49ERS REPORT CARD

SANTA CLARA >> Here is how the 49ers (4-5) did in Monday night’s 31-10 home win over the Los Angeles Rams (7-3):

PASS OFFENSE:

A

Jimmy Garoppolo’s hot start (12-for12) was topped by his fourth-down pass that hit Deebo Samuel at full speed for a 40-yard touchdown to seal the 49ers’ first home win of the season. Such over-the-middle passing is Garoppolo’s money spot, and he finished 15-of-19 for 182 yards, two touchdowns, no turnovers and a season-high 141.7 rating. He capped the 18-play opening march with a touchdown strike to George Kittle (five catches, 50 yards). Samuel relished the spotlight, not only with that touchdown catch but grabbing all five targets for 97 yards, plus his five carries for 36 yards and a touchdown. Brandon Aiyuk’s 21-yard catch-andrun set up Samuel’s TD run. Garoppolo was protected pretty well against the NFL’s No. 1 sack-producing defense, and the only sack came when flushed from the pocket by Leonard Floyd’s rush against replacement right tackle Tom Compton.

RUN OFFENSE:

A

Kyle Shanahan set the goal at 40 carries “just to get our minds right,” saying that it would take a comprehensive team effort. The 49ers finished with 44 carries for 156 yards, and they opened with three runs by three different rushers: Elijah Mitchell (27 carries, 91 yards), Samuel (five for 36 yards) and the season debut of Jeff Wilson Jr. (10 for 28 yards). Garoppolo had a third-down conversion on a sneak, too. The blocking was as needed, across the board, and especially on the edges by George Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk. Physicality ruled the day. An 18-play, 11-minute drive to open?!

PASS DEFENSE:

AJimmie Ward matched his previous 85-game career total with two interceptions on the Rams’ first two series, and his pick-six really set the tone for this upset. Sure, the 49ers were aided by multiple drops and Matthew Stafford’s season-low 67.4 passer rating. Honestly, the 49ers should have had more interceptions, including a remarkable effort by K’Waun Williams trapping the ball on his backside, only to have it thwarted by the weekly Josh Norman penalty. As for the pass rush, not sensational, though it closed strong with Nick Bosa’s eighth sack this season. Arden Key has a sack in back-to-back games after nearly a two-year drought. Robert Woods’ absence clearly rattled the Rams, who got only two catches for 18 yards from Odell Beckham Jr.

RUN DEFENSE:

A Predictably, the Rams didn’t run much, but that is more because they had to rally from an early 14-0 hole. Still, of their 10 carries, none went longer than 11 yards. The 49ers’ tackling was much more sound after last game’s abomination against Arizona. Said Fred Warner: “Last week, that wasn’t us. We came out with the right mindset that we had to take the fight to them, in all areas.”

SPECIAL TEAMS:

A

D.J. Jones made a huge heads-up play to thwart a Rams’ fake field goal, showing tremendous range on the open-field tackle. Robbie Gould banged home a 50-yard field goal to make it a three-score game, and he nailed all four point-after kicks. Trey Sermon’s first (and only) touch in a month was a reasonable fair catch of the second-half kickoff at the 23yard line. A Mitch Wishnowsky punt on fourth-and-6 pinned the Rams at their 7, and once that ensuing series ended, the 49ers finished off their next one with Garoppolo’s fourthand-6 touchdown pass to Samuel — some poetic symmetry there.

COACHING:

A

Kyle Shanahan and his staff deserve all the kudos and funny (Sean McVay-taunting) memes fans are willing to offer after five losses in a six-game ditch. Shanahan’s outcry for a 40-carry assault drew a standing ovation from the offense, said Kittle, who also hailed Shanahan for scheming his touchdown reception for the exact look the Rams gave. Defensively, DeMeco Ryans demanded takeaways, and they came in the most unexpected fashion with Ward’s interceptions. But there was genius strategy involved on both sides, too. Such as the blocking schemes to neutralize not only Aaron Donald but the Rams’ edge rushers, even on edgerushing plays. A creative third-down call on defense saw Bosa and Samson Ebukum in an I-formation blast up the middle “and it worked pretty well,” Bosa said. Time now to stack wins and steal a wild-card spot.