The San Francisco 49ers' 27-7 romp over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday seemed unimaginable going into the game. By the time the dust settled it was hard to find an area where the assigned visitors didn't outclass the designated home team.
San Francisco was a four-point underdog going into the game and set out to show they belong in the conversation as one of the NFC's top teams. They did just that with a thorough victory against the Super Bowl favorites.
It's still only Week 1, but there was plenty to take away from the 49ers' victory:
Christian McCaffrey, Kaelon Black workload split
It was jarring seeing another running back get so much time in a backfield with McCaffrey at the front of it. Black equaled McCaffrey's 15 touches and outdid him on the ground with 14 attempts to McCaffrey's five.
This is a significant development for the 49ers. They've struggled to find an adequate running mate for McCaffrey, but the 30-year-old RB was fresher thanks to a limited number of touches and it showed early in the third quarter when he ripped of runs of 16 and 14 yards to spark a 49ers touchdown drive. McCaffrey looked more explosive than he did a season ago which is a great sign for him and San Francisco's offense.
Brock Purdy bounced back
An ugly interception by Purdy early in the second quarter looked like it could doom San Francisco. Purdy threw an interception to Rams safety Quentin Lake on a throw that never had a chance of making it to the intended target. It came immediately after LA went up 7-3 and it gave them a chance to go up two scores. Instead, Renardo Green intercepted Matthew Stafford and nine plays later Purdy was airing out a 39-yard strike to Demarcus Robinson to put San Francisco ahead 10-7. They never looked back. Purdy completed 73.5 percent of his 34 throws and tossed three touchdowns to help guide the 49ers' offense to a blowout victory.
Mike Evans is still good
Evans' stats don't jump off the screen. He caught six-of-seven targets for 49 yards and a touchdown. All six of his catches went for either a touchdown or a first down, though, and a handful of his third-down grabs early in the game helped set the tone for the 49ers' offense on a big day for that group. This is the kind of game the 49ers need from Evans this season.
Myles Garrett neutralized
It was clear Garrett wasn't at 100 percent after dealing with a knee issue throughout training camp. The 49ers also had an excellent plan to keep him at bay. They ran a ton of short throws, kept the Rams on their heels with a steady dose of McCaffrey and Black, and then effectively used play action while throwing a handful of looks at Garrett. There were also plenty of reps Trent Williams won on his own. It's hard to imagine the 49ers doing this to Garrett twice in a season, but on his first try he was a non-factor vs. San Francisco.
George Kittle's slow start
The 49ers tried to feed Kittle a lot early. He had one drop and then caught a couple of screen passes. It was evident he's not quite in football shape yet. He only grabbed two of his five targets for 12 yards and he might've left some run-after-catch yards on the field. Coming off an Achilles injury it's hard to look too far into a slow game for the 49ers' star TE. That he's playing at all is a small miracle, and that the 49ers were comfortable trying to get him the ball is a sign things should continue trending the right way.
Nick Bosa's fast start
Bosa didn't record a sack, but he was all over the field Thursday after missing most of the preseason with complications in his rehab after his ACL injury last season. He had a couple of pressures that forced early throws from Stafford, and he was dynamite in helping stem the tide of the Rams run game. Bosa may be past his prime, but he's still a game-changing player for the 49ers when he's on the field.
Fred Warner's DPOY campaign is on
If Warner is going to win a Defensive Player of the Year award, it's going to start with games like Thursday. He was sensational with a pass breakup on the first play of the game. He forced a fumble late on Rams tight end Tyler Higbee that helped put the game on ice. And he led the team with 11 tackles. It was a stellar performance by the 49ers' defense spearheaded by Warner in the second level.
49ers pass rush did just enough
It wasn't a dominant game from the 49ers' pass rush. They didn't log a sack against Stafford. Stafford also never got comfortable against a steady 49ers rush. It was rare Stafford dropped to pass with a ton of time to throw. San Francisco finished with eight QB hits, including four from newcomer Osa Odighizuwa. The only QB hit that didn't come from a defensive lineman came from Upton Stout who got to Stafford a step late on a well-timed blitz call from defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.
49ers' insane record when winning the turnover battle
This is a wild stat we looked up from our friends at Stathead:
The 49ers are now 45-7 under Kyle Shanahan when they win the turnover margin, including a 38-2 record since the 2020 season.
— Kyle, a Madson (@KyleAMadson) September 11, 2026
Their 7 losses are by a combined 22 points.
Maybe it was the travel plans
Perhaps the Rams' decision to fly to Australia on Thursday for a Friday game didn't work out for them. Or perhaps the 49ers were just flat out better. It's hard to imagine the sleep schedules for both teams didn't play at least some role, though. LA looked flat for all four quarters while the 49ers looked like a fresher, more well-rested, better-prepared team. Given all the talk about the disparate travel plans leading up to the contest it's hard to overlook how different the two teams looked from an energy standpoint.
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 10 things we learned from 49ers Week 1 beatdown of Rams
