Week 6: 49ers Studs and Duds
The 49ers are back to .500, after a dominating win against the Los Angeles Rams. It was the first time all season that they beat a team with a win, and they won while making themselves look real, real good.
Beating the Rams has the potential to be the turning point of the 2020 season that the 49ers were in dire need of. The win provided some much needed momentum as they get ready to play two straight games on the road against the Patriots and Seahawks.
Here are those who deserve credit for Sunday night’s win:
Studs
1- Kyle Shanahan
Shanahan’s preparation for this game was flawless. He did everything he needed to do as a play caller to maximize the 49ers’ chances of winning.
Going into this game, my keys to victory were:
- Run the ball
- Use the run to set up the pass, get the ball out of Garoppolo’s hands quickly
- Neutralize the Rams’ pass rush
- Control the time of possession battle
- Keep the Rams’ offense off the field as much as possible
Kyle Shanahan checked off every single box.
Over the course of the game, the 49ers ran the ball 37 times between five different rushers. They only averaged 3.3 yards per carry, but Raheem Mostert and JaMycal Hasty did a good job of picking up bulk yardage on first down, which put the team in a lot of second and third and managables.
Mostert carried the ball 16 times in the first half, but carried the ball only once in the second half due to an ankle injury that kept him out the rest of the game. Jerick McKinnon was the running back who initially replaced Mostert but, after it became evident he was struggling to pick up yards, Shanahan turned to the undrafted rookie, Hasty. Hasty carried the ball 9 times for 37 yards, and averaged 4.1 yards each attempt - the highest number among 49ers’ running backs.
Aside from the ground attack, Shanahan called a great game for Jimmy Garoppolo. The ball came out of Garoppolo’s hands quickly and he got the ball to his playmakers early and often. Starting with the first drive, which resulted in a Deebo Samuel touchdown, plays were dialed up for each of the “big four” (Mostert, Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle). The play calling was designed to let Garoppolo carefully settle in while simultaneously getting the team’s best receiving threats involved.
Shanahan’s game plan led to the 49ers controlling the ball for 37 minutes and 55 seconds, which is a huge reason they won this game with relative ease.
2- Robert Saleh
Like Shanahan, Saleh’s preparation for this game was excellent. The defense did its part by frequently sending the Rams’ offense off the field. On third and fourth down, the Rams had a conversion rate of only 30.7%. That was good for a significantly lower rate than their season average of 47%.
Saleh’s defense also made Jared Goff look as bad as he’s looked all season. Goff completed only 50 percent of his passes (19 of 38) for 198 and 2 touchdowns. The first touchdown pass was an excellent throw by Goff, as safety Jaquiski Tartt had near perfect coverage on Robert Woods. The ball was thrown just out of Tartt’s reach. The second touchdown throw was a bomb to Josh Reynolds, in which Emmanuel Moseley -- who played extremely well outside of this one play -- gave up the catch, was flagged for pass interference, and just played the ball extremely poorly.
The Rams were able to average over 5 yards per attempt on the ground but, because they were playing from behind, only handed the ball off 19 times.
Holding the Rams’ offense to only 16 points is a huge accomplishment, and Saleh deserves a ton of credit for doing so.
3- the Offensive Line
There are a couple of reasons the entire 49ers offensive line deserves to be on this stud list.
First, they kept Garoppolo clean the vast majority of the game. In fact, he wasn’t even sacked.
Secondly, they completely made Aaron Donald a non-factor. That is arguably more of an accomplishment than not allowing Garoppolo to get sacked throughout the entire game. Donald entered Week 6 leading the NFL with 7.5 sacks, and he ended Week 6 with that same exact number.
Without a doubt, this was the best performance by the offensive line all season.
4- the “YAC Bros”
Garoppolo was not asked to throw the ball down the field in this game. He was asked to deliver the ball to his pass catchers from a short distance and let them do the rest.
Garoppolo finished the game with 268 passing yards, but the 49ers’ receivers accumulated 223 yards after the catch.
49ers’ Receivers Yards After Catch:
Samuel: 98
Kittle: 71
Aiyuk: 14
Mostert: 14
Bourne: 11
McKinnon: 7
Taylor: 4
Juszczyk: 4
*Stats above from Pro Football Reference*
In addition to the run game, quickly getting the ball to playmakers in space should be what the 49ers’ game plan is moving forward. It clearly gives them their best chance to win.
5- Jason Verrett
Verrett is making a strong case for himself that he’s worthy of being named Comeback Player of the Year. He was all over the field Sunday night and may have established himself as the best cornerback on the team. A position that was looking so grim just last week looks a lot more bright with Verrett and the return of Moseley.
Verrett finished the game with three tackles, two passes defended and an interception. The interception came on a fourth and goal from the two yard line and was arguably the biggest play of the night. It was Verrett’s first interception since 2016, and last night’s game was only his 10th appearance on a football field since being named a Pro Bowler in 2015.
Duds: None
Following last week’s game against the Dolphins, I gave out zero stud acknowledgments. This week is a full 180, as there will be zero dud acknowledgments. All around, the victory against the Rams was a great team win.
No one performed poorly enough to deserve being highlighted in a negative fashion. This is a game the 49ers could feel real good about, and I’m electing to keep things positive going into next week. The team and players deserve that.
