The 49ers didn’t start off pretty. But with the playoffs on the line, a second-half surge and some overtime heroics resulted in a win and some positive grades.
In an ideal world, the San Francisco 49ers would have made things much easier on themselves by not falling behind 17-0 to the Los Angeles Rams in what turned into a must-win Week 18 game in order to clinch a playoff berth.
Even more ideal would have been the Atlanta Falcons beating the New Orleans Saints, which would have ensured the Niners got into the postseason regardless of what happened on Sunday.
Alas, head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co. needed to overcome that deficit as they watched the Saints blow out the Falcons, leading to one of the more exciting and surely an extremely stressful 27-24 overtime win at SoFI Stadium.
Few things epitomize the outcome better than saying “it was a tale of two halves,” LA dominating the first two quarters before San Francisco engineered a desperate comeback to tie things up, only to lose the lead again after a quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo interception, then to have Garoppolo lead a game-tying drive just at the end of regulation.
Setting it all up for the overtime thriller, which ended with cornerback Ambry Thomas’ game-sealing interception after the 49ers kicked a go-ahead field goal.
Crazy.
With the playoffs now a reality for the Niners, it’s fortunate our Week 18 position grades won’t have to be wholly stained by what easily could have been an elimination loss.
Let’s get into those grades, shall we?
49ers Offensive Grades vs. Rams
At one point in the game, San Francisco was being outgained by Los Angeles 136 yards to minus-3.
Yes, the 49ers were in the negative, impacted by multiple drives where Jimmy Garoppolo and Co. were moving in the wrong direction, ultimately leading to the Rams’ sizable 17-0 lead.
Just like the entire momentum of the game, however, Garoppolo and the offense turned things around just before halftime and then afterwards.
Quarterback: B-
First-half Garoppolo? An F-grade would suffice. Second-half/OT Garoppolo? Probably a B-plus.
About the only gaffe from Jimmy G in the second half was his interception thrown in the red zone, targeting tight end George Kittle where he was triple-covered, cornerback Jalen Ramsey picking Garoppolo off. And LA turned that turnover into seven points.
Garoppolo could have hit wide receiver Deebo Samuel in the end zone in overtime, too. Instead, he went for Kittle, who fell short of the goal line and forced what turned into the game-winning field goal.
All in all, though, Garoppolo rebounded after an atrocious start, finishing the game by going 23-of-32 for 316 yards, a passing touchdown to wide receiver Jauan Jennings to tie things up in the fourth quarter, two interceptions and a passer rating of 87.5.
Most importantly, Garoppolo bucked the narrative of the 49ers always losing when he throws an interception.
They’re now 2-6.
Running Back: B
Granted, it was tough for both the Niners and Rams to establish their respective run games early, and LA entered the game allowing just 3.9 yards per carry anyway.
So it has to be viewed as something of an accomplishment running back Elijah Mitchell mustered 85 yards on 21 carries, while Kyle Shanahan’s ground game had 31 attempts for 135 rush yards, playing a massive role in the team’s second-half comeback.
Wide Receiver: A+
If there ever was a game when San Francisco’s wideouts needed to bail out Garoppolo, it was this one.
Samuel was his usual awesome self, rushing in a 16-yard touchdown and posting 95 receiving yards in his own right. Yet Samuel’s incredible 26-yard touchdown pass to fellow receiver Jauan Jennings to tie things up at 17 apiece was absolutely amazing:
https://twitter.com/49ers/status/1480316355790340096
Read More: Deebo Samuel ties things up vs. Rams with crazy passing TD
That was just one of two touchdown catches Jennings had during the game, as he finished with a career-best 94 yards on six catches with the two scores.
All the while, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk quietly led all 49ers pass-catchers with six catches for 107 yards.
Outstanding net performance from this group.
Tight End: C-
We can somewhat forgive Kittle for not having a bigger statistical impact, as it seemed LA was intent on taking him out of the offensive game plan.
Kittle only had 10 yards on five catches and seven attempts, and Los Angeles did a good job limiting him in the yards-after-the-catch department.
He won’t care, though.
Offensive Line: B
The Niners potentially took a massive hit with left tackle Trent Williams missing the game with an elbow injury, forcing second-year lineman Colton McKivitz into his first offensive snaps of the season in Williams’ stead.
It wasn’t perfect, particularly against a talented Rams defensive front, and Garoppolo was sacked three times, and the offensive line was hit with three holding penalties.
Still, this group began to impose its will, particularly in run support during the second half, and that’s all that should be asked from players like McKivitz in that kind of context.
Good job overall.
49ers Defensive Grades vs. Rams
San Francisco got a bit of a boost within its secondary with cornerback Emmanuel Moseley returning off injured reserve, then it made the right decision to pair him starting alongside rookie corner Ambry Thomas instead of the embattled veteran, Josh Norman, who was relegated to reserve duties.
But with nickel cornerback K’Waun Williams out, the Rams made this group pay. At least initially.
Defensive Line: A-
Much like Jimmy Garoppolo’s performance, the 49ers defensive line got off to an awfully slow start, and Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was appearing to have his ways with the Niners secondary because of the lack of a pass rush.
Yet San Francisco still did a tremendous job halting Los Angeles’ run game, ultimately limiting it to just 2.4 yards per attempt.
And by the second half, the 49ers pass rush was doing its job admirably, eventually sacking Stafford five times with defensive tackle Arik Armstead registering 2.5.
Linebacker: C-
The Niners were without linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, who was inactive with injury, yet fellow backer Dre Greenlaw made his third start of the season after spending much of the year on IR with a groin injury.
It wasn’t necessarily pretty, though, as Greenlaw and the other San Francisco linebackers struggled with pass coverage on tight end Tyler Higbee and others.
At least linebacker Fred Warner recorded half a sack.
Secondary: C
Again, a tale of two halves.
Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp turned into a massive problem for the 49ers, both early and for much of the game, finishing the contest with a whopping seven receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown, and it didn’t appear as if the Niners had any early answers for him.
Williams being out didn’t help much either, as fill-in cornerback Dontae Johnson was regularly the target of Stafford’s passing attempts.
Still, the big-play interceptions by Moseley and Thomas, the latter coming in overtime to seal the game, helped keep this group out of the doghouse despite the shortages.
49ers Special Teams, Coaching Grades vs. Rams
Back during his rookie season, punter Mitch Wishnowsky flashed with his hard-hitting tackling ways on special teams.
Maybe that’s not such a good idea, as Wishnowsky had to exit the game with a concussion after making such a tackle attempt versus Los Angeles.
Special Teams: B-
At least there weren’t any turnovers. And despite Wishnowsky going out, give credit to fill-in holder Kyle Juszczyk for holding down kicker Robbie Gould’s field-goal tries (he was a perfect 2-of-2) and all his extra-point attempts.
Give credit to Gould for performing quality work on punt duties, too, averaging 45 yards on two attempts.
About the only major gaffe was one of those Wishnowsky punts, which San Francisco surrendered a 31-yard return.
Coaching: B-
If the 49ers would have lost this game, Kyle Shanahan would have born the brunt of the criticism for starting an injured Jimmy Garoppolo and then not being bold enough to switch him out for rookie quarterback Trey Lance when things got bad.
Yet Shanahan corrected himself by reverting to a run-heavy approach, lessening the pressure on Garoppolo and getting back into the kind of offensive groove the Niners needed to stage their comeback.
Shanahan has now beaten Rams head coach Sean McVay six-straight times.
One could argue, though, it was defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and his side of the ball that helped engineer the turnaround, first by starting to apply regular pressure on Matthew Stafford and then helping assist with those two key second-half defensive takeaways.
Ryans will be a head coach one day, sooner than later.
Now, however, San Francisco is more concerned with its next game, a Wild Card playoff matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.