The 49ers’ defense might not have lit up the stat sheet in their 30-23 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, but they clearly affected the game, according to their PFF grades.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and his offense appeared unstoppable in the first half of the contest, scoring on each of their three possessions. The 49ers’ defense made adjustments in the second half and caused two turnovers that eventually sealed the win for the “away team.”
Nick Bosa still has yet to record a sack since signing a lucrative extension with the team, but he still received the highest grades on defense, recording five total pressures — three hits and two hurries.
Fred Warner was the only 49ers defender to actually get past the Rams’ offensive line to bring Stafford to the ground. The All-Pro linebacker also recorded a very productive eight total tackles — six solo, and one run stop.
The Rams’ game plan was to attack using a short game, not allowing the defensive line to get to their quarterback. Warner was also effective in coverage allowing three catches on five targets for only 24 yards.
On the other side of the ball, the 49ers’ offensive line was much improved on Sunday allowing only six total pressures on quarterback Brock Purdy after allowing 15 total pressures in their Week 1 performance. The 49ers quarterback technically was sacked one time in Los Angeles, but PFF did not attribute any one player as responsible.
Here are the highlights of the 49ers’ Week 2 PFF grades:
QB Brock Purdy — 65.1
The 49ers quarterback struggled on his deep passes on Sunday but was much more accurate on intermediate throws. Purdy completed all four of his attempts for 67 yards on throws 10-19 yards downfield.
Those mid-range throws have been Purdy’s sweet spot throughout two weeks, having completed 13 of his 14 attempts for 209 yards, one touchdown and a 142.6 passer rating.
RB Christian McCaffrey – 65.5
The running back played 100 percent of the 49ers’ 57 offensive plays carrying the ball 20 times for 116 yards and one touchdown. The All-Pro ball carrier also caught all three of his targets for 19 yards.
Maybe the most impressive aspect of McCaffrey’s statistics was that 99 of his 116 rushing yards came after contact. The ball carrier forced seven missed tackles rushing on Sunday raising his season total to 12 which leads the NFL.
WR Deebo Samuel – 71.1
The “wide-back” was back to his ball-carrying ways in Los Angeles registering five carries for 38 yards and a rushing touchdown. Samuel also caught six of his nine targets for 63 yards, three of which went for first downs.
Offensive line:
LT Trent Williams — 83.4 overall, 88.4 pass blocking
LG Aaron Banks — 55.2 overall, 86.7 pass blocking
C Jake Brendel — 63.8 overall, 66.9 pass blocking (one hurry)
RG Spencer Burford — 27.8 overall, 0.0 pass blocking (three hurries)
RT Colton McKivitz — 58.1 overall, 61.0 pass blocking (one hit)
RB Christian McCaffrey was responsible for one hurry
The 49ers’ defense might have technically only recorded one quarterback sack, but they racked up a whopping 27 pressures – one sack, five hits and 21 hurries on Stafford through the 60-minute contest.
The Rams’ game plan was for Stafford to get the ball out quickly to neutralize the 49ers’ formidable defensive line, which was effective.
Defensive line:
Nick Bosa: 92.1 overall grade – three hits, two hurries, one run stop
Javon Hargrave: 68.7 overall grade – five hurries, one run stop
Javon Kinlaw: 83.8 overall grade (second highest of his career) – four hurries, one batted pass
Kevin Givens: 67.2 overall grade – one hit, one hurry
Drake Jackson: 71.5 overall grade – three hurries, one run stop
Clelin Ferrell: 48.6 overall grade – one hit, one hurry
Kerry Hyder: 52.7 overall grade – one hurry
Arik Armstead: 67.4 overall grade – one hurry, two run stops
Fred Warner was responsible for the only quarterback sack of the day
Pass coverage:
CB Isaiah Oliver: 75.4 coverage grade, allowed five catches on six attempts but only for 29 yards and recorded an interception
S Tashaun Gipson: 71.2 coverage score, no catches allowed on one attempt
CB Charvarius Ward: 68.5 coverage score, allowed 10 catches on 11 attempts for 88 yards, one forced incomplete, one pass breakup
LB Dre Greenlaw: 68.1 coverage score, allowed three catches on seven attempts for 23 yards
LB Fred Warner: 67.0 coverage score, allowed three catches on five attempts for 24 yards
CB Ambry Thomas: 59.5 coverage score, allowed four catches on four attempts for 31 yards
S Talanoa Hufanga: 54.0 coverage score, allowed two catches on four attempts for 27 yards
CB Deommodore Lenoir: 46.3 coverage score, allowed seven catches on 11 attempts for 85 yards, one interception
Odds and ends:
Pressure on Stafford:
The Rams quarterback was blitzed on only two of his 20 dropbacks in the first half or 10 percent, and under pressure four dropbacks or 20 percent. Stafford completed 14 of his 18 attempts for 183 yards, 7.9 yards per attempt, one touchdown and a 118.3 passer rating.
Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks dialed up the pressure in the second half, blitzing on 32.5 percent of Stafford’s dropbacks and getting pressure on 45 percent. Stafford’s production dropped significantly completing only 20 of his 37 attempts for 164 yards, two interceptions, a 4.4 yard-per-attempt average and a 43.1 rating.
When under pressure, over the course of the entire game, Stafford only completed seven of his 20 attempts for 60 yards, one interception and a 22.9 rating.
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