Game review

OFFENSE

The 49ers played the first half in can’t-draw-it-up-any-better fashion and the second like a team that knew it was going to win. The Niners opened with an 18-play, 93-yard, 11-minute-plus scoring drive. Their second possession was more brief (7:52), but covered 91 yards in 11 plays and also ended in a touchdown. Deebo Samuel’s multi-tool brilliance was on display for a national audience (five carries for 36 yards and a touchdown; five receptions on five targets for 97 yards and a touchdown); the 49ers played keepaway (time of possession: 39:03) with 44 rushing attempts for 156 yards; and Jimmy Garoppolo’s 141.7 rating is a season best and his third highest with the 49ers. The Rams’ perennial All-Pro Aaron Donald and new arrival Von Miller? They combined for 11 tackles and no sacks.

DEFENSE

The Rams came into the N game averaging 29 points a game and left having scored 10. The 49ers entered the game having had two interceptions all season — a total Jimmie Ward matched in the first quarter. Ward’s two INTs — including a pick-six — equaled the total he had in his first 85 games and he had his first interceptions since 2016. The Rams were held to season lows in total offense (278) and first downs (16). Ward also had two pass breakups, Nick Bosa and Arden Key had sacks and Azeez Al-Shaair and Fred Warner shared team-high honors with eight tackles. Rams receiver Cooper Kupp got his (11 receptions, 122 yards), but no one else had more than three — including Odell Beckham Jr., who had two for 18 yards in his L.A. debut.

SPECIAL TEAMS

D.J. Jones came M up with the tackle of the night, when the 305-pound interior lineman dropped out of his over-the-center position and dropped Kendall Blanton in the open field for a 5-yard gain on the Rams’ 4th-and-8 fake field-goal attempt from San Francisco’s 17-yardline 12 seconds before halftime. Robbie Gould made all four extra-point tries and drilled a 50yard field goal in the third quarter. Mitch Wishnowsky averaged 42.3 yards on three punts.

COACHING

Kyle Shanahan’s N decision to go for it on 4th-and-6 at the Rams’ 40 with 11 minutes to play was the call of the night — and the season thus far. Samuel’s 40-yard TD reception was the knockout blow and proved that Shanahan was not content to play it close to the vest all night — which is precisely what he did in the first half. The 49ers’ 18-play, 93yard first possession was epic and Shanahan finished the first half not having called for a pass on 14 first-down plays.

OVERALL

Was it just the same N old Rams or will Week 10 be seen as the 49ers’ 2021 pivot point? Domination of the Rams in the past three seasons — the 49ers are 5-0 against Los Angeles in that time — has not been a leading indicator of greater success as the 49ers have gone 18-18 against the rest of the league in that time. But it’s hard to deny after Monday night’s win that the pulse emanating from Levi’s Stadium has strengthened. It can be argued the toughest stretch of the schedule has passed, and four of the next five opponents have losing records.