What to watch for in the San Francisco 49ers' Week 3 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams
The San Francisco 49ers are favored to get back to winning ways in Week 3 as they face the Los Angeles Rams on the road. With 49ers fans expected to pack out SoFi Stadium to make it feel like a de-facto home game and the Rams dealing with a raft of injuries to key players, […]
The San Francisco 49ers are favored to get back to winning ways in Week 3 as they face the Los Angeles Rams on the road.
With 49ers fans expected to pack out SoFi Stadium to make it feel like a de-facto home game and the Rams dealing with a raft of injuries to key players, including star wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, San Francisco appears to be in a very strong position to right the ship after the Week 2 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
But the Niners' own injury problems, with Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle all ruled out, mean victory is far from assured in San Francisco's first NFC West clash of the season.
What will be key to the 49ers ensuring they improve to 2-1? Here's my look at what to watch for in Week 3.
The Aiyuk issue
Contrary to popular belief, there were opportunities for Brock Purdy to find Brandon Aiyuk more often in the 49ers' Week 2 loss, and he did often look in the direction of his favorite target from last season.
In an uneven performance, Purdy's reluctance to take some of those openings as he struggled to process at his usual level against Brian Flores' Minnesota defense contributed to another quiet showing from the 49ers' All-Pro receiver in the wake of his four-year, $120 million extension.
With three other All-Pros removed from the picture, the emphasis is squarely on Purdy and Aiyuk to rekindle a rapport that was critical to the 49ers reaching the Super Bowl last season.
Going against a Rams secondary that would seem to be ill-equipped to stop even an undermanned 49er offense, having allowed 8.8 net yards per attempt across the first two games, Purdy and Aiyuk would appear to have the ideal matchup in which to get their connection back on track.
Should they fail to do so, then it might be time to start worrying about the impact of Aiyuk's long contract stand-off on his performances.
Can Brendel repay the faith?
Purdy will be confident his understanding with the likes of Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings will be enough to make sure the 49er offense is productive.
But the Niners will only be able to pick apart the depleted Rams defense if he is adequately protected. The San Francisco offensive line is improved for the emergence of rookie right guard Dominick Puni, but sufficient pass protection is still far from a guarantee.
Indeed, right tackle Colton McKivitz gave up six pressures in the defeat to Minnesota, while center Jake Brendel's position as starter came in for scrutiny following his own struggles in pass protection against the Vikings.
While the 49ers no longer have to worry about gameplanning for Aaron Donald, the Rams still have young talent up front in the form of edge rushers Byron Young and Jared Verse and defensive tackle Kobie Turner.
With Kittle not there to provide assistance in pass protection, slowing down the Rams' edge pass rush may be a more difficult challenge, and Turner presents a significant test for Brendel, Puni and Aaron Banks on the interior.
Asked about Brendel this week, offensive line coach Chris Foerster insisted he is still the best option at center:
"Well, first of all, he had a better game than he did the first game. Everybody did for the most part, hard to believe with the sack production and things like that. But we did take a step forward in a lot of ways. I think some of the bad plays stood out and so that’s it. Right now he’s a much better option, quickness, intelligence, experience, one-on-one pass blocking ability, ability to finish in the run game on the second level. His ability to snap off on double teams. I just listed off about seven or eight things there that he’s better than [OL Ben] Bartch. He’s better than [OL Nick] Zakelj. He’s better than [OL Drake] Nugent. He’s better than a lot of players, as to why he was an alternate last year at the Pro Bowl level because he does have a lot of those traits that do those things. He’s never perfect like all of us. Every year’s different and we got to work our way into this year and see. Maybe some of these issues that we’ve seen willstick around, maybe they won’t. We’ll have to see.”
Brendel clearly still enjoys the faith of his coaching staff, but a shaky performance against the Rams that allows their pass rush to serve as an equalizer will only raise more questions about the starting center. He and McKivitz must raise their game to prevent that from happening.
Ending the third down frustrations
A theme that has been apparent during the first two weeks of the season for the 49ers is one of them struggling on both sides of the ball on third down.
The 49ers enter Week 3 having converted just eight of their 23 attempts on offense. On defense, they have allowed opponents to convert 13 times on the 22 third downs the Niners have forced. Only the Washington Commanders have allowed a higher rate of third down conversions than the 49ers (59%).
San Francisco cannot afford to have that continue if the 49ers are to maintain their position as one of the best teams in the NFL.
The 49ers can offset some of their struggles on third down on offense by returning to their 2023 standards on early downs. No team in the NFL averaged more yards on first down than the 49ers (6.98) last season.
However, the play on third down on defense simply must improve, especially against a Rams team lacking its most dynamic playmakers.
Even with their own injuries, the 49ers will be expected to prevail against the injury-hit Rams, but poor play on third down on defense is an easy way to give Los Angeles life, with Matthew Stafford an ideal quarterback to exploit such deficiencies.
The Rams' injury crisis makes this encounter look like a 'get right' game for San Francisco, but a continuation of third-down failings could see it turn into a trap game. It's on the 49ers to remove that possibility from the equation.
How the 49ers’ offensive approach may change without Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle
They find themselves in an unfamiliar position.
