Season saver: 49ers rely on the fundamentals to resurrect their year
The 49ers can finally see straight.
They are not collectively peering through their ear holes, and the view is a great deal more encouraging than it was just days ago.
A week after the Miami Dolphins wiped their cleats on the facemaks of the 49ers, San Francisco on Sunday night in Levi’s Stadium looked like the outfit we all expected. That would be the one pounding the “Revenge Tour” mantra in a season of promise. But a good mantra only has substance with victories, not words.
Wearing their slick all-white 1994 “throwback” jerseys, the 49ers beat the Los Angeles Rams 24-16 with the sort of inspired effort that has come to define this series. The clubs first crashed into each other 70 years ago this month when uniforms were dull and facemasks had maybe one, see-through plastic bar.
This was the first time the teams met as defending NFC champions, the Rams reaching the Super Bowl after the 2018 season and the 49ers doing so to cap the 2019 campaign.
And just like their first rumble in 1950, fundamentals won out, right on down to the trenches. Here, San Francisco pass protected. It kept quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo upright. He didn’t make it to the second half of the previous week’s shelling to Miami, pulled to spare any more pounding and to spare a gimpy ankle.
The 49ers allowed 10 sacks in the previous two games, both home losses, but yielded none to a Rams team that came in tied for the NFL lead with 20 quarterback tackles. San Francisco avoided starting 0-4 at home, evened its record at 3-3, dropped the Rams to 4-2, and talked like a team sure the momentum will continue.
“When you get embarrassed like that, you can find out a lot about your team,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said of the 49ers’ setback to Miami, via Zoom news conference. “The O-line had a hell of a game. I think the results speak for themselves.”
They do. Shanahan dialed up an ideal game plan for Garopollo. He had him target short passes to keep him fresh and to boost confidence. Garoppolo completed 9 of 10 passes for 95 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter. By the half, Garoppolo was 17 of 21 for 215 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He hit on 14 of 16 passes on routes up to 10 yards, for a 21-6 lead.
For the game, Garoppolo was 23 of 33 for 268 yards and those scoring strikes to Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk. He had no interceptions. Of those total passing yards, 234 were after the catch, but let’s not overanalyze that.
Do what works. For now, this works for Garoppolo, who moved to 4-0 against the Rams and extended his streak of avoiding a two-game losing streak after starts to 30 games.
“We all rally around Jimmy,” 49ers linebacker Fred Warner said. “That’s our franchise quarterback.”
‘He’s an angry runner’
The 49ers didn’t unravel after the dreary recent showings because they remained united. They have been bruised and broken but they have not been flattened. They have an NFL-leading 18 players on injured reserve and have used three quarterbacks. But there was no QB controversy. This is Garoppolo’s group.
When he took off for a fourth-quarter run, it showed his high ankle sprain had improved, and it inspired his teammates.
“I loved it. It was awesome,” said Kittle, who is easily fired up. “Gets us in field goal range. When Jimmy lowers his shoulder, he’s an angry runner out there. You just love to see it.”
San Francisco’s defense was taken to task against Miami and responded with its best game against its best opponent on the schedule.
And fans let the 49ers hear their discord. Not in Levi’s Stadium. No fans are allowed with COVID-19 hovering over the country, but the 49ers’ slump was a ripe topic in the media and on social media.
“The criticism was fair,” defensive lineman Arik Armstead said. “We weren’t playing at a high level. But we were more upset and disappointed in ourselves.”
Said Shanahan, “Our defense played their asses off.”
San Francisco was boosted on defense by the best game Jason Verrett has played in years. He broke up two passes and hand an end zone interception, one Armstead called, “the biggest play of the year” for the 49ers.
49ers have NFL’s toughest schedule
The 49ers now brace for the meat grinder of the schedule, the toughest remaining slate of games in the NFL.
Next are the Patriots in New England, the Seahawks in Seattle, Green Bay at home, then the Saints in New Orleans and then the Rams in Los Angeles. The Rams affair will be the 142nd meeting between the franchises. The 49ers lead the series 72-67-3. If they make it 73 wins, they’ll be on to something, unless they blunder earlier. Don’t expect that.
One of the joys of the NFL are the lasting rivalries, the games teams have to have. Aiyuk, the burner who rose to stardom at Sierra College in Placer County, already understands the magnitude of this rivalry and preparing for it.
“We just want to keep this rolling,” the rookie said. “This is how we practiced all week and it showed up today. We’re going to enjoy this one.”
This story was originally published October 19, 2020 at 7:33 AM.