If one was to ask an observant San Francisco 49ers fan whether or not the team's offensive line was good or not, the answer would probably lean pretty far toward the negative.
However, at least according to Pro Football Focus' analytics heading into Week 5's Thursday Night Football showdown between the Niners and Los Angeles Rams, head coach Kyle Shanahan's O-line is actually, well... pretty good.
PFF ranked San Francisco's O-line sixth best after four weeks (yes, you read that correctly).
This, despite the 49ers boasting one of the NFL's worst rushing offenses while being forced to start a rookie seventh-round left guard, Connor Colby, and not getting All-Pro kind of play from future Hall of Fame left tackle Trent Williams.
Sadly, LA might fully expose the truth behind the Niners O-line in prime time.
Rams pass rush may dominate over-ranked 49ers O-line
San Francisco's lack of rushing prowess has forced head coach Kyle Shanahan to rely more on passing, which opens up the strong possibility of Los Angeles' crop of pass-rushers to pin their ears back and go after backup quarterback Mac Jones, who's getting the start in place of the injured Brock Purdy (toe).
Jones, far less mobile than Purdy, has taken four sacks in two starts compared to Purdy's two sacks in identical starts, which figures to be a factor.
Yet, while PFF is bullish on the 49ers O-line, the football media outlet is boastful of the Rams' pass rush, ranking it No. 1 in the league after helping defeat the Indianapolis Colts before Week 5, saying:
"The Rams narrowly edged out the Lions for the top defensive line performance of the week, consistently harassing [Colts] quarterback Daniel Jones from start to finish. Jared Verse led the charge with a dominant 93.1 pass-rush grade, while Kobie Turner wasn’t far behind at 87.0. Verse posted an elite 32.3% pass-rush win rate, continuing to overwhelm opposing offensive linemen. Byron Young paced the group with seven total pressures."
This doesn't bode well for Williams, Colby and Co.
Perhaps the Niners' upfront blockers will surprise on a national stage, keeping LA stars like Verse and Young from making a significant impact against Mac Jones and Co.
Or, just as reasonably, Los Angeles' potent pass rush fully exposes some hard truths about San Francisco's O-line that have largely gone overlooked over the first quarter of the season.
The latter seems much more likely, unfortunately.