The 49ers moved back to 4-4 in style as they swept the Los Angeles Rams behind a dominant second-half performance, winning 31-14 at SoFi Stadium.
Following Cooper Kupp’s touchdown with 6:41 remaining in the second quarter, the 49ers scored 24 unanswered points to end a two-game losing streak and improve to 3-0 in the division with a fourth successive regular-season sweep of Los Angeles.
It was a game in which recently acquired star running back Christian McCaffrey took over, though head coach Kyle Shanahan declared after the game that no one player stood out above the rest.
Shanahan is right in the sense that it is tough to find areas to fault after such an emphatic win, and we have skewed positive in this week’s look at the good and the bad from the Niners’ latest successful visit to Los Angeles.
Good: Christian McCaffrey
Let’s start with the obvious shall we?
Christian McCaffrey’s second game with the 49ers was an enthralling exhibition of exactly why they traded for him, as he sliced up the Rams on the ground and served as a critical receiving game option for Jimmy Garoppolo.
McCaffrey became only the fourth player since the 1970 merger to throw a touchdown pass, run for a score and catch a touchdown and the first since LaDanian Tomlinson in 2005.
Including his 34-yard touchdown throw to Brandon Aiyuk in the second quarter, McCaffrey accounted for six plays of 10 yards or more, delivering the explosive element to the run game that Shanahan has long since been craving.
Coming off just one week of full practice following his trade from the Panthers, McCaffrey’s was a performance that should serve to terrify rival defenses in the NFC.
Good: Injuries
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the 49ers’ win is that they left it with a clean bill of health.
Kyle Shanahan said it felt “awkward” not to have to disclose any injury information, but he was evidently delighted not to have the joy of a victory tempered by the loss of a key player.
Kyle Shanahan: "No injuries to report. . . . That's awesome."
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) October 30, 2022
San Francisco can now use the bye week to get those who missed this victory back in the lineup, and the prospect of the 49ers getting healthier makes them an even scarier proposition in the second half of the season.
Bad: Screen defense
The Rams clearly took note of the Falcons and Chiefs’ success in using the aggressiveness of the 49er defense against San Francisco.
Los Angeles did so by leaning heavily on the screen game in the first half, allowing Matthew Stafford to get the ball out quickly and negate the impact of the 49er pass rush.
It was never likely to be a sustainable approach and the Rams did not have an answer once the 49ers got in front and Los Angeles was forced into attacking deeper downfield, but defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans will clearly see defending such low-risk plays for the offense as an area where his group requires improvement.
Good: Fred Warner
The 49ers’ linebacking corps was coming off its two worst games of the season and was missing Dre Greenlaw and Azeez Al-Shaair.
Warner ensured their absences did not have a decisive influence on the game with a return to his best against Los Angeles.
He was a gap-filling force against the run when the Rams dared to attempt to move the ball on the ground, registered a pivotal third-down sack after the 49ers took the lead, and almost had an interception in the fourth quarter when he broke up a pass intended for Allen Robinson.
Warner’s performances versus the Falcons and Chiefs were uncharacteristic to say the least. This was a welcome return to form.
Bad: Early-down rush offense
While McCaffrey produced a remarkable all-round performance, the 49er run game can still be much more efficient on early downs.
Indeed, per rbsdm.com, the Niners had a Success Rate of just 29 percent on early rushes against the Rams.
Their ability to move the ball via other means rendered San Francisco’s struggles in that area immaterial, but a commitment to ineffective early-down rushes might have received more scrutiny with a different result.
Good: Jimmy Garoppolo
No 49er has received more scrutiny over the years than Garoppolo, but there can be no debate on this occasion that the 49er quarterback produced his best performance of 2022 to topple the Rams.
Benefiting from McCaffrey’s influence on the run game and the excellent pass protection afforded to him in the second half, Garoppolo was composed and accurate throughout a performance, on which the only two blemishes were a pair of near-picks by Jalen Ramsey.
Garoppolo delivered from the pocket and on the move and hit the kind of deep ball many felt beyond him on his 53-yard hook-up with a wide open Ross Dwelley in the fourth quarter.
This was arguably the closest the 49ers have come to 2019 Garoppolo since the 49ers’ run to Super Bowl LIV four seasons ago. Getting this version of him the rest of the way could allow San Francisco to mount a serious challenge to represent the NFC in Arizona come February.
