Three Takeaways From Week Eight
The 49ers completed the regular season sweep of the Los Angeles Rams for the fourth consecutive season by securing a 31-14 victory on the road. The Niners now enter the bye week with an even 4-4 record and improve to 3-0 in the division. Here are three takeaways from the road victory.
49ers RB, Christian McCaffrey
The 49ers traded for superstar running back Christian McCaffrey following their loss to Atlanta. Last week against the Chiefs, we did not see too much of McCaffrey since he had limited time with the team at that point. This week with more preparation, we got to see what this 49ers offense can look like in the McCaffrey era. Without Deebo Samuel, the Niners’ offense which has struggled this season showed up in large part to McCaffrey making spectacular plays and putting together a classic performance.
McCaffrey was a stud on Sunday and produced in every aspect of the offense. He totaled 18 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown in the running game. As a pass catcher, McCaffrey had eight catches for a total of 55 yards and a touchdown. He also became the first running back since LaDanian Tomlinson to tally a rushing touchdown, receiving touchdown and passing touchdown in a single game. McCaffrey’s passing touchdown came early in the game on a trick play where he took a backward pass from behind the line of scrimmage and threw a 34-yard dime to Brandon Aiyuk for an open touchdown.
The 49ers have themselves a swiss army knife on offense. The possibility of position-less football with this team is exciting when you remember their all-pro “wide back” Deebo Samuel didn’t even play in this game. Imagine what this offense can look like getting both players involved in multiple facets of the offense.
Defensive Adjustments Needed Moving Forward
It is no secret that the Rams do not have a good offensive line. The Rams knew this as well which is why we saw them repeatedly throwing quick screen passes to eliminate the Niners’ pass rushers. The 49ers were struggling in the first half of the game to get off the field. The Rams’ first possession of the game felt like it practically took up the entire first quarter. This was also the plan for Los Angeles to keep the ball moving while knowing they don’t have an effective running game.
To be fair here, the defense is still missing some key pieces. Emmanuel Moseley is out for the season with a torn ACL and Jason Verrett has yet to play this season as his replacement. Due to the lack of depth at corner at the moment, Jimmie Ward has had to play out of position by playing the nickel corner position, which may not end well for contract negotiations if the 49ers wish to retain him. The Niners were also missing both Azeez Al-Shaair and Dre Greenlaw for this game. And of course, Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw are still injured, making the interior defensive line weaker than usual.
Regardless, a game plan like the one the Rams put on display may be deadly to the 49ers moving forward should a good team adopt the same strategy. The NFL is a copycat league after all, and a strategy like this to eliminate the dominant pass rush and keep the defense on the field will tire them out in games. DeMeco was able to figure something out in the second half as the Rams didn’t score at all in the second half, but it is much easier to respond when you know the other team can’t run the ball and have no respectable threat of play-action.
Moving forward, the defense needs to make some adjustments so they can get off the field earlier and more often. They also just need to get healthy.
No Injuries To Report, A Miracle
Possibly the best news following the victory. Kyle Shanahan stated that the 49ers had no new injuries to report following the game. This is big time as the team heads into the bye week hoping to get some reinforcements back for Week Ten against the Chargers.
If the Niners can get guys like Deebo Samuel, Dre Greenlaw, Elijah Mitchell and Arik Armstead back as they enter Week Ten with a .500 record, they will be set up very nicely for the rest of the season as they fight for a playoff berth in a weak NFC conference. If the 49ers get healthy, they will be a problem for the rest of the conference moving forward.