YOUTH IS SERVED
Shanahan, 37, seeks his first coaching win, facing the 1-1 Rams, led by 31-year-old McVay
The 49ers should roll out the red carpet — not to be confused with empty red seats — for Thursday night’s featured guest at Levi’s Stadium: the Los Angeles Rams.
In their past 22 games, the 49ers are 3-0 against the Rams, and a tormenting 0-19 against all others.
Neither team may be worthy of prime time yet, but here comes their only such game on this year’s schedule, based mostly off an in-state rivalry that restarted last season.
Here are 10 reasons to watch the 49ers (0-2) host the Rams (1-1):
1. COACHING COHORTS >> Kyle Sha-
nahan’s bid for his first win as 49ers coach next comes against the only coach younger than him, Sean McVay. Shanahan is 37, McVay 31.
Beside being the youngest in NFL history, McVay has roots to the 49ers glory years: his grandfather, John McVay, was their long-time personnel czar and got inducted to the 49ers Hall of Fame in 2013.
Sean McVay also is connected to Shanahan, who was Washington’s offensive coordinator from 201013 when McVay was as a tight ends assistant, all under coach Mike Shanahan, Kyle’s father. “Sean and I are good friends. We’ve always had a good relationship,” Kyle Shanahan said. “He deserves everything he’s gotten, and he’s doing a good job there in L.A. right now.”
McVay defended Shanahan’s last-ranked offense, noting how tough Carolina and Seattle were to open against and adding: “You look at the offenses that Kyle’s been a part of throughout the course of his career, there’s plays to be made. … It’s only a matter of time until things consistently click for them.” 2. GOFF’S HOMECOMING >> Last year’s No. 1 overall draft pick out of Cal, Jared Goff looks much improved under McVay’s tutelage. In fact, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said the 49ers aren’t even looking at Goff’s 2016 film in which he went 0-7 as the Rams seasonclosing starter. Said Saleh: “There was no reason to look at last year’s tape. The system is different.”
Goff, a Novato native, has played at Levi’s Stadium once: when Cal lost 59-41 to an Oregon team that included current 49ers defensive lineman DeForest Buckner. Goff got sacked by Buckner in a follow-up loss to Oregon in 2015.
“Jared Goff, he kind of gets rattled a little bit when you make your presence known early,” Buckner said Wednesday on KNBR 680-AM.
This season, Goff has been sacked three times while completing 66.7 percent of his passes for 530 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
3. GAME OF INCHES >> Goff’s counterpart, Brian Hoyer, said the 49ers’ last-ranked offense is only “an inch off here, an inch off there.” Through two games, however, the 49ers have compiled a league-low 232.5 yards per game (or 8,370 inches).
The 49ers must improve in these other league-worst categories: third-down efficiency (4 of 23; 17.39 percent), red zone TD productivity (0 of 4) and time of possession (24:21). Hoyer’s 60.7 passer rating ranks 35th — in a 32-team league.
“I just want him to get his edge back. I just want him to get his confidence,” Shanahan said on KNBR 680AM. “We haven’t helped him do that here in the first two games. … Brian’s got to step it up, and we have to step it up around him to help him.”
4. RUNNING MEN >> The 49ers’ Carlos Hyde ranks fourth in the NFL with 169 yards, including 124 in Sunday’s 12-9 loss at Seattle. Next up is a Rams run defense that allowed 229 yards and two touchdowns in their 27-20 home loss to Washington.
Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips told Los Angeles media about Hyde and the 49ers: “They’ve got to be licking their chops. They had 159 yards last week against Seattle and now they’re playing us who gave up 200 and something.”
The Rams counter with their own rushing threat in Todd Gurley, who had 88 yards last game and has run for a touchdown in each game. Gurley hasn’t had a 100-yard game, however, since his 2015 rookie season in which he totaled 1,106 yards (and 133 in his first meeting with the 49ers). 5. AARON DONALD DOPPELGANGER >> Defensive lineman Solomon Thomas, the 49ers’ top draft pick, is two games into a promising career. Before being selected No. 3 overall, he drew comparisons to Rams threetime Pro Bowler Aaron Donald, specifically with similar burst, power and hand usage, according to CBS Sports’ Rob Rang.
Donald (6-foot-1, 280 pounds) ended a contract holdout last week and played Sunday for the Rams. Thomas (6-3, 273) has a team-high three tackles for loss. “You want to talk about relentless in his work ethic,” Saleh said of Thomas. “That young man has a chance to be special if he continues working the way he does.”
The 49ers’ top defensive lineman thus far actually might be last year’s top draft pick, DeForest Buckner, whose 6-8 frame has delivered five quarterback hits and 10 tackles.
6. THE 0-2 GLOOM >> The 49ers are 0-2 for the 13th time in franchise history, and they’ve never previously recovered to earn a playoff berth. But the Miami Dolphins pulled it off last season, as did the Seahawks and Houston Texans in 2015.
Those Texans, interestingly, did so behind quarterback Brian Hoyer, who got benched in their opener in favor of Ryan Mallett before ultimately regaining the starting job. Hoyer is off to an 0-2 start now as the 49ers quarterback, if you haven’t heard.
Only three times have the 49ers avoided going from 0-2 to 0-3. The 49ers last started 0-2 in 2010, pushing that to 0-5 under Mike Singletary. Of course, Bill Walsh started 0-7 in 1979, so Shanahan has that going for him.
7. NO SHAME LIKE HOME >> The 49ers haven’t won at Levi’s Stadium since beating the Rams 28-0 in last season’s prime-time opener. What’s followed are eight straight regular-season home losses, a franchise record.
The 49ers have lost only once in the Rams’ past nine visits, including a 2012 tie. All-time, the 49ers are 3432-2 at home in the series and hold a slim 66-64-3 overall lead.
8. SAFETY SITUATION >> The Rams present deep-threat receivers in Gerald Everett, Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and Sammy Watkins. The 49ers’ last line of defense is changing once again.
With Eric Reid (knee) out, the 49ers are expected to move Jaquiski Tartt to strong safety and Jimmie Ward to free safety. Ward battled a hamstring injury for six weeks before making his debut Sunday in Seattle, doing so favorably with strong hits. Tartt is battling a sore neck this week, so the 49ers might have to summon rookies Lorenzo Jerome and Adrian Colbert. 9. MARQUISE GOODWIN’S DROPS >> All training camp and exhibition season, Marquise Goodwin had sure hands to complement his Olympic-caliber speed. But Goodwin dropped a potential touchdown bomb on the season’s first series, and last game he dropped a short pass that could have set up first-and-goal. Such drops might lead the 49ers to give fellow deep threats Aldrick Robinson and Victor Bolden more reps. 10. RAMS ELITE CORNERBACK >> Trumaine Johnson is playing under the franchise tag, and the Stockton native looked like a $16.7 million cornerback in the Rams’ first quarter of the season. He returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown and later forced a fumble he recovered in an 46-9 rout of the Colts. He left Sunday’s loss late with a leg injury but isn’t on this game’s injury report. Let’s see if Hoyer tests Johnson by going deep — or even intermediate.