Greatest performances for San Francisco
Sometimes star players take over games in a way that makes football feel less than a team sport. That’s not the case when the 49ers get rolling like they did Sunday in Los Angeles.
During their 27-24 overtime win over the Rams, a number of players stood out in all three stages. Usually we look at the aftermath of the game and pick some good performances and some bad performances. After Sunday’s win, however, there were too many good and important performances to spend time criticizing the bad ones.
Here are some of the top performances that helped pull the 49ers into the playoffs from a 17-0 hole:
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Playing through a thumb injury, Garoppolo overcame a poor start to finish 23-32 for 316 with one touchdown and two interceptions. Picks were subpar, but his ability to push the ball down the field at key spots and lead San Francisco to a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime and then lead a scoring drive into OT, cannot be overlooked. He topped his own mistakes on Sunday – and that’s what good QBs do.
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Sunday was perhaps the best game of Armstead’s career. He had 2.5 sacks and a team-high seven presses. Armstead was also an integral part of a run defense by the 49ers, which gave up just 2.4 yards per carry on 27 tries for Los Angeles. The entire San Francisco DL was a good Sunday, but Armstead stood out as the best.
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Gould hit both of his field goals, including the game winner and all three of his extra points. He did so without his usual keeper, punter Mitch Wishnowsky, who left the game in the first quarter after suffering a hit to the head on a punt return. That got Gould into punter duties as well, where he averaged 45.0 yards on two punts with the first rolling down within the 20. It was a great performance from the experienced kicker.
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Samuel’s 2021 campaign reached the point of absurdity where his huge plays go unregistered. He had 45 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown, 95 receiving yards on four catches, and he threw a 24-yard TD pass to WR Jauan Jennings. He also came through with a 43-yard catch-and-run that set up the game-defining touchdown late in the fourth quarter. There may not be a more powerful WR in the NFL.
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It has to be argued that Jennings was the 49ers’ best player against the Rams. He had six catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns, and earned an 89.6 team high run blocking rating from Pro Football Focus. His defensive ability will always make him a factor in Kyle Shanahan’s offense, but adding reception power could make him a more important element going forward.
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Somehow, Aiyuk puts together the quietest good games in the NFL. He left Sunday with six catches for 107 yards while continuing his rise to the top of the 49ers’ pass offense. Aiyuk’s ability to stretch the field vertically but also to make an impact after the catch will make him an extremely dangerous player when paired with Deebo Samuel and George Kittle.
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Moseley didn’t seem to miss a beat in his first game back from a high ankle sprain that sidelined him for four games. He was targeted three times and allowed just two catches for 18 yards, and he pulled off an interception on a deep shot by Rams QB Matthew Stafford. The 49ers need Moseley to play well and he looked like a No. 1 CB on Sunday.
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This was a great play for Thomas, who caught the game-winning interception in overtime. That wasn’t his only notable achievement, however. The third-round rookie pick held his own after missing practice all week due to COVID-19 protocols. He allowed 41 yards and three catches on five targets. PFF had let him down for two legal TDs, but on the first he and the rest of the defense bit for a goal-line play fraud, and on the second he had great coverage from TE Tyler Higbee but failed to outperform the taller player in the PBU. Overall it was a very positive game for Thomas at one big point.
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Key could be the best offseason signing of the Shanahan-John Lynch era. He was responsible for four pressings, a sack, two QB hits and rushing in another strong outing. He has up to 6.5 sacks this season and was arguably the 49ers’ second most effective defenseman against the Rams.
(AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)
McKivitz wasn’t great in a vacuum, but that requires us to ignore context. Under the circumstances, the offensive lineman did very well as a sophomore. He was bumped into the starting roll of the left tackle for LT Trent Williams because of an elbow injury. McKivitz had never started an NFL game in tackle, and his performance was pretty good. He allowed a pair of sacks and four pressings, but overall he held his ground and kept the Rams from completely ruining the game on his side.
