Elijah Mitchell was essentially a healthy scratch
The 49ers had a fight on their hands in SoFi Stadium as the Los Angeles Rams gave the Niners all they could handle on Sunday. The 49ers still put up 30 points again and walked away with the victory, but it was much more difficult than anyone suspected. Divisional games are always tightly contested, and Sunday was no different.
Let’s take a look at the snap counts for each position for the 49ers:
Offense
Quarterback – Brock Purdy 57
Purdy was steady on Sunday. While the discussion is surrounding some missed opportunities down the field, Purdy still made enough throws and commanded the offense to another 30-point outing. The way to view this performance is even when the offense misses opportunities, the offense still can put up 30.
Purdy finished with a line of 17/25, 206 yards, a rushing TD, and a 93.1 passer rating. No turnovers were the difference in the game.
Running Back – Christian McCaffrey 57, Kyle Juszczyk 24
McCaffrey played every single snap on offense for the 49ers. The league’s leading rusher had another great performance against the Rams at SoFi. Twenty carries for 116 rushing yards, and a rushing TD combined with three receptions for 19 yards proves how invaluable McCaffrey is to this offense.
The only other player to record rushing attempts was Deebo Samuel and Purdy.
Kyle Shanahan spoke today and said this about the RB rotation:
“We definitely have to get Elijah [Mitchell] in there more and do better with our rotation. That wasn’t the plan yesterday. I have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Wide Receiver – Deebo Samuel 51, Brandon Aiyuk 30, Ronnie Bell 27, Jauan Jennings 27, Ray-Ray McCloud III 4
Aiyuk was in and out of the lineup dealing with what was described as a neck injury for most of Sunday. Samuel was his normal self against the Rams. 6 catches for 63 yards, five rushes for 38 yards, and a rushing TD. Jennings added one of the better catches of the day and finished with two catches for 51 yards.
Offensive Line – Trent Williams 57, Aaron Banks 57, Jake Brendel 57, Spencer Burford 57, Colton McKivitz 57
The concern whenever you face Los Angeles is: how do you slow down Aaron Donald? Well, Donald finished two pressures, a QB hit and hurry, and zero tackles. Donald was non-existent on Sunday. That sounds like great news for the interior, but Burford was graded poorly again by PFF finishing with a 27.8 overall grade and 0.0 pass blocking grade.
Purdy got rid of the ball quickly to help the line protect, but there was progress with the overall line. A week after T.J. Watt terrorized McKivitz, there was definite improvement on Sunday.
Tight End – George Kittle 55, Charlie Woerner 9, Ross Dwelley 1
It was a welcome sight to see Kittle playing a full complement of snaps on Sunday. Kittle did catch three passes for 30 yards and finished the game with an 84.8 overall grade, 74.5 pass blocking grade, and 86.0 run blocking grade.
Defense
Defensive Line – Nick Bosa 63, Arik Armstead 54, Javon Hargrave 51, Clelin Ferrell 44, Drake Jackson 40, Javon Kinlaw 29, Kevin Givens 27, Kerry Hyder, Jr 13
Bosa was back to playing nearly every down and finished with five total pressures, three QB hits, two hurries, and an overall grade of 93.0, according to PFF. The defensive line finished with 27 total pressures. Hargrave finished with five, Kinlaw had four, Jackson had three, Givens and Ferrell had 2, and Armstead and Hyder finished with one apiece.
Linebackers – Fred Warner 80, Dre Greenlaw 79, Oren Burks 2
Warner played every single snap and registered eight tackles, two pressures, and a sack. Greenlaw finished with nine tackles and didn’t miss a tackle.
Secondary – Charvarius Ward 80, Talanoa Hufanga 80, Tashaun Gipson Sr 80, Deommodore Lenoir 77, Isaiah Oliver 67, Ambry Thomas 14
Early on, the 49ers rotated Ambry Thomas on the outside with Lenoir in the slot. Thomas sustained a knee injury during the game, and Oliver was called on to replace Lenoir in the slot. Oliver did miss two tackles but notched the first turnover of the game with his interception of a tipped pass. Lenoir undercut a pass intended for Van Jefferson for the second interception of the game.
The defense tightened up in the second half and harrassed Stafford in the pocket as the 49ers finished their victory in SoFi.
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