The Los Angeles Rams earned their first one over an NFC opponent last week, and have a chance to make it two against the evil 49ers. San Francisco stunned the Rams at SoFi Stadium in overtime last month. Can Los Angeles avoid the season sweep by their mortal enemy?
With the rematch this weekend, I once again interviewed Nicholas McGee from Niners Nation to get the inside scoop on Kyle Shanahan’s COY prospects, how the 49ers’ coaching staff has made Mac Jones look like a serviceable NFL starter following a rough end to his Patriots tenure and more.
Q – Backup quarterback Mac Jones has filled in nicely for Brock Purdy. Jones is 5-2 as a starter with the 49ers and has a 10-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio. What has the coaching staff done to help unlock his potential as an NFL starter, and how sustainable is his growth as a QB long-term?
A – In truth, the 49ers have largely stuck to the classic Shanahan offense, for which Jones has always been an excellent fit. As they did against the Rams back in Week 5, the 49ers have centered their passing game around attacking underneath and intermediate areas, trusting Jones to make the right throws with his speed as a processor. For the most part, he has delivered, consistently delivering accurately and with anticipation on throws over the middle of the field.
One thing that has stood out is how well the 49ers have done at creating easy answers for Jones through the use of motion and route distribution, utilizing such tools to consistently get Christian McCaffrey into open space out of the backfield. There have been some wow throws from Jones, but the easy buttons have regularly been there thanks to some of the staple tricks in the Shanahan bag.
Jones has also unsurprisingly thrived on play-action, which was particularly effective last week against the New York Giants as the 49ers produced their best rushing performance of the season. With Purdy under center, the 49ers have relied more on pure dropback concepts and his ability to push the ball downfield and create outside of structure. The offense with Jones is more vintage Shanahan.
There’s nothing to indicate Jones’ development as a quarterback can’t be sustainable long term. He’s in the perfect spot with the 49ers and is contracted for one more year after this season. His performances this year could make him a popular target on the trade market, but any team considering a move for him would need to understand his strengths and weaknesses. The 49ers haven’t asked Jones to be something he isn’t, and that’s been critical to his success. For Jones to ascend outside of San Francisco a similar ecosystem and offense would likely need to be in place for the team acquiring him.
Q – Despite all the injuries, head coach Kyle Shanahan has managed to keep the ship afloat in San Francisco, with the 49ers sitting at 6-3 and in the thick of the NFC playoff picture. What do you expect from Shanahan’s squad the rest of the season, and what do you think about his odds for winning Coach of the Year?
A – I would give him Coach of the Year right now, and that’s taking into account the exceptional jobs being done by Shane Steichen and Mike Vrabel in Indianapolis and New England. I think he’ll once again miss out, but this is undoubtedly his finest coaching job.
With the games they have left and with the likes of Ricky Pearsall, Bryce Huff and, hopefully, Brandon Aiyuk set to return, I expect the 49ers to do enough to claim a Wild Card spot. They’ll likely need to rely on their stars on offense to get them there, but there have been signs of encouragement on defense even amid the injury adversity. A deep playoff run figures to be beyond the 49ers, but this team’s season deserves to at least end in the Wild Card round.
Q – All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner was lost for the season in a loss to the Buccaneers in October, this coming after the defense had already lost Nick Bosa for the year. Who has stepped up in Warner’s absence?
A – Former seventh-round pick Tatum Bethune stepped into Warner’s middle linebacker role and is wearing the green dot on defense. He’s had his ups and downs since being thrust into that spot and the defeat to the Houston Texans in Week 8 was a particularly tough one for him.
But Bethune and WILL linebacker Dee Winters were excellent last week against the Giants. Bethune was everywhere, registering 16 combined tackles and a pass breakup. He’s a long way from being Fred Warner, but you sense the role isn’t too big for him as a second-year player and he certainly has the athletic traits to continue to excel.
Facing the play-caller and quarterback combination of Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford promises to be his biggest challenge yet, but it’s undoubtedly one he will embrace.
Q – In our last Q&A, you asked Rams fans about one area of weakness that they were concerned about. What would you say is the Niners’ main weakness entering the rematch?
A – So much depends on how Bryce Huff looks coming off his recent injury, but I think right now it has to be the defensive line. The addition of Keion White in a pre-deadline trade will help, but the hits on the D-Line have been too many, with the loss of Mykel Williams for the season exacerbating the issues up front.
The frustrating thing is the 49er D-Line fixed its biggest problem from last season, and is now a good run stopping group, but the injuries have left it largely ineffective as a pass-rushing unit.
San Francisco’s offensive line was overwhelmed by Houston a couple of weeks back and has for so long been regarded as the main weakness. However, that group has improved overall this season and looked much stronger for Spencer Burford slotting it at left guard against New York, with the 49ers bullying the Giants in the run game and holding up well against a talented group of pass rushers.
It’s rare to be able to say this during the Shanahan era, but right now the O-Line is the stronger of the side of the trenches for San Francisco, and figuring out ways to engineer pressure of Stafford looks likely to be the 49ers’ biggest issue in this one.
Q – What is your final score prediction for this game?
A – It took everything the 49ers had to stun the Rams in LA back in Week 5, and that was with Fred Warner still on the defense.
I expect another admirable effort here, but I don’t think it’ll be quite enough. I think the Rams win it, 26-20.
