Two different passing routes
The Rams and 49ers came to similar conclusions in the offseason: It was time to upgrade over the quarterbacks who helped both franchises reach the Super Bowl in recent years.
The Rams then went ahead and dealt Jared Goff and a pair of first-round selections for Matthew Stafford and the Niners traded away three firstround picks to take Trey Lance as Jimmy Garoppolo’s heir apparent.
The early returns halfway through the first season after those trades couldn’t be more different headed into the first meeting of the season between the NFC West rivals on Monday night.
Stafford has supercharged the offense for the Rams (7-2), who are tied for the second-best record in the NFL and are making a big push for a Super Bowl title.
Lance has barely seen the field for the 49ers (3-5), who mired in a another rough campaign after coming into the year with expectations of being a contender.
After beating the Rams all four times the past two seasons and limiting them to 187.8 yards passing per game with Goff at quarterback, the Niners see a much more difficult challenge with Stafford at the helm.
“He’s playing lights out right now,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “He’s brought a lot of juice to that offense with the ability to stretch the field and get those throws in so many different ways, manipulating defenses. They’re still running a similar scheme, adding a couple of wrinkles. But Stafford is for sure a great addition.”
Stafford has opened up the Rams offense with his big arm and ability to run coach Sean McVay’s system the way it was meant to be. He has already completed 18 deep passes (20 or more yards downfield) in the first nine games, exceeding last year’s total for the Rams by two and matching the 2019 mark.
The Rams have had one of the most productive passing attacks this season led by Stafford and receiver Cooper Kupp. Now they just added Odell Beckham Jr. to the mix and he could make his Los Angeles debut on Monday night after Robert Woods went down with a season-ending knee injury.
“He’s a very talented player, a Pro Bowl receiver and it’s on me to give him the ball when he has the opportunities, our guys to scheme him up and get chances for him,” Stafford said. “I’m just excited that he’s part of our team. As far as what defenses do, I haven’t played a whole lot of defense in my life, but I imagine the more number of receivers we can get out on the field and run down the field, the scarier it’s going to be.”
The Niners haven’t been able to scare opponents much the past two seasons as they have been unable to get back to the level that carried them to the Super Bowl in the 2019 season.
Injuries to Garoppolo and several other key players derailed last season. San Francisco came into this season with aspirations to get back to the Super Bowl and groom Lance along the way.
But this season has mostly been frustrating for coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers, who are mired at the bottom of the division for a second straight season.