It was clear from the first moment the Los Angeles Rams took the field that they were out for revenge against the San Francisco 49ers. San Francisco handed LA a deflated loss back in Week 5 at SoFi Stadium, and in the rematch LA took an early lead and never really looked back. The Rams finished on top 42-26.
The offense led the way on Sunday. Matthew Stafford tossed four touchdowns and Kyren Williams added two scores of his own on the ground. Mac Jones and Christian McCaffrey were effective but the 49ers
never truly threatened LA’s lead.
Who stood out on an individual level? Let’s look at the “Winners & Losers”:
Winners
Matthew Stafford, QB
Was it a perfect day from Stafford? No. The offense cooled off late into the first half partly attributable to missed throws and Stafford nearly threw an interception along the sideline while the score was still close.
Still, the good greatly outweighed the bad. This was a complete performance from Stafford. If you take his efforts in two games against the 49ers in total, you have to come away impressed. It’s clear the Rams have a major quarterback advantage over San Francisco, even if Mac Jones is playing better than anyone expected.
Stafford completed 24 of 36 passes (67%) for 280 yards and four touchdowns all to different receivers. He was sacked only once.
Offensive line
The offensive line was in poor shape earlier this season. Kevin Dotson and Rob Havenstein played through ankle injuries and their performance suffered. Steve Avila missed extended time as well.
This group now looks healthy and they are a force to be reckoned with. Dotson was clearing lanes in the running game and making an impact downfield. Alaric Jackson and Avila were both solid on the left side.
Kyren Williams rushed 14 times for 73 yards (5.2 avg) and two scores. Blake Corum added 13 carries for 56 yards (4.3 avg). That is an efficient day for the backs, but it doesn’t happen without a strong day from the guys up front.
Stafford was also kept relatively clean, and the offensive line allowed him time to pick apart the 49ers defense.
Emmanuel Forbes, CB
The last two weeks have been very positive for Forbes. The former first round pick was seemingly benched in favor of Darious Williams before the bye week. Williams missed the Week 9 game and Forbes made the most of the opportunity.
His best play of the day was deflecting a pass from Jones back to himself for an interception and a fourth down stop. This effectively ended San Francisco’s comeback effort.
Tyler Davis & Braden Fiske, DT
This wasn’t the most productive outing we’ve seen from a talented defensive line in terms of pass rush; however, when the Rams did seem to get pressure it looked like it came from either Tyler Davis or Braden Fiske via a collapsing pocket. One such pressure forced a bad throw by Jones and aided Forbes in his interception.
McCaffrey was held to just 30 yards on 13 carries (2.5 avg) on the ground.
Colby Parkinson, TE
Was this the best game of Parkinson’s career as a Ram? The heavier personnel usage is putting opposing defenses into a mental blender, and any of Parkinson, Tyler Higbee, Terrance Ferguson, and Davis Allen are capable of winning if you don’t account for them properly. As each player continues to demonstrate as much, this only makes the offense more difficult to defend.
Parkinson finished with four catches on five targets for 41 yards and a score. He also made impact plays as a blocker.
Losers
Kam Curl, DB
It was a “bend don’t break” defensive day for LA. Jones and the 49ers offense seemed to pick up yards with ease, though they couldn’t keep pace with the Rams from a scoring perspective.
Curl played a significant role in the bending and was a liability in coverage. 49ers tight ends had productive days. George Kittle caught nine passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. Luke Farrell also added another 18 yards and a score. It seemed Curl was often matched up against these players.
Curl is a plus run defender. Coverage struggles just seem to be part of his game.
Nate Landman, MLB
Some fans won’t agree with putting Landman on the “losers” list because of his key punch that forced a fumble. Similar to Curl, Landman allowed a lot of production for the 49ers through the air. He gave up a number of receptions and by my count allowed at least two touchdowns in coverage.
Landman also struggled some last week, though not to this degree. Kyle Shanahan will always make life difficult for opposing linebackers.
Is Landman starting to show his true colors after a hot start to the year?
Roger McCreary, CB
Two weeks have passed since the Rams acquired Roger McCreary from the Tennessee Titans and we still haven’t seen the corner on defense. It’s clear at this point that this trade was done for depth purposes rather than replacing one of the starting corners.
