In the wake of a defeat in which the [Los Angeles Rams did basically whatever they wanted when they had the ball](/san-francisco-49ers-scores-results/152614/49ers-rams-matthew-stafford-puka-davante-adams), the search for reasons to be cheerful for the 49ers might seem as futile as San Francisco’s comeback efforts ultimately proved to be.
But the cause for optimism as the 49ers, now 6-4, aim to ensure what has largely been an impressive season amid a plethora of injuries results in a playoff berth, was easy to see.
Everyone inside and outside of the 49er organization knows this is a football team that will need to be led by the offense with the defense decimated by injuries, and Robert Saleh’s group was woefully ill-equipped to slow down Matthew Stafford and Co. on Sunday.
San Francisco had Fred Warner back in Week 5 when they stunned the Rams on the road. The best linebacker in the game watched from the stands on Sunday, with his absence keenly felt as Stafford shredded the 49er back seven.
A defensive line short of difference-making pass rushers beyond Bryce Huff sacked Stafford just once, while the absence of rookies Mykel Williams and Alfred Collins saw the run defense take a big step back. The 49ers were consistently blown off the ball, with the edge often non-existent on outside runs as Kyren Williams and Blake Corum combined for 129 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
You don’t need to be any kind of football expert to know what when your defense surrenders 42 points, it’s going to be difficult to win.
Yet the 49ers can take heart in offense’s efforts to keep up.
San Francisco’s attack was culpable in putting the 49ers in a 21-0 hole, its first three series ending a punt, a fumble and a turnover on downs.
But the 49ers punted just once thereafter, with the only other drive to not end in a touchdown coming on the interception that essentially clinched the game for the Rams. There was a caveat to that play, in that it came after a frankly bogus illegal shift call on George Kittle wiped out a drive-extending pass interference penalty.
In short, San Francisco moved the ball extremely well after their opening drive punt. Jauan Jennings’ fumble came on the Los Angeles 26-yard-line, and the 49ers reached the 11 of the Rams before the fourth-down stop that led to a turnover on downs.
Those miscues proved crucial in costing the 49ers a shot at a minimum of six points in a game they lost by two scores. They were failures of execution that shouldn’t be ignored, but they don’t render the good things the 49ers did on offense irrelevant, and they were plenty.
Mac Jones was outstanding as he recorded his third 300-yard game of the season. Christian McCaffrey made more history with his efforts as a pass-catching, while Brian Robinson Jr. provided more evidence of his talents as a complement to McCaffrey in the backfield. The offensive line did not allow a sack against a fearsome defensive front, and Kittle had his best game of the season with nine catches for 84 yards and a score.
Against a defense ranked first in EPA per play coming into the week, the 49ers had 393 yards, averaging 6.6 yards per play with Jones finishing with a hugely impressive 0.42 EPA per play.
With a softening schedule over the coming weeks, that bodes extremely well for the attack.
While the Cleveland Browns’ defense will provide a stern test in Week 13, the 49ers can afford to have significant confidence in their ability to move the ball on the Arizona Cardinals in Week 11 and in the games with the Carolina Panthers (Week 12) and Tennessee Titans (Week 15).
Yet there was a familiar lesson for the offense to take from their Week 10 showing.
San Francisco’s offense has typically always moved the ball well under Kyle Shanahan. What Sunday’s defeat did was serve as a reminder of how little room for error the 49ers have with their defense in its current construction.
Said George Kittle after the game:
> “We started the game off with a punt, a fumble, a fourth-down turnover, a touchdown, and a punt. And I’m pretty sure like I said, since I’ve been back, is that our team is going to have to rely on our really good veteran offense to score a lot of points and not turn the ball over. And we didn’t really do that today. And so I think that’s going to be the case moving forward. Our offense has to play at an incredibly high level, we have to score a lot of points, and we have to not turn the ball over.”
The 49ers did score a decent amount of points, but the two turnovers and the failure to convert on fourth down in the red zone ultimately doomed them.
Still, the 49ers can take a great deal of encouragement from their overall effectiveness against a much-vaunted defense, especially with starting quarterback Brock Purdy seemingly nearing a return and the potential for Ricky Pearsall and Brandon Aiyuk to come back into the lineup.
“Brock Purdy is an amazing quarterback and that’s why we paid him so much money,” Kittle added.
”And then whenever we can get Ricky and hopefully at some point Brandon back, like, we have a lot of talent on this offense. And so I thoroughly believe that we can score a ton of points, and I really do also believe that our defense will just get a little better every single week. I truthfully do believe that.
“They’ve just been taking haymakers year-round with all the injuries. But I do. (Defensive coordinator Robert) Saleh is such a good coach that he’s going to bump those guys up. They’re going to get some stops and we just have to continue to score a lot of points and not turn the ball over.”
It will require threading a fine needle in terms of avoiding turnovers but, if the 49ers can successfully do so, they can still achieve something worth celebrating amid very trying circumstances.