In week 3 of the NFL season the San Francisco 49ers traveled to LA to take on their division rivals, the Rams.  The Niners had won 5 straight regular season games at Levis South (not counting the meaningless game to close out last season when no one played).  This year the streak came to an end as the Red and Gold blew a 14 point lead for the first time since 2018 and fell to the Rams 27-24.  Let’s see what went wrong, and if anything went right for the Niners. 

First off, we have to begin this week as we did last week and talk about injuries.  With CMC already on the IR, the Niners lost two more of their offensive weapons with Kittle and Deebo missing this game.  Missing CMC is one thing as the Niners have a very capable back up in Jordan Mason.  Well, same thing basically goes for Deebo with 3^rd and Jauan ready to step in.  The problem is that with Jennings having to step into a starting role, there is only young inexperienced guys behind him to take his place.  This week Ronnie Bell got the most opportunities and well, He failed miserably.  He had two terrible drops in the game (I had him for 3 but whatever), including the biggest play of the game.  At this point I do not now how he can stay above the rookies on the depth chart.  And that’s assuming he doesn’t end up on the waiver wire.  It’s not just this game, last season was more of the same and he clearly isn’t improving. 

Replacing Kittle, well, that’s a lot harder.  The Niners actually have a capable TE in Saubert to back up Kittle but he’s no George Kittle.  This is especially true in the running game.  Mason looked good again.  Still running through arm tackles and bursting through the line of scrimmage, but he only managed 77 yards.  Now the Niners spent a lot of time in this game chasing the sticks, so they did not run nearly as much as they would have liked to but the 4.1 yards per carry is by far his lowest this season and it’s no coincidence that it happens in a game in which Kittle does not play.  Isaac Guerendo was Mason’s back up in this one and he looked pretty average on his 5 carries.  Deebo is going to miss another week, hopefully Kittle can get back on the field next week.  Although, they really shouldn’t need him. 

As far as the passing game goes, somethings looked really good, some things not so much.  Purdy looked good this week.  He completed 73% of his passes and that’s with 6 (SIX!) drops.  He made a lot of plays with his feet in this one, including a couple that, had they been made by Patrick Mahomes, would lead off every highlight show in the land.  He did have another fumble however that was because McKivits is a freaking turnstile at right tackle.  Seriously, he is awful.  Not quite Ronnie Bell awful, but really bad.  I really wish the Niners would have traded up in the draft to take one of the big tackles coming out this year.  He could have played on the right side and been groomed to take over if Trent Williams ever actually retires. 

Aside from McKivits, I thought the offensive line played well again this week.  Purdy had a ton of time to go through his reads and find open receivers.  Even the announcers were joking that he could brew pots of coffee or grill a steak he had so much time. He was rushed on some plays, they were not perfect.  But aside from plays where McKivits blew his block, I thought they did a nice job.

I already talked about Bell and the only other two wide receivers who did anything were Brandon Aiyuk and Jennings.  Aiyuk had an OK game with 5 catches for 48 yards but he also dropped two more balls that he usually catches.  The year Deebo held out, he never really recovered.  We have to hope Aiyuk can keep getting better as the season moves along. 

Then there was Jauan Jennings.  Most people will see this as some sort of coming out party for Jauan but 49er fans already knew what he was capable of.  He got moved into Deebo’s spot and took full advantage of it.  11 catches, 175 yards, and 3 TDs.  Them Jerry Rice numbers.  His best play wasn’t one of the TDs but a catch where he went up over the defenders back and ripped the ball away from him from behind.  It’s too bad this break out performance was wasted.  It will be interesting to see how teams defend him in the future, even after Deebo returns to the lineup. 

The other side of the ball wasn’t quite as good as the offense.  The Niners run defense has left a lot to be desired so far this season.  They didn’t give up a ton of yards in this one and no real big runs but they just never really stuffed the run.  It’s a constant 4 or 5 yards on every carry that just keeps the chains moving.  They are always in 3^rd and short and they can’t get off the field.  They need to do better on early rushing downs to help their 3^rd down rate. 

The pass defense was really good in this game except for the big play at the end that gave the Rams the win.  They were able to get a lot of pressure on Stafford, sacking him 3 times and forcing an intentional grounding.  Their coverage was good as well.  The biggest problem on defense might have been that no one made any big plays.  They had zero turnovers and on the big downs, they couldn’t make a play for most of the game.  They also keep having problems when they use a third linebacker next to Warner and Flannigan-Fowls.  None of their other linebackers can cover anyone.  With Hufanga making his return in this game, I think it may be time to start playing three safeties at the same time.  Putting Odom or Mustapha out there to cover tight ends or slot guys, while still being able to defend the run, is a much better choice than the other linebackers. 

That brings us to the Special Teams.  Special teams, special teams, special teams.  What did I tell you in my Niners Preview?  They just cost the 49ers game after game.  It was a trifecta in this one.  First they fell for a fake punt when the Rams were desperate and it was obvious one could be coming (the Rams love to fake punts even since Hekker left).  Then they missed a field goal that would have pretty much sealed the game.  And then, to top it all off, they give up a big punt return to set up the game winning drive when pinning them back probably would have led to overtime.  It’s so tough because if they just make the right play on any one of these, they most likely win the game.  But when you screw up all three, it really puts you behind the eight ball and bails the other team out.  You really cannot win a championship if your special teams are going to be as bad as they have been for the 49ers so far this season.  They must get them figured out. 

Some quick hitters…

–There were sooo many flags in this game. On both sides. All game long. At least none of them were illegal formation penalties

–Every kick off in this one was kicked into the endzone with no one even attempting a return. I wonder if teams across the league have caught onto this yet or if they are dumb enough to try and pin guys behind the 30.

–One of the Rams O-linemen was wearing a Guardian Cap over his helmet. I would have never noticed if they didn’t show him up close. I don’t know why all offensive and defensive linemen don’t wear them.

–As expected, it was a sea of red in the stands at Sofi. The announcers said it was like 60 to 65 percent but to me it looked like at least 80 or 85 percent. It’s great when they are on the road and Juszczyk gets the ball and there is a very loud “JUICE!” cheer from the fans.

–Jordan Mason’s best run went for zero yards. On one play he was met in the backfield by three defenders and broke three tackles to turn what should have been a loss into a no gain. Play like that are the stuff I look for in a running back. Anyone can blast through a big hole in the line but what can you do when things break down?

Well, the Niners fell to 1-2 but it’s still very early.  Next week they have a must win home game against the Patriots.  But I will tell you what, if the Pats can get 4 or 5 yards every time they hand the ball off, it’s going to be a tight game.