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On Sunday night the Santa Clara fans weren't the only no-shows in Levi stadium. The Los Angeles Rams were also among the missing. The Niner fans' reasons were Covid-19. But what were the Rams' excuses? Their offense and defense failed to come out before a national TV audience. Was it stage fright? The 49ers were coming off a blistering loss against Miami the week before. Their roster laughably resembled a MASH unit. Only the Eagles could boast a more disappointing cast of wounded and an overworked medical staff. Did the Rams think this would be easy? Head coach Sean McVay had been preaching all week that their injury-riddled rivals up north were still a dangerous team. So what happened?
The 49ers happened. They came out in this game ready to bowl for big bucks and the Rams were the unfortunate pins. In the first half, San Francisco drives resembled an angry bowling league game, with blueberry colored pins scattered all over the place. Los Angeles was so not ready to play that they allowed a 49er running back to get up from a pile of fallen bodies and continue running down the field while a few defenders stood around dumbfounded. During subsequent drives (after Rams' 3-and-outs) San Francisco players were whooping it up after rumbling for extra yards like drunken bowlers after their 3rd strike in a row. Did the Rams feel like tackling in a football game last night? The team in white was playing for the kill in the first half. Their defense knew where all the Rams' battleships were and sunk them. Their offense was jumping over Ram defenders like Checkers pieces, kinging themselves in the end zone. Ram tacklers were playing wack-a-mole with blindfolds on.
Los Angeles quarterback Jared Goff, who had been having one of his better seasons so far, looked bewildered and befuddled. He missed wide open receivers, threw 2 picks, and seemed to be generally lost. After throwing his 2nd pick in the 3rd quarter his QB rating was a paltry 45. His 3rd down bailout boy Cooper Kupp also had a very mediocre night. 49er defenders were shadowing him practically everywhere he ran. It looked like the team dressed in their 1994 throwbacks knew all the Rams plays and took the effort to be in the right spots to throttle them. Were they borrowing recording equipment from New England during the past few weeks?
For those that witnessed the dismantling of the Super Bowl runner-ups last week vs the Dolphins, this 49er team was barely recognizable last night. Were they in fact the same team that got exposed several times by journeyman QB Ryan Fitzpatrick in that game? Ram fans who afforded themselves a sneak peak of that match must've been licking their chops at the obvious weaknesses in the 49er secondary that the Dolphins had discovered. So why wasn't Los Angeles able to further exploit this? The backup San Francisco defensive backs were still ripe for the picking. The Rams have a lot more talented receivers and a better QB with a higher upside than the Dolphins. Why were they not able to also take advantage of that game's sorry excuse for a Niner defense? Did their video equipment break down during the week?
San Francisco QB Jimmy Garappolo, who had such an embarrassing outing last week vs Miami that he had to be pulled, started off against Los Angeles a near perfect 9 for 10 completions with 3 TDs and a perfect QB rating of 158.3. What did the 49ers do that had the Rams so surprised that they forgot how to cover receivers and tackle runners? Why was the Ram defense unable to cope with the 49ers' speed and determination as they quickly had the football stuffed down their throats before they knew what was happening to them? And where was Aaron Donald? Was he not projected to be gifted at least a pair of sacks against a makeshift injury-decimated 49er offensive line? The 2-time defensive MVP, most feared defender in the league and arguably the best player in the NFL was not on the stat sheet until late in the 2nd half, registering 2 tackles for the entire game and no sacks.
In the second half, to stave off further embarrassment, the Rams halftime adjustments only allowed the 49ers a field goal but the damage had already been done. Los Angeles had unfortunately allowed a weakened, battered, and injured San Francisco team to build confidence in the first half on the way to victory. One can rightfully ask, with a healthier team (2 of their top defensive linemen were lost for the season in the previous weeks) would it have even been this close?
The Rams need to right this ship sometime this year if they're even going to sniff playoffs. Currently the 5-0 Seattle Seahawks appear to be focused on winning the West. And the 49ers seemed to have more fight (in this game at least) to snatch the runner-up spot away from the second place Rams. A lot can happen from now until the final game of the season, and the Rams' 4-2 record is not cause for immediate doom and gloom. Los Angeles has enough talent on both sides of the ball to bounce back and continue to establish themselves as one of the better teams in the NFC, but if they're going to make a serious run at the west title and even go deep into the playoffs (should they make it in) they need to come out and dictate the pace of these games against stronger opponents than the weak NFC east. Their schedule only gets tougher.
The 49ers happened. They came out in this game ready to bowl for big bucks and the Rams were the unfortunate pins. In the first half, San Francisco drives resembled an angry bowling league game, with blueberry colored pins scattered all over the place. Los Angeles was so not ready to play that they allowed a 49er running back to get up from a pile of fallen bodies and continue running down the field while a few defenders stood around dumbfounded. During subsequent drives (after Rams' 3-and-outs) San Francisco players were whooping it up after rumbling for extra yards like drunken bowlers after their 3rd strike in a row. Did the Rams feel like tackling in a football game last night? The team in white was playing for the kill in the first half. Their defense knew where all the Rams' battleships were and sunk them. Their offense was jumping over Ram defenders like Checkers pieces, kinging themselves in the end zone. Ram tacklers were playing wack-a-mole with blindfolds on.
Los Angeles quarterback Jared Goff, who had been having one of his better seasons so far, looked bewildered and befuddled. He missed wide open receivers, threw 2 picks, and seemed to be generally lost. After throwing his 2nd pick in the 3rd quarter his QB rating was a paltry 45. His 3rd down bailout boy Cooper Kupp also had a very mediocre night. 49er defenders were shadowing him practically everywhere he ran. It looked like the team dressed in their 1994 throwbacks knew all the Rams plays and took the effort to be in the right spots to throttle them. Were they borrowing recording equipment from New England during the past few weeks?
For those that witnessed the dismantling of the Super Bowl runner-ups last week vs the Dolphins, this 49er team was barely recognizable last night. Were they in fact the same team that got exposed several times by journeyman QB Ryan Fitzpatrick in that game? Ram fans who afforded themselves a sneak peak of that match must've been licking their chops at the obvious weaknesses in the 49er secondary that the Dolphins had discovered. So why wasn't Los Angeles able to further exploit this? The backup San Francisco defensive backs were still ripe for the picking. The Rams have a lot more talented receivers and a better QB with a higher upside than the Dolphins. Why were they not able to also take advantage of that game's sorry excuse for a Niner defense? Did their video equipment break down during the week?
San Francisco QB Jimmy Garappolo, who had such an embarrassing outing last week vs Miami that he had to be pulled, started off against Los Angeles a near perfect 9 for 10 completions with 3 TDs and a perfect QB rating of 158.3. What did the 49ers do that had the Rams so surprised that they forgot how to cover receivers and tackle runners? Why was the Ram defense unable to cope with the 49ers' speed and determination as they quickly had the football stuffed down their throats before they knew what was happening to them? And where was Aaron Donald? Was he not projected to be gifted at least a pair of sacks against a makeshift injury-decimated 49er offensive line? The 2-time defensive MVP, most feared defender in the league and arguably the best player in the NFL was not on the stat sheet until late in the 2nd half, registering 2 tackles for the entire game and no sacks.
In the second half, to stave off further embarrassment, the Rams halftime adjustments only allowed the 49ers a field goal but the damage had already been done. Los Angeles had unfortunately allowed a weakened, battered, and injured San Francisco team to build confidence in the first half on the way to victory. One can rightfully ask, with a healthier team (2 of their top defensive linemen were lost for the season in the previous weeks) would it have even been this close?
The Rams need to right this ship sometime this year if they're even going to sniff playoffs. Currently the 5-0 Seattle Seahawks appear to be focused on winning the West. And the 49ers seemed to have more fight (in this game at least) to snatch the runner-up spot away from the second place Rams. A lot can happen from now until the final game of the season, and the Rams' 4-2 record is not cause for immediate doom and gloom. Los Angeles has enough talent on both sides of the ball to bounce back and continue to establish themselves as one of the better teams in the NFC, but if they're going to make a serious run at the west title and even go deep into the playoffs (should they make it in) they need to come out and dictate the pace of these games against stronger opponents than the weak NFC east. Their schedule only gets tougher.
