49ers game grades from tough Week 2 victory over division-rival Rams

It wasn't as pretty as the 49ers hoped it to be, but they managed to pull away from the Rams, winning 30-23 in LA. Niner Noise hands out grades from the contest.

The San Francisco 49ers dominated Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, showcasing themselves as the early cream of the crop in the NFC.

Week 2 was... less appealing.

Divisional games can be weird, and despite the Niners' winning record against the Los Angeles Rams, there is never a guarantee. Against a new-look Rams team with young talent and momentum following their division win against the Seattle Seahawks, things could always be different.

And for a half, it was.

San Francisco marched down the field and scored an opening touchdown, which was met by a Rams field goal. Then, the 49ers scored a field goal, which was met by a Rams touchdown. With the score at 10-10, the Niners blinked first, not scoring on their third drive, which the Rams promptly took advantage of taking the lead 17-10 with just under two minutes to go.

The 49ers marched down the field and, with one second on the clock, opted against a field goal. From the 1/2-yard line, quarterback Brock Purdy snuck the ball across the goal line and scored, heading into halftime tied 17-17.

The second half turned out to be a different story.

The 49ers brought constant pressure with blitzes, and they finally forced LA's quarterback, Matthew Stafford off, coercing him into an interception following a bobble by running back Kyren Williams and then earning a second one with cornerback Deommodore Lenoir stepping in front of a pass intended to wide receiver Van Jefferson.

On offense, the 49ers scored a touchdown and two field goals in the second half, aided by those turnovers. Los Angeles, meanwhile, had one final gasp at serious contention that was snuffed out following a 4th-and-2 stop by nickel corner Isaiah Oliver. But in the final moments of the game, the Rams kicked a field goal, bringing the score to 30-23.

A win is a win, and barring that unnecessary last-second field goal, the Niners would have pulled off a double-digit victory. But something was off for a team that came off such a stellar performance.

Here are the grades from today's contest.

49ers Offensive Grades

Brock Purdy

A special paragraph for the second-year quarterback, who increased his record to 8-0 in regular-season games, Brock Purdy has played entirely true but also played arguably his worst game as a pro. Now if going 17-of-25 for 206 yards and a 93.1 passer rating is his worst game ever donning the red and gold, the 49ers will have drafted a Hall of Fame QB.

However, the stat sheet is not indicative of some of the acute struggles he had.

Purdy is an elite distributor, and that's what has gotten him so far with a team chockful of weapons. Several of his yards came on quick screens to running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Deebo Samuel, allowing his playmakers to attack with the ball in his hand.

But until the fourth quarter, Purdy seemed to struggle with his accuracy, particularly with the deep ball. He had opportunities to hit Samuel and fellow wideouts, Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings on deep passes. Two of them (to Aiyuk and Samuel) would have likely been touchdowns, and the Jennings miss came on a crucial third down.

A few throws never define a quarterback, but in a game that seemed to hang in the balance for San Francisco, they could have been the difference from a close game to an absolute blowout.

The interception by Isaiah Oliver was a smart play off a bobble by Kyren Williams, and then Deommodore Lenoir undercut another Stafford pass to ding the Rams quarterback with two turnovers.

49ers Passing Offense

Segwaying from Purdy into the passing attack as a whole, the 49ers statistically got it done. Nothing was particularly flashy, most of it was short and intermediate, and it was a quiet day for Week 1 Offensive Player of the Week, Aiyuk, who seemed to be battling a shoulder ailment throughout the day.

The Niners offensive line held up decently in pass protection, but the game plan never required them to truly keep the Rams' defenders at bay.

The star of the passing attack was Samuel, who finished with six receptions for 63 yards. His yards were the typical Deebo variety, a hardnosed attack that powered for extra yards.

But, although the passing game produced, it lacked the explosiveness seen in Week 1.

49ers Rushing Offense

Here lies the Niners' bread and butter, and against the Rams, it was the rushing attack that ended up bringing them a victory.

It starts with McCaffrey, who notched his second 100-yard game of the season with 116 yards on 20 carries. Samuel joined the rushing attack as well with 38 yards on the ground, and Purdy had 5 yards on three carries, two of them quarterback sneaks.

All three players scored a touchdown on the ground as well.

The rushing numbers, though, tell a happier story than what happened in the game. McCaffrey gained 51 of his yards on a single run, Samuel 17 of his 38 on a single run as well, and Purdy 4 of his on one sneak.

Remove those chunk plays and the stats show a team that was not able to consistently churn yards on the ground.

That, of course, is not how the games work. Chunk plays matter and are a huge part of what offenses try to gain. The 49ers got it done on the ground, and their stats are skewed by a couple of drives near the end of the game.

But overall, the Niners would have loved for a more consistent showing on the ground, and they hope to improve on it for next week.

49ers Defensive Grades

Fred Warner

A quick blurb for the All-Pro linebacker, who individually played a phenomenal game, although the defense tended to struggle.

Fred Warner's coverage was superb as always, and his run defense, particularly in the second half, held strong. But it was his blitzing that gave the 49ers their only sack of the day and disrupted Matt Stafford.

One could argue it hurts the Niners defense to take Fred Warner out of coverage, but the defense needed a spark and Warner provided it.

49ers Rushing Defense

San Francisco's defense was a tale of two halves, and the rushing defense defined it perfectly.

In the first half, the Rams rattled off 53 yards on the ground only only 13 carries, efficiently moving the ball at 4.2 yards a run. That type of efficiency allowed LA to comfortably pass and attack the 49ers defense and generally disrupt any defensive momentum.

But that changed in the second half by just enough, as the 49ers held the Rams to 4 yards a carry and more importantly, they stiffened up in the biggest moment.

Like this huge stop by Isaiah Oliver:

This defense prides itself on perfection, so 4.0 yards per carry for the game is an OK performance, one that could be improved upon.

But in total, it is a performance you'll gladly take.

49ers Passing Defense

Again, there is a story of two halves for San Francisco. In the first half, Stafford completed 14 of 18 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown. He was not particularly pressured, he was not particularly stressed, and he was dotting up the 49ers secondary. Allowing 7.9 yards per attempt is a recipe for disaster for a defense, especially when the yards come easily. Rookie wide receiver Puka Nacua had 66 yards in the first half itself.

In the second half, with a pass rush that was not getting home and a defense in search of an answer, defensive coordinator Steve Wilks turned to blitzes and lots of them.

Short summary: They worked more often than they did not.

Stafford ended the game having passed the ball 55 times for 307 yards, a paltry 5.6 yards per attempt that showcased how mucked up passing became in the second half. Once Stafford was off-kilter, San Francisco's defense was able to take over.

The interception by Isaiah Oliver was a smart play of a bobble by RB Kyren Williams of the Rams, and then DB Deommodore Lenoir undercut another Stafford pass to ding the Rams QB with two turnovers.

That helped ice the game, but it also masks a lot of the issues the 49ers had on coverage. Sure the Rams peppered them with passes, but their coverage was too soft and simply not good enough at times. They survived this week, will they in the future?

49ers Special Teams and Coaching Grades

49ers Special Teams

Kicker Jake Moody went 3-of-3 on field goals, including a 57-yard try that gave the 49ers the lead for the final time. The kick barely snuck in, but they count all the same.

He has continued to give the Niners confidence that they have found the kicker of the future.

The rest of the special teams played well enough. Punter Mitch Wishnowsky had four punts, two of which were downed inside the 20-yard line, and one that took a bounce into the end zone. Return specialist Ray-Ray McCloud did not have much opportunity to return on punts, and the kickoff coverage showed no holes.

However, Moody kicked the ball out of bounds on a kickoff and seemed to be missing left on every kick. That is unacceptable in any circumstance, and there should never be a moment when the ball goes out of bounds.

It was only one play, but it set in motion the Rams touchdown drive, and in games when field position can determine everything, it was an unfathomable blunder.

49ers Coaching

San Francisco's offensive game plan against the Rams is always an attempt to mitigate how much damage All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald can cause, and to that extent, it worked well.

Donald finished with no sacks and was unable to change the game. It was nothing particularly special, but it got the job done.

Whatever the 49ers had planned on defense did not work very well in the first half, but credit Steve Wilks for finding a solution to get the Rams offense off kilter. That level of adjustability is an important part of any defense's success in the NFL.

The true success of the 49ers coaching was Kyle Shanahan's decision to go for it on 3rd-and-goal with one second left in the first half. It was a decision the Shanahan of a few years ago would likely not have made, but it changed the game entirely.

With Brock Purdy's touchdown on a sneak, the 49ers headed into halftime tied, which changed the complexion of a first half where they had been an inferior team.

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