49ers will sweep season series vs. Rams if they win these matchups
By Peter Panacy
49ers vs. Rams matchup No. 2: Jimmy Garoppolo vs. Aaron Donald
The Niners need quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to be better than he was against either the Falcons or Chiefs.
Granted, Garoppolo wasn’t exactly atrocious in either of those games, and San Francisco’s offense was plagued by both drops and penalties, too. Yet Garoppolo had his own share of mistakes, including holding onto the ball too long when both teams’ pass-rushers were getting home.
Los Angeles still has that one game-changing defender, All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who is more than capable of taking over the game at the line of scrimmage. And while the 49ers have recently gotten their offensive line back to full strength, Garoppolo needs to do his part by ensuring Donald isn’t given enough time to get into his face.
Simply put, Garoppolo can’t afford to hang out in the pocket for more than 3.5 seconds, which was frequently the case against Kansas City in Week 7.
Garoppolo has been responsible for four turnovers the last two weeks (three interceptions and one fumble), and Donald is easily a threat who can keep that negative trend going.
if the 49ers want to win Week 8, Garoppolo merely needs to protect the ball and avoid having Donald bearing down on him regularly.