stable of tight ends.

“It was a tough game out there,” Lenoir said. “I feel there was a lot of miscues with just us as players. The coaches put us in a position, we just have to come down and make them plays. A lot of stuff wasn’t going right for us today.”

San Francisco allowed the Rams to drive for touchdowns on the first three drives of the game — the first time a team had done that against the 49ers since 2019 — and couldn't manage a stop for the entire second half.

“We just aren’t executing,” linebacker Tatum Bethune said. “There’s no real explanation. We just have to play harder and get the job done. We just have to play harder, just be able to execute.”

Mac Jones and the offense twice cut what had been a 21-point deficit in the first half to a one-possession game with TD drives on the 49ers' first two possessions of the second half. But the defense couldn't get a stop against Stafford and the Rams went on to the lopsided win.

“He’s really impressive,” defensive tackle Kalia Davis said. “I remember I was watching him in high school, and he’s still out there doing it at his age. It’s incredible. I feel like we were doing a lot of stuff to make it easy on him, so we just got to execute better.”

This marked just the fifth time in the past 48 seasons that San Francisco allowed six touchdown drives to an opposing offense in a home game.

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San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, left, shakes hands with Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay after an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams, right, runs toward the end zone to score past San Francisco 49ers safety Malik Mustapha (6) and linebacker Tatum Bethune (48) during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (12) scores against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, right, runs against San Francisco 49ers cornerback Upton Stout (20) during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to revive his struggling government but faced growing calls to resign after a disastrous set of local and regional elections for his Labour Party.

As the final results came in Saturday, Labour suffered a net loss of more than 1,100 local council seats across England, lost control of several local authorities it had held for decades and was booted from power in Wales after 27 years. Anti-immigration party Reform UK gained over 1,300 seats across England and made significant gains in legislative elections in Wales and Scotland.

It was a blunt verdict from voters in elections widely seen as an unofficial referendum on Starmer, whose popularity has plummeted since he led the center-left party to power less than two years ago.

Here are five things we’ve learned from the elections.

Starmer insisted he would not walk away and "plunge the country into chaos,” and the dire election results did not produce an immediate challenge to his leadership.

"The right thing to do is rebuild and show the path forward,” Starmer said Saturday. “That’s what I’m going to do in the coming days.”

Starmer’s Cabinet colleagues expressed support, and none of the high-profile Labour politicians considered potential challengers has made a move. Health Secretary Wes Streeting, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham are keeping quiet for now.

But a growing number of Labour lawmakers urged the prime minister to set a timetable for his departure this year. British politics allows parties to change leader midterm without the need for a new election.

“There has to be a timetable,” legislator Clive Betts told the BBC. Another lawmaker, Tony Vaughan, said there should be an “orderly transition of leadership.”

Starmer tried to demonstrate change on Saturday by bringing back two figures from past Labour governments. He made former Prime Minister Gordon Brown a special envoy on global finance, and appointed the party's ex-deputy leader Harriet Harman an adviser on women and girls.

Starmer is due to make a speech on Monday in an attempt to regain momentum, before the government sets out its legislative plans on Wednesday in a speech delivered by King Charles III at the State Opening of Parliament.

The elections were a breakthrough for Reform UK, the latest hard-right party led by the veteran nationalist politician Nigel Farage.

Running on an anti-establishment and anti-immigration message, the party won hundreds of local council seats in working-class areas in England’s north, such as Sunderland, that were solid Labour turf for decades. It also made gains from the Conservatives in areas like the county of Essex, east of London, and increased its vote share in Wales and Scotland, new terrain for the party.

Farage said the results marked a “historic change in British politics.” He said he's confident that “voters who have come to us are not doing it as a short-term protest.”

Reform UK currently holds just eight of the 650 seats in the House of Commons and it’s unclear whether it could repeat its success in a national election.

The elections produced semiautonomous administrations in Scotland and Wales led by parties devoted to independence and the breakup of the United Kingdom — though neither has that policy on the front burner.

The Scottish National Party, which has governed in Edinburgh since 2007, won another term but fell short of a majority, meaning an independence referendum is unlikely. Labour and Reform tied in a distant second place.

Plaid Cymru (The Party of Wales) won the most seats in the Cardiff-based legislature, the Senedd. The party, which has an ambition for Wales to leave the U.K. but no plan to do so anytime soon, fell short of a majority but will likely form the new government. Reform came second and Labour a distant third in one of its most historic heartlands, with outgoing First Minister Eluned Morgan losing her seat.

The economy lies at the heart of Labour’s troubles, as it does for many incumbent governments.

Since ending 14 years of Conservative rule roiled by austerity and the COVID-19 pandemic, Labour has struggled to ease the cost of living and jump-start a sluggish economy against the tough economic backdrop of war in Ukraine and, more recently, Iran. Starmer also has angered supporters with attempts to cut welfare spending, some of which were reversed after Labour revolts.

Some in Labour say the government's achievements, including protections for renters and a higher minimum wage, are going unnoticed. Many blame Starmer, an uninspiring leader distracted by scandals including his disastrous decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.

But Stephen Houghton, the outgoing leader of Barnsley council in northern England, where Labour lost to Reform, said the problem “goes deeper than the prime minister.”

“This has been coming for 30 years around the country, in post-industrial communities, coastal communities, that have been left behind,” he said. “You can change prime ministers all day long. If you don’t change policy, it’s not going to change.”

The results reflect a fragmentation of U.K. politics after decades of domination by Labour and the Conservative Party, which also suffered major losses on Thursday.

The elections offered voters a rainbow of choices, including the centrist Liberal Democrats and the nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales.

But the big winners were populist insurgents, Reform UK and the Green Party, whose focus has expanded from the environment to social justice and the Palestinian cause under self-described “eco populist” leader Zack Polanski. The Greens won hundreds of council seats from Labour in urban centers and university towns and took control of several local authorities.

Tony Travers, professor of government at the London School of Economics, said the results suggest the next national election, due by 2029, won’t produce a majority for any party.

“So then you’re in the world of, after the election, two or three big minority parties trying to work out how they would govern,” he said — something traditionally considered “very un-British.”

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking to the media after meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)

First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney with some of the newly elected SNP MSPs in Edinburgh, Saturday May 9, 2026, following the 2026 Holyrood elections. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking to the media after meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)

Observers from the Scottish National Party (SNP) watch as votes are counted for the 2026 Holyrood elections, at Dewars Centre in Perth, Scotland, Friday May 8, 2026. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaks to supporters at Chelmsford City Racecourse, Friday May 8, 2026, in Essex, England, following the 2026 local election results. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks to Labour Party members at Kingsdown Methodist Church Hall, in Ealing, west London, Friday May 8, 2026, a day after the local elections. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)