Rams vs. 49ers: Full Week 3 preview for San Francisco

To begin the 2017 season, the San Francisco 49ers faced two of the league’s top defenses and walked away with two losses. In a Week 3 Thursday Night Football showdown, the Los Angeles Rams head to Levi’s Stadium. Here is the preview with the latest news, X-factors, injuries and much more.

Despite the 0-2 start to the season, the state of the San Francisco 49ers organization seems to be going in the right direction. Yes, the team is winless. That’s obviously not the most ideal beginning to a new season, but there are positives that can be drawn from the games this season so far.

Game by game, we’re being shown that this 2017 49ers defense is not the same unit from last year. It is well-documented just how terrible the defense was in 2016, in particular the rush defense. That doesn’t seem to be the case this season.

And that’s what the 49ers are building for — to have one of the NFL’s top defenses soon. They’re not quite there yet. There is still a ways to go for this unit to reach that level. Through two games though, we’ve seen glimpses of just how stifling the San Francisco defense can be.

On the flip side, quarterback Brian Hoyer is struggling and it’s ultimately holding this team back from being victorious. The team had a chance to win on the road in Seattle against the Seahawks in Week 2, but 99 total passing yards is not going to win you any games.

It’s been uneven performances from the 49ers this season, and the Week 3 game against the Los Angeles Rams is their chance to put together a complete effort and come out with a win.

Week 3 by the numbers

One of the dominant storylines of this young season for San Francisco has been the emergence of the defense. In 2016, the Achilles heel of the 49ers was undoubtedly the defense and it contributed to the team’s disastrous 2-14 campaign.

Just about every team they faced ran the ball with complete ease and scored seemingly at will. It was a far cry from the early 2010s, which saw San Francisco own one of the elite defenses in the league.

The defense has been subject to a near complete re-build, starting with the defensive line. Three consecutive first-round draft selections were used on defensive lineman (Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner and Solomon Thomas), while four of their past six first-round draft selections have come on defense (the three just mentioned plus linebacker Reuben Foster).

Foster is out with an injury, but it appears those investments are starting to see some returns. Through two games, the 49ers defense is holding its own against the rest of the NFL.

San Francisco currently owns the No. 10 overall defense, allowing just under 300 yards per game (299.5). They sit at No. 24 for rushing yards allowed (123.5 yards per game) but are tied for No. 1 in rushing touchdowns allowed (0), have yet to give up a run longer than 16 yards and are No. 10 in scoring defense (17.5 points per game).

All in all, a positive display of football from the defensive unit.

But the offense has been lackluster, to say the least. Most notably, Brian Hoyer is playing like one of the league’s worst quarterbacks.

Per NFL Next Gen Stats, only two signal-callers have a worse rating than Hoyer’s 60.7 — Cleveland’s DeShone Kizer and Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton. Hoyer is one of only three quarterbacks who have yet to throw a touchdown pass this season, joining Dalton and Indianapolis’ Jacoby Brisett.

The most glaring part of Hoyer’s time at quarterback has been his inability to get the deep ball going. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Hoyer is 30th out of 32 quarterbacks for longest completed air distance (LCAD) at 30.2 yards and is at the bottom of the league for average completed air yards (CAY) at 3.7 yards.

Quarterback comparison

It’s been a rather uninspiring performance from Brian Hoyer through two games.

As previously mentioned, the 2017 season is off to a rough start for Hoyer. There’s just no other way to say it — Brian Hoyer has been terrible.

This one play just about sums up Hoyer so far:

With eight quarters under his belt as the starting 49ers quarterback, Hoyer is 39-62 passing for 292 yards and two interceptions. Less than 300 yards passing and 40 completions through two games isn’t going to get the job done.

And Hoyer’s play has led to reactions from Kyle Shanahan, who recognizes Hoyer is not playing well:

Considering Hoyer’s output this season, it’s not illogical to start pondering the potential of a quarterback switch soon. Just how long of a leash does Hoyer have before he’s pulled? That is something to be on the look for if Hoyer doesn’t improve.

For Jared Goff, his sophomore season is shaping up to be far better than his rookie year.

Coming off a tumultuous rookie season that saw Goff struggle mightily, it looks like the second-year quarterback has learned from mistakes made. With two games played, he is 9th in passing rating (103.2) — just behind Philip Rivers and Tom Brady —and is completing 66.7% of his passes.

Goff has passed for 530 yards, good for 9th, and has only one turnover on the season. Maybe the 13% aggressiveness rate is playing a factor in Goff’s improved start, but whatever it is, it’s working.

Significant injuries

Like last week, Reuben Foster headlines this injury report. Foster went down with a high ankle sprain in the season-opening game against the Carolina Panthers. While initially feared to be severe, it appears the 49ers and Foster have escaped serious injury.

Fortunately for the team, it looks like Foster is on the fast track to a maybe a speedy recovery:

Joining Foster in the injury news is safety Eric Reid, who hurt his knee against Seattle. It also looks like another lengthy absence was avoided as Reid will not have to undergo surgery for his injured left PCL. There’s no definitive timeline, but Reid will be out for a few weeks.

Here’s what the rest of the injury report looks like for San Francisco, coursety of NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco:

Offensive & Defensive X-Factors for San Francisco

A competent passing game

Last week heading into the game against the Seahawks, I discussed the need to get Carlos Hyde going as an important factor for the 49ers. That game showed just exactly why, as Hyde was carrying the entire offense on his back and nearly led the team to victory. With that established, it’s now time for the other part of the offense to open up.

Hoyer needs to turn in a good performance versus Los Angeles. A mere 99 yards of passing offense is not something an NFL team can strive with. And with the running game and defense having showed improved play, it’s time for Hoyer and the wide receiver unit to do so as well. That means Marquise Goodwin has to stop dropping key passes.

If defenses begin to fear what the 49ers could present passing the ball, it would go a long way into opening up this offense and further propel this team to victory. But right now, there is absolutely no fear being struck into the secondaries facing San Francisco. That has to change.

Limiting Todd Gurley

Goff isn’t the only Ram off to a hot start. Third-year running back Todd Gurley is also experiencing a nice beginning to his season after a disappointing sophomore campaign.

Gurley is No. 8 in the NFL for rushing yards with 128 yards and tied for No. 3 in touchdowns with two. But it is the receiving game where Gurley is marking his mark this season. Gurley has eight receptions for 104 yards and one touchdown, with the score coming on this highlight play:

That’s exactly why the 49ers defense needs to zone in on Gurley as the focal point of their game plan.

Game information

The Rams and 49ers kickoff at 5:25 p.m. and the game will be broadcasted on NFL Network.

For those who would like to live stream the game, you can follow this link: https://www.fubo.tv/watch/NFL?irad=356362&irmp=374356

Odds Shark currently has the Rams as favorites, with a predicted score of 18.6 to 17.9. The site has Los Angeles winning with the 49ers covering the spread, and predict the total (39.5) will go under.

Next: 49ers film room: Breaking down QB Brian Hoyer’s interceptions

There’s no denying it, this game is vastly important for San Francisco and their new roster. With a 0-3 start starting them directly in the eyes, the 49ers need a win.