What to watch for as the 49ers look to save their season with victory over the Rams in Week 15
The San Francisco 49ers must win against the Los Angeles Rams if they want to have a realistic chance of making the playoffs. It's as simple as that. Lose, and their playoff odds drop to under a percent, per The New York Times. It's all hands on deck then, with Dre Greenlaw returning from his […]
The San Francisco 49ers must win against the Los Angeles Rams if they want to have a realistic chance of making the playoffs. It's as simple as that.
Lose, and their playoff odds drop to under a percent, per The New York Times.
It's all hands on deck then, with Dre Greenlaw returning from his Super Bowl Achilles injury and Nick Bosa reportedly likely to end his three-game absence.
Those will be critical reinforcements as the 49ers look to slow down a red hot Rams offense, but there are several other factors that will have a big say in deciding a do-or-die divisional clash.
Moore's biggest test
The 49ers have traditionally struggled mightily to win games without Trent Williams. That has remained the case during his absence from an ankle injury as the Niners have gone 1-2.
However, his deputy Jaylon Moore has played objectively well, vindicating the 49ers' faith in him as their swing tackle with a series of strong displays.
Moore has allowed five pressures, per Pro Football Focus, and has five blown blocks as a pass protector, per Sports Info Solutions. Yet he has not allowed a sack and has excelled as a run blocker. The 2021 fifth-round pick does not have a blown block in the run game and, over the last three weeks, Moore ranks eighth among tackles in PFF run block grade.
But a Rams defensive front that has hit its stride in recent weeks will provide a much bigger test, with the challenge primarily set to come from rookie first-round pick Jared Verse, who ranks sixth among defensive ends with at least 10 pressures in pressure rate (18.1%) and is first in the SIS points saved metric against the run among players at his position with at least five tackles.
Verse has played the vast majority of his snaps on the right edge, meaning Moore can expect to see an awful lot of a dynamic young pass rusher with a powerful bull rush who also defends the run extremely well. How he handles that challenge could have an outsized impact on the outcome of the game.
Defensive line depth pieces key amid Bosa's potential return
Regardless of whether Bosa makes his return, there will be a huge onus on the 49er defensive line to get Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles offense out of rhythm after the Rams' incredible showing on that side of the ball in their shootout win over the Buffalo Bills.
San Francisco tallied seven sacks of Caleb Williams in last week's blowout of the Chicago Bears. Three of those came from NFC Defensive Player of the Week Yetur Gross-Matos, who produced an excellent demonstration of why the Niners bet on his athleticism this past offseason.
Two of those sacks came as a result of Gross-Matos' power and effort, but his first was the product of a well-designed stunt, the kind of which the 49ers have utilized too little this season in Nick Sorensen's first season as the defensive coordinator.
With former Ram Leonard Floyd registering 5.5 sacks in the last four games and Gross-Matos impressing, the 49ers have the firepower up front to cause Los Angeles problems.
Their abilities in that regard will obviously be greatly increased if Bosa is able to go, and his return would facilitate the Niners getting greater usage of Gross-Matos as an interior pass rusher to take some of the strain off a defensive tackle group that, outside of Maliek Collins, has struggled to disrupt the pocket.
What the 49ers do have on the interior is an excellent rookie run defender. Undrafted free agent Evan Anderson ranks seven among defensive tackles with at least five tackles in points saved per play against the run, and he is fourth in run stop rate (12.8%) among interior defensive linemen with a minimum of 50 run defense snaps.
Gross-Matos has also impressed in that area, consistently showcasing himself as one of the 49ers' best edge-setters.
In a matchup with a running back in Kyren Williams who ground the Niners down in the Week 3 meeting and two stellar wide receivers in Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, the 49ers' success in being able to limit the Los Angles rushing attack and key in on Stafford will be crucial. Though much of the focus is on Bosa's return, D-Line depth pieces such as Gross-Matos and Anderson figure to have huge roles to play.
Can Deebo silence the doubters?
Deebo Samuel may say he isn't struggling. However, when you take the step to post that on social media, it's a clear sign you're struggling.
Both Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy showed support for Samuel following his hastily deleted tweet about not getting the ball, the latter expressing a desire to get him more touches.
And history says that would be a wise move. In nine games against the Rams (regular season & post), he has 794 scrimmage yards and seven touchdowns. He also threw a passing touchdown against Los Angeles in 2021 in a de-facto Week 18 playoff game.
When the 49ers have had their backs against the wall in games with the Rams, Samuel has typically delivered.
San Francisco did not have him available in their Week 3 defeat at SoFi Stadium but, with George Kittle and Jauan Jennings each performing to a standard that should see them command plenty of attention from the Los Angeles defense, the opportunities should be there for Samuel to do damage both in the underneath passing game and out of the backfield as a runner and a receiver.
The stage is set for another vintage Samuel exhibition against the Rams. If he can save the 49ers' season, that would emphatically silence the doubters.
49ers make Dre Greenlaw move official as NFL insider drops big pre-game update on Nick Bosa
The good news keeps on coming.
