49ers vs. Rams Analysis: Week 9

What an exciting game! The 49ers came through with the best game of our season against the hyped up Rams. To give some background to the hype for the Rams is that they were 7-2 coming into the last game and just acquired OBJ. Yes, OBJ is a really good wide receiver. OBJ was recently released from the Browns and as a free agent made the deal in the last week. The funniest part is how everyone expected us to get destroyed and OBJ to go lights out. But instead it was lights out for OBJ and Stafford, locking OBJ down to only 18 yards and 2 receptions. And giving Stafford 2 sacks and 2 interceptions. That’s a rounder for the Rams but here’s the grades for the team.

Our Jimmy G came back strong proving just how effective he can be. Even when he really didn’t do 100% of his potential. He is still growing and this game shows. Even though he had 182 yards and 2 TD’s I paid more attention to who he was passing to, how many times, how many times he ran it, and how many times he handed it off. This game he relied on all his teammates. Which is a great thing to see as he is now getting comfortable with the whole squad. Almost evenly he passed to Deebo, Kittle, and Aiyuk, gaining a combined 173 yards. The majority of Jimmy’s passes are still overthrown, meaning he is throwing the ball high up still but thanks to the receivers understanding this the adjustment was on the receivers’ end. That being said this was his best performance showing his dominance when he can keep the synergy between himself and his team. That is what makes Jimmy different from Trey is the trust and bond he has made in his team so far, they trust him, so we should too. I give Jimmy an A.

Receivers and running backs were on fire. The Niners have found their identity in the running game. We are at our strongest on the yards after catch and how physical we get. Mitchell ran for 91 yards with 27 carries. Which is a stark contrast to last game against the Cardinals where they only had him run 8 times. I already mentioned the receivers yardage so I will just say that they did awesome this game creating space and continuing even after contact. Just about each player got their shining moment this game. Kittle with a nasty block for Mitchell and Mitchell constantly giving the Rams a taste of his strength and speed. Another solid A performance.

The defence was also phenomenal. Locking the Rams national class offense to one TD and FG. Fred Warner and Al-Shaair both looked hungry catching 8 tackles. Jimmie Ward made his return after injury getting 2 amazing interceptions, he even got a TD after the second interception. Nick Bosa and Arden Key both got sacks and maintained heavy pressure on Stafford by having 19 blitz plays. The O-Line was also great creating holes for Mitchell to slip through and keeping Aaron Donald useless. They gave 1 sack but who cares when you’re up 21 points. A great performance, I’d say they only need to worry about play actions and deep passing coverage. Also just to mention we had noticeable less pass interference penalties. Another great A.

Special teams didn’t have much going on so not much here to talk about.

Coaches were different yesterday. They were more calm and composed about plays and counter plays. Shanahan made the right choice to make all his players work and it paid off. Everyone was involved and it made the Rams spread scared. Demeco Ryans was also way better getting his inside coverage improved and making sure that deep passes were not allowed. He maintained QB pressure and kept Stafford in the pocket while making all the CB’s work for a living. They both get A’s.

This game was a showcase of the power of the Niners' health and strong will. We can make it through the season and show all the doubters wrong. Best game of the season so far, let’s keep getting better.