49ers 31, Rams 14: Grades
INGLEWOOD -- The 49ers just revived their season with a 31-14 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Now the 49ers win-loss record is 4-4. Here are their grades for their win over the Rams.
JIMMY GAROPPOLO: A
He had one of the most efficient games of his career. He completed 21 of 25 pass attempts, threw two touchdown tosses and no picks and posted a passer rating of 132.5. To be fair, Garoppolo threw one pass directly to Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who dropped the ball, so Garoppolo got lucky on that play. But the 49ers probably would have won even if Ramsey had hung onto the interception, because the Rams stink. They always make Garoppolo look good. If he could play the Rams every week, he'd be a Hall of Famer. To his credit, he made some uncharacteristically big-time end-zone throws in the second half.
RUNNING BACKS: A-PLUS
Christian McCaffrey was the best player on the field. He had three touchdowns -- one rushing, one receiving and one passing. He's the first player to pull off that hat trick since LaDainian Tomlinson did it in 2005. McCaffrey also recorded 149 yards from scrimmage, plus he completed a 34-yard touchdown pass -- remarkable. Acquiring McCaffrey looks like the trade of the century right now. But it's important to remember that McCaffrey gained 158 yards from scrimmage just two weeks ago against the Rams when he was with the Panthers -- the Rams defense is terrible at tackling. So one good game against L.A. doesn't necessarily justify the 49ers' massive investment in McCaffrey. They traded for him not just to win this game, but to win the Super Bowl. And to do that, they'll have to keep him healthy. So far, so good, although the 49ers gave him a whopping 27 touches in this game. That's not sustainable. The 49ers need to rotate their running backs to keep them fresh.
WIDE RECEIVERS: B-PLUS
Brandon Aiyuk stepped up big in the second half and finished the game with 6 catches for 81 yards and a touchdown. Ray-Ray McCloud dropped a deep pass in the first quarter, but also recovered a fumble by Christian McCaffrey to atone for his sin.
TIGHT ENDS: A
George Kittle caught a touchdown pass and Ross Dwelley caught a 56-yard pass to put the game away. Dwelley is an offensive weapon. Kittle is pretty good, too.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN: B-PLUS
Mike McGlinchey gave up two sacks in the same drive -- he's still horrible. But the rest of the offensive line held its own. Aaron Banks in particular has become an asset as a run blocker. He moves and pulls quite well.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN: A-MINUS
They didn't have to defend the run, because the Rams are a one-dimensional offense that can't run block. And the 49ers recorded just two sacks, but that's because the Rams threw a bunch of screen passes in the first half. Once they fell behind and had to throw down field, the 49ers defensive line took over the game.
LINEBACKERS: B-PLUS
Fred Warner was outstanding -- 12 tackles, 2 quarterback hits, one tackle for loss and one pass breakup. Oren Burks gave up a touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp, but in fairness to Burks, he never should have been matched up one on one against Kupp in the first place. That's a coaching error.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: A
They allowed Cooper Kupp to catch seven passes and score one touchdown in the first half, then limited him to just one catch in the second half, all without starting cornerback Emmanuel Moseley. Impressive.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A
Ray-Ray McCloud averaged 11.3 yards per punt return and 33 yards per kickoff return. Excellent numbers.
COACHES: A
For the first time all season, Kyle Shanahan and DeMeco Ryans made perfect halftime adjustments. In the first half, Matthew Stafford completed 17 of 21 passes and posted a passer rating of 112. At halftime, Ryans figured out how to take away Cooper Kupp and the Rams screen passes. So in the second half, Stafford completed just 5 of 12 passes and the Rams scored zero points. Excellent job by Ryans. And an equally excellent job by Shanahan, who finally got his offense to score in the second half. In the first half, McCaffrey had just 8 carries for 24 yards and 4 catches for 19 yards. In the second half, he had 10 carries for 70 yards and 4 catches for 36 yards -- big improvement. In addition, Brandon Aiyuk came alive. In the first half, he had just two catches. In the second half, he had four catches, and he set up the go ahead touchdown. Great adjustment by Shanahan. Now we need to know if he and Ryans make quality adjustments in the future against teams they don't know well. We'll find out.
QUALITY CONTROL: A-PLUS
After the game, I asked Jimmy Garoppolo how he explains the offense performing better after halftime for a change. "You giving us a hard time," he said. I humbly agree with him. My relentless negativity is the primary reason the 49ers won this game. Without my constant whining, the 49ers probably never would win any games. So they owe me. I think a fair rate for my services would be $3 million. You just can't put a price on quality control.
