Perhaps it was because of desensitisation, but one San Francisco 49ers' return went under the radar on Thursday night during the epic upset of the Los Angeles Rams, and it had a big impact on the game.
With Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Jauan Jennings, and Ricky Pearsall (and so on) missing because of injury, most Niners fans didn't notice the return of cornerback Renardo Green to the lineup after he missed the previous Sunday's debacle loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars with a neck injury.
That meant, with Green out on Sunday, Darrell Luter Jr. and Chase Lucas assumed positions in the starting lineup, and both are fringe roster players at best, not options to start football games. It's not quite Brian Allen (a former one-game 49ers wonder) starting against the Miami Dolphins in 2020, but it doesn't inspire confidence.
However, it was one of the major developments for Week 5's injury report, for a couple of very simple reasons.
Considering the Niners were facing one of the best receiving corps they'll face this year in the Rams' Davante Adams and Puka Nacua, going into Week 5 with either Luter or Lucas could've been disastrous, especially with San Francisco lacking the pass rush to compensate.
Coordinator Robert Saleh's coverage-heavy gameplans since the loss of Nick Bosa are reliant on his two corners playing, frankly, their asses off. And that only truly happens when Green and Lenoir are in the lineup. For as young and inexperienced as Green still is (and he did have a rough start to the season against the Seattle Seahawks), he still looks every inch the rising star.
And it says a lot that no one even questions the idea of him starting games any more after he forced his way into the lineup as a rookie a year ago.
In the midst of a difficult 2024 season, he was one of the biggest highlights, one in particular being his grinding down of wide receiver DK Metcalf in what was then a vital victory over the Seahawks. Green has proven he can match up with the best and scrap away at them.
So, naturally, when he wasn't on the injury report nor the inactive list for this game, a sense of dread went down, and a sense of belief in a potential upset replaced it. Thursday night's game was always going to be about how the defense slowed down Rams head coach Sean McVay's vaunted offense, and in particular, how the Niners took plays away from quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Renardo Green's return from injury had massive impact in 49ers' win over Rams
That still proved challening, as Stafford shook off a slow start to heat up during the game, but Green's impact was seen from the first quarter until the fourth. Mostly lined up against Adams, Green frustrated the receiver to the point of madness, bringing out some surprisingly petulant behaviour from the Rams' playmaker, who spent an awful lot of time campaigning for penalties.
Green had a number of good coverage reps, including the linked one above, and while he only recorded one pass deflection, he was in tight coverage on a number of plays. That was despite Adams reputedly gesturing at his own bench to target him against the second-year defensive back.
Adams still had five catches for 88 yards, leading his team, but three of those came on fourth-quarter and overtime drives where Saleh was playing much softer coverage. Considering that Adams was also targeted a staggering 11 times suggests the 49ers did a good job keeping him quiet, even more so as he didn't get into the end zone.
Green speaks to a truth about the 49ers that no one wants to hear: It's a young defensive unit, and it will make mistakes, but it plays hard and very often executes its assignments, and he's no exception.
He's one of the true rising stars under Saleh's tutelage, and hopefully Green can stay injury free for the remainder of the season, because the Niners are much better with him out there.
Next step? Put some depth behind him.