49ers vs. Rams: 5 players who need to step up in Week 6

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LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 30: Jared Goff #16 of the Los Angeles Rams talks with Joe Staley #74 of the San Francisco 49ers after a game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 30, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

The San Francisco 49ers visit the Los Angeles Rams in Week 6, and the Niners enter the NFC West bout awfully shorthanded. These five players need to step it up as a result.

There’s a major difference between the 2019 San Francisco 49ers and the squad head coach Kyle Shanahan led a year ago.

Both seasons have seen the Niners beset by a slew of injuries to notable players. This season, though, San Francisco is overcoming those injuries well enough, using a combination of an upgraded roster in other places and supporting depth to make up the difference.

The 49ers lost starting cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon to a foot sprain, and he’ll be out a few weeks. So will both starting tackles, Joe Staley (leg) and Mike McGlinchey (knee). Fullback Kyle Juszczyk, a key part of Shanahan’s offense, is also going to miss time with a knee injury.

All of these players are expected back later in the season, which is a good thing. But Week 6 presents what could be an awfully tough challenge.

The Niners visit the defending NFC champions, the Los Angeles Rams, on the road this weekend. While the 3-2 Rams aren’t steamrolling opponents like they were a year ago in their run to the Super Bowl, they still present a tough challenge to Shanahan and Co.

On both sides of the ball, too.

Granted, Los Angeles isn’t entering this game with a clean slate of health, either. But the 49ers need to be concerned with their own slate of players needing to step up on Sunday.

Here are five Shanahan and the 49ers need to perform well during this critical NFC West bout.