49ers need to run, hold ball, get ball
The NFL seems on the verge of a tectonic shift. Nine franchises are hiring new coaches. Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks are in limbo. Chaos can commence any second.
Then there are the 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams, NFC West rivals closing in on a Super Bowl return.
One could be the next champion, the next dynasty.
Their race to the NFC summit finishes Sunday, with one of them winning the Halas Trophy at SoFi Stadium, where the victor returns for Super Bowl LVI two weeks later.
Of course, the dynasty-forming Kansas City Chiefs might be waiting for them, in their third straight Super Bowl if they win the AFC crown against Cincinnati.
Looking ahead to a Super Bowl is taboo. Reflecting on a pass Super Bowl defeat, however, is an acceptable inspiration.
“It was really tough to lose that especially with the team we had,” Nick Bosa said.” Now it’s becoming extremely real that we can be there again.”
The 2018 Rams and the ‘19 Niners sustained Super Bowl losses, then missed the playoffs the next year, per hangover protocol. Now, they’re on the hunt, for overdue vengeance, one might say.
“The thing I remember most from watching (Super Bowl LIV) and hearing it was George Kittle saying we’re going to be back, and back with a vengeance,” kicker Robbie Gould said. “That’s something that’ always stuck in my mind since we lost to KC.
“But even more important, you’ve got the perfect group of hungry guys from ‘19 but also some great additions form other places that have been through the same experience.”
Almost half (22) of the 49ers’ 2019 roster remains. Only 12 Rams remain from 2018.
Will the Rams feel like they’re entitled to the Super Bowl berth because that Lombardi Trophy will be awarded on their home field Feb. 13? Will the 49ers play as desperate and successfully as their past three elimination games?
Here are some ways for the 49ers to advance to their eighth Super Bowl:
1. RUN AT AND PAST THEM >> The 49ers ran for 125 yards after half
time last meeting. That came after just 10 yards on five carries en route to a 173, first-half deficit.
Racking up carries, yards and minutes is what the 49ers’ offense does best. Well, that and coming through in the clutch, like they did against the Rams in Week 18, not to mention Saturday night at Green Bay, where Deebo Samuel’s third-down conversion run set up Gould’s game-winning kick.
Samuel took a beating last game, with hits to his right leg and shoulder. He’s tough, however, and the 49ers’ most physically imposing receiver/rusher since the likes of Anquan Boldin, Frank Gore and Terrell Owens.
Elijah Mitchell is averaging 3.4 yards per carry in the playoffs, with only one of his 44 carries going for a touchdown, and his longest run has been 16 yards. There’s more in those rookie legs, and his vision is needed to find lanes through an imposing defensive front, with help of the mastery Shanahan seems to scheme up each meeting.
Left tackle Trent Williams’ ankle injury is a concern, and although he missed last game against the Rams with an elbow sprain, he likely won’t miss his first NFC Championship Game. Just don’t expect him to line up as a lead-blocking fullback like he did twice in Green Bay.
But expect the Rams’ zone defense to be as vulnerable as ever against the 49ers’ rushing attack.
2. BETTER PASS RUSH >> Say neither team can run and control the clock. Say one has to air it out in a comeback. Then disaster awaits if these punishing defensive fronts can attack such a onedimensional scheme.
The Rams’ offer star power in Aaron Donald, Von Miller, Leonard Floyd, and others. Each meeting, the 49ers linemen and blockers surprisingly answer that challenge, even on the right side where guard Daniel Brunskill seems to magically transform into Donald’s kryptonite. Right tackle Tom Compton’s pass protection regressed at Green Bay, so he’ll need to be on his Agame, perhaps with help from Kittle or other double-team blocks.
The 49ers sacked Matthew Stafford five times in their regular-season finale, then Dak Prescott five times
in Dallas, then Aaron Rodgers five times in the divisional round.
This defensive front is definitely deeper and hotter than their 2019 famed unit. Arik Armstead and D.J. Jones are keys to disrupting this game from the interior, caving in the pocket while Nick Bosa (18 sacks) brackets in Stafford along with former Rams’ pass rusher Samson Ebukam. Others to watch are Raiders castoff Arden Key, Packers’ punt blocker Jordan Willis and ex-Texans prospect Charles Omenihu.
Such pressure will help a secondary that’s come on so strong it merits a nickname, such as “The Secret Service,” considering its veteran presence and willingness to step up lately in the line of fire. 3. OFFENSIVE CATALYSTS >> Samuel and the Rams’ Cooper Kupp made first-team All-Pro, and they didn’t stop there.
These offensive catalysts have come through in the playoffs. Which can make the bigger impact?
The 49ers’ key to containing Kupp is not letting him get behind the safeties and into the open field for one or two of Stafford’s down-field daggers. Let Kupp get his 100-plus yards on underneath routes with his nifty footwork and sure hands.
Samuel must will the 49ers’ offense, yet again. All eyes will be on him. He, like Garoppolo, is 6-0 against the Rams. When the 49ers aren’t ushering Samuel around the edge with the ball, going to him in the air will work just fine, too.
“Usually, wide receivers are prima donnas and guys who don’t want much contact,”
Bosa said. “... Obviously, Deebo is just a savage football player. Nothing more to it. He’s a beast.”
4. TURNOVER TIME >> What team can fumble away four of its final 10 possessions and still survive? The Rams. Well, then, the 49ers will just have to force five turnovers this game, right?
No, just one could do the trick if it’s timely.
Stafford’s aggressive nature contributed to a career-high 17 interceptions in the regular season. That included two against the 49ers in Week 18 — an athletic effort by Emmanuel Moseley on a deep shot, and then the game-winning clincher in overtime by Ambry Thomas.
How comfortable will the Rams be to hand off to Cam Akers, who fumbled twice Sunday in Tampa?
Conversely, the 49ers don’t ever get too comfortable on a Garoppolo pass. He’s yielded six interceptions the past four games. Overall, he’s totaled 14 interceptions against 20 touchdown passes. The 49ers are 7-0 when none of his passes are intercepted (187 attempts in those starts), and, as Garoppolo’s staunch supporters love to note, he is 3515 as the 49ers’ starter and 4-1 in playoff action.
The 49ers haven’t lost a fumble in the playoffs, and rookie running back Ellijah Mitchell (not to jinx him or anything) has zero lost fumbles in 274 touches.
5. SOMEBODY UNEXPECTED >> Garoppolo owns two Super Bowl rings as Tom Brady’s backup in New England, and this is his second NFC final in three years. He knows the quirks that come with playoff football.
“Every postseason that
I’ve been paying close attention to over the past years, there’s always somebody who you won’t expect to make the play, (and they) make the play,” Garoppolo said. “And whether it’s our team, another team, it’s just something that I’ve noticed over the years.”
Did anyone notice Jordan Willis was even on the 49ers before he blocked a punt, which rookie Talanoa Hufanga recovered for a tying touchdown, making both players household names, at least in 49ers’ homes?
“What he did was incredible and he played a huge part in winning that game for us,” Garoppolo added of Willis. “So when you have guys do that, that’s what makes for a good team, man. That’s what makes you tough to beat.”
So who are the candidates for unlikely heroes?
Well, by definition, that can’t be a Pro Bowler. That rules out the 49ers’ Williams, Samuel, Nick Bosa, Kyle Juszczyk and George Kittle; and, the Rams’ Donald, Kupp, Jalen Ramsey, and kicker Matt Gay.
It could be a 49ers’ defensive linemen with a stripsack. Linebacker “Big Play” Dre Greenlaw would make sense, as would any cornerback who makes an interception. Maybe it will be Ebukam, who was on that 2018 Rams’ team that lost in the Super Bowl to Brady’s Buccaneers.
SoFi Stadium will be the final stop, one way or another.
“The only thing I’m lacking now is being a world champion,” the Rams’ Donald said. “But to get to that point, we’ve got to win this week.”