By Ron Johnson
After an opening week full of surprises, it truly showed itself in full swing in one of several rivalry games on Sunday. While the Broncos fell to 0-2, and the Cowboys took advantage of the departure of Aaron Rodgers to go 2-0, the highlight of the afternoon turned out to be the marquee matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams.
Unfortunately for the Rams, it was Matthew Stafford who couldn’t solve the puzzle.
Stafford’s two second half interceptions (by Isaiah Oliver and Deommodore Lenoir) proved to be costly as the Rams fells to the Niners 30-23. Despite the loss, the Rams did show some promise as the “unsung heroes” of this Rams team stepped up to show their prowess against arguably some of the best players in the NFC. And while the talk will be all about Stafford’s indecisiveness late in the game, the league is indeed taking notice of rookie Puka Nacua.
Nacua snagged 15 catches for 147 yards, and in the process, broke the NFL’s single-game record for receptions by a rookie and set a new record with 25 catches in his first two games of his career.
Brock Purdy continued his regular season dominance as he improved to 7-0 in regular season starts while adding 206 passing yards and one rushing touchdown to his credit. Christian McCaffrey continued his dominance of the ground game by running for 116 yards and a score of his own. While this wasn’t a runaway game for the Niners, their defense stepped up when it mattered with those picks by Oliver and Lenoir.
While this defeat for the Rams could be detrimental if this was later in the season, it is only week two. In fact, many experts did not even expect the Rams to win last week in Seattle. But the best thing for both teams is to move forward and look at what went wrong and what went right. Stafford’s inconsistency was indeed costly for the Rams, but hanging tough against a fully healthy Niners team all the way to the end can be looked at as a triumph despite the loss.
Kyren Williams stepped up in the absence of Cam Akers, who was sidelined with an illness (and possibly getting on the trade block), and finished with 100 combined yards, a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown as well. Tutu Atwell also showed he can go by contributing 77 yards on seven catches.
The Niners may be undefeated, but this was not like playing the Steelers the week before, which should give everyone in the league some pause before writing off the Rams. The defense is considered undertalented, yet that same defense made several huge stops that forced the Niners to rely on new kicker Jake Moody to boot three field goals, including the points off the two takeaways.
In all honesty, the Rams disappointed in not being able to capitalize on opportunity soon enough. But in the same breath, they did not disappoint in overruling the thirst for a beatdown. Even smashmouth linebacker Fred Warner agreed that the team has always been a tough task for the Niners. Do not be surprised if this Rams team returns the receipt they have been hanging on to since last season when it comes to Purdy and Co.
With all that has happened this season, it should be no surprise if more shockers happen down the road. The Niners are 2-0 and sitting on good footing as the two main threats to their division crown are at 1-1. Stafford finished the game completing 34 of 55 passes with one lone touchdown and those pesky pair of interceptions, Williams led the ground game with 14 carries for 52 yards, Puka led the receiving corps with 147 yards on 15 catches, followed by Atwell’s seven for 77. But it was Williams’ tip of one of Stafford’s passes that led to one of those two picks.
Yeah, maybe I’m a little sore about that myself considering the win for the Rams was handed to them by the Niners on a few occasions yesterday.
While the offensive line of the Niners focused solely on keeping AD in check, they forgot about last week’s other unsung hero in Byron Young who finished with five tackles and a sack. Ernest Jones led the defense with 10 total tackles (five of those solo) and kept Deebo Samuel in check on the ground game as he finished with 38 yards on five carries and a touchdown. While the numbers show that the Rams should have won this game, it was the Niners defense that was able to hold LA at bay in the second half.
We already knew that the Niners would be a tough test for everyone, but none of us can really say we expected the Rams to be a tough test for anybody. Both teams have the rumored ad-nauseum Super Bowl pick Cowboys on their schedules next month (Niners 10/8, Rams 10/29) so that game can be a huge opportunity for everyone involved. But for now, it is time to watch the film, analyze where the improvements need to happen and get ready for next week’s games.
The Niners finally get to play at home as they host the Giants, who had a shocking victory of their own yesterday over the Cardinals. The Rams hit the road as they have their Super Bowl Rematch against the Bengals, who still can’t seem to get back on the winning track after falling to Baltimore.
Despite losing the turnover battle, I would give the Rams’ performance yesterday a B+. They’re not Super Bowl material just yet, but they are on the road to at least being in playoff conversation. How they do Monday night against the Bengals will determine how the season goes. The reason I say it that way is because we all know that Bengals have a receipt due on the Rams for what happened in the Super Bowl.
