49ers grades from Week 10 smashing of Rams on Monday night

The 49ers demolished the Rams on Monday Night Football by winning 31-10, and it’s finally nice to have all-around good grades on all sides of the ball.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan finally got back to his roots.

The Niners pulled off an unexpected and surprisingly dominant 31-10 victory over their NFC West division rivals, the Los Angeles Rams, on Monday Night Football in a game where Shanahan’s squad looked like it was competing for the conference’s No. 1 playoff seed and Los Angeles was desperately hoping for a playoff berth.

It’s crazy how the narrative changes, especially considering all the flak Shanahan and Co. received after Week 9’s flop of a loss against backup quarterback Colt McCoy and the Arizona Cardinals.

Shanahan made it clear early he wanted to get back to the run game, cutting down on the number of passes quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo had to make while also ensuring a high-powered Rams offense, now featuring superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., didn’t get on the field enough.

Three takeaways from that last statement:

• Beckham was a non-factor
• The Rams committed more mistakes
• San Francisco didn’t turn the ball over

Additionally, the 49ers pulled off their first win at Levi’s Stadium in over a year, while Shanahan continued his dominance over Rams head coach Sean McVay, now having won five in a row dating back to 2019.

Needless to say, the Niners’ position grades from this contest are going to be a bit easier to do after this one-sided Week 10 prime-time upset.

49ers Offensive Grades

San Francisco’s opening offensive position, an 18-play, 93-yard drive, made it clear Kyle Shanahan wanted to stick with the ground game and play as physical as possible.

It worked, as the 49ers methodically moved the ball on the ground that drive. And at one point, the Niners had just two pass plays on their first 11 offensive snaps.

That took a massive load off Jimmy Garoppolo from testing Los Angeles’ elite pass defense.

Quarterback: B+

Garoppolo didn’t have to do too much, going 15-of-19 for 182 yards and two touchdowns against zero interceptions, all the while passing for a 141.7 passer rating.

One of his best passes was his first touchdown score where he hit tight end George Kittle in the red zone on a well-placed pass:

While there were a few errant throws here and there, particularly when he threw behind wide receiver Jauan Jennings and nearly into the hands of Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey, Garoppolo was much more precise with his targets than usual.

Garoppolo didn’t have to do much, but he did what was asked of him and then a bit more.

Running Back: B+

Shanahan later told reporters it was his goal to get 40 rushes during the game, and the Niners had 44.

True, San Francisco only averaged 3.5 yards per carry, so it was a bit of a volume stat to see the ground game muster 156 yards. And while it was good to see veteran running back Jeff Wilson Jr. make his 2021 debut after tearing his meniscus last offseason, rookie rusher Elijah Mitchell flashed again with some chunk plays and 91 yards against a tough Los Angeles defensive front.

Wide Receiver: A-

Wide receiver Deebo Samuel continues to prove he’s one of the NFL’s most lethal weapons, and it’s not just because of his receiving prowess, which still netted 97 yards and a touchdown.

Additionally, Samuel is a weapon on the ground, scoring this score as well and proving he’s essentially a “positionless” player:

It might have been a slower night from fellow wideout Brandon Aiyuk, but he had a key grab and finished three catches for 26 yards.

Still, it was Samuel’s night to shine.

Tight End: A-

Kittle is so much more than a receiving threat, and he delivered some key blocks that afforded the 49ers the luxury of negating some of the Rams’ edge-setters.

On top of that, Kittle managed a quality night, hauling in five catches for 50 yards and the Niners’ opening touchdown.

Offensive Line: A-

Rams All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald and newly acquired EDGE Von Miller were supposed to take over the game and dominate a makeshift San Francisco offensive line, one which was starting rookie swing tackle Jaylon Moore at right tackle, who’s now the No. 1 option in the wake of Mike McGlinchey’s season-ending injury.

Moore was lost for the game with a knee injury, though, meaning veteran Tom Compton had to step in at right tackle.

Compton was beat for a sack, and left guard Laken Tomlinson had a false start. But other than that, the 49ers O-line won in the trenches, both in run blocking and in pass protection. Garoppolo took only one sack and one quarterback hit during the game.

Great job from this unit.

49ers Defensive Grades

If the only thing you knew about this game was the score, you might have figured Los Angeles was the team that put up 31 points, because that’s how potent Sean McVay’s offense can be even after it lost wide receiver Robert Woods during the week to a season-ending injury.

That said, it was the much-maligned Niners defense that put on a show, particularly early with two interceptions by safety Jimmie Ward, which set the tone for the game.

Defensive Line: C

San Francisco’s pass rush didn’t get home much during the game, and it’s clear defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans is in desperate need of a complementary pass-rusher to support EDGE Nick Bosa, who at least had a sack despite being held and chipped frequently throughout.

Reserve EDGE Arden Key added the 49ers’ other sack, though, and one could make the argument some of that pressure forced Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford into some frequently errant throws.

Stafford didn’t get help from many of his receivers, though, and drops were a problem.

Linebacker: A

It’s great to see All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner back playing at an All-Pro level again.

Warner, the Niners’ defensive tone-setter, set that tone with eight tackles during the game and one near interception. But it’s possible to make the argument San Francisco’s best linebacker in the game was third-year pro Azeez Al-Shaair, who not only delivered some big hits but also tied Warner in team tackles, too, also registering two of those for a loss.

Cornerback: C

Stafford was still able to pass for 243 yards, and that number should have been a lot higher if some of his targets were able to hold onto passes in wide-open situations.

If there’s a good note, cornerback Josh Norman’s name wasn’t called much, and San Francisco was flagged for only one defensive pass-interference call and another defensive hold, both on nickel cornerback K’Waun Williams, the latter wiping out what would have been a very unique interception on the night.

Not a perfect night from this group, but at least Los Angeles had to be responsible for its own mistakes.

Safety: A

It’s great to see rookie safety Talanoa Hufanga come of age, and he made some key impact plays on two phases of the game, delivering a key hit on a would-be third-down conversion that ultimately resulted in an incomplete pass.

But the defensive star of the 49ers’ night was Ward, whose interception at the end of Los Angeles’ opening possession was only outdone by his second, which resulted in a 27-yard return for a touchdown:

From there, the Niners never had to look back.

San Francisco entered the game with just two interceptions on the season but doubled that count by the end of Week 10. Also of note, Ward hadn’t had an interception since 2016, long before Kyle Shanahan’s tenure as head coach.

Perhaps Ward was simply due and then some.

49ers Special Teams, Coaching Grades

Just like so many other issues the 49ers have dealt with this season, 2021 is proving to be a season of extremes.

Both for Kyle Shanahan and DeMeco Ryans.

That in of itself might not be a good thing. But what is good is the fact Shanahan reversed the narrative he doesn’t have his finger on proper play-calling this season.

Special Teams: A+

It might have been easy enough to give the Niners’ special teams unit an A-grade without having to do much, particularly noting kicker Robbie Gould made all his extra-point attempts and successfully converted a 50-yard field goal.

Yet one of San Francisco’s best moments on this third phase came when Talanoa Hufanga and defensive tackle D.J. Jones sniffed out a fake Rams field-goal try. And while Jones traveled a great distance to make the tackle, watch Hufanga redirect himself to take down punter/holder Johnny Hekker:

https://twitter.com/49ers/status/1460433293178916868

That alone was the reason why it’s still super easy to give this unit the A-grade.

Coaching

Shanahan got back to his roots, running the ball, and Ryans did his best to put his best position group, the linebackers, into position to make plays.

Los Angeles was going to do damage through the air, and one might argue the Rams committed more problems for themselves than anything the 49ers defense did.

A few things here, though.

The Niners forced the Rams to go 3-of-10 on third downs, while Shanahan’s offense converted 8-of-14 third-down attempts and had a perfect 5-of-5 mark to start the game. And on one of those failed third-down conversions, Shanahan called for a fourth-down try that resulted in a Deebo Samuel touchdown.

Whatever Shanahan’s goal was for Week 10, it worked and then some. Now, it’s time for San Francisco to maintain that kind of intensity.