The San Francisco 49ers defeated the LA Rams in Monday Night Football. The 49ers are now 2-2 and leading the NFC West. They are 2-0 against NFC West teams. With the win, here are my week four grades for each general position.
Defense Week Four Grade: A+
The 49ers’ defense showed out against the LA Rams. The Rams only scored nine points the entire game through three field goals. In the 49ers’ first four games, the defense has not allowed a touchdown in the first quarter. The defense forced two fumbles and recovered one of them to seal the game in the fourth quarter. According to ESPN, the Niners’ defense totaled 68 tackles and five sacks.
Defensive Ends Nick Bosa and Samson Ebukam both had two sacks each. The fifth sack came from cornerback Deommodore Lenoir. Nick Bosa is credited for 14 pressures and nine quarterback hits in the game. The team totaled 11 quarterback hits, resulting in the Rams having minimum time to get the ball downfield. LA quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 32 out of 48 pass attempts, with a QBR of 42.2.
The most notable play by the defense was in the fourth quarter. Safety Talanoa Hufanga intercepted Stafford and returned it for a touchdown. This is his second interception of the season and the first defensive touchdown of the season for the 49ers. The interception happened with 6:27 left in the game, putting more pressure on the Rams.
Ways to Improve
There were two plays by the defense that could have been an interception. One was a drop by linebacker Fred Warner which could have potentially been another pick-six. While it is difficult to improve an already great defense, if the 49ers can make more turnovers it will be much easier for the team to get wins.
Offense Week Four Grade: B+
The San Francisco 49ers offense had two touchdowns, both coming in the first half. One came from running back Jeff Wilson Jr. who rushed the ball for 32 yards into the endzone. This was Wilson’s first touchdown this season and got the game going for the offense. The second touchdown came from wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo passed to Samuel, who took the ball into the endzone for a 57 yard touchdown. Samuel broke three tackles, and with excellent blocks from other offensive players. The 49ers totaled 88 rushing yards and 239 passing yards in the game.
Ways to Improve
The offense did not score any touchdowns in the fourth quarter. While there were no turnovers, this is still something that should be fixed. The 49ers only had an eight point lead going into the fourth quarter and going forward the team will want to improve on that. Garoppolo completed 16 out of 27 throws. While many were balls he had to throw away to avoid a sack, he still missed open receivers that could have gone down for a touchdown. If Garoppolo can get the ball to the open receivers he has been missing, the offense can get more points on the board.
The offensive line, who is depleted with injuries will also need to improve in order to give Garoppolo time. There was a play where not one offensive lineman covered Rams’ Defensive End Aaron Donald and that can not happen again. Garoppolo was fortunate to get the ball away before the sack but still took the hit. The team only totaled for 88 rushing yards, 32 coming from the touchdown by Wilson. The offensive line will need to do a better job blocking to get the run game going.
Special Teams Week Four Grade: A-
The San Francisco 49ers have a consistent special teams position, but there is still room for improvement. Returner Rar-Ray McCloud had a couple of strong returns, but he fumbled it on one. Luckily the ball was recovered by the Niners. The 49ers also made one field goal and missed one, both kicked by Robbie Gould. Gould rarely misses field goals and luckily the 49ers were able to win despite the miss.
Ways to Improve
Robbie Gould has now missed two field goals this season, one being blocked. As long as Gould can continue to make the field goals, the team will be fine. Ray-Ray McCloud needs to be careful to not be loose with the ball on his returns. That was his only fumble for the game and as long as he can continue to hold on to the ball the 49ers should be okay.
The 49ers’ next game is against the Carolina Panther this Sunday.
For more 49ers content, read my article on the 49ers defense here. For more football content check out one of my articles on Rutgers football here.
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