Studs and duds from Rams’ 31-10 loss to 49ers
There are a lot of really good players on the Rams’ roster, but against the 49ers on Monday night, only a couple of them played the way they’re expected to. It’s a big reason the Rams were blown out 31-10 on the road, losing to a 49ers team that came into this week with a 3-5 record.
Jalen Ramsey and Aaron Donald did what they could to help the Rams in this one, but games aren’t won by two players in the NFL. And against the 49ers, there weren’t nearly enough quality performances from their players in order to even keep this one competitive.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that there were far more duds than studs this week, with only a pair of defenders earning recognition for positive contributions.
Stud: Jalen Ramsey
Ramsey was one of the few bright spots on the entire team Monday night. Unfortunately, the Rams didn’t use him to their advantage because seemingly every time the 49ers made a big play or converted on third down, Ramsey was covering someone else. Yet he still managed to break up two passes and make a tackle for a loss, with another that didn’t count due to offsetting penalties.
Stud: Aaron Donald
Donald did what he could to disrupt what the 49ers were trying to accomplish on offense. He made eight total tackles with two of those coming in the backfield, also slipping through the offensive line a handful of times to reroute the run and disrupt things. It obviously wasn’t enough to help the Rams win or even keep things competitive, but he wasn’t the reason they lost to the 49ers, that’s for sure.
Dud: Troy Reeder
Reeder has always struggled in coverage and he got exposed a couple of times, once by George Kittle on a key third down in the first half. He did make a nice tackle for a loss in the third quarter, knifing through the line for a stop, but Reeder has been a weakness in coverage and his tackling must improve.
Dud: Robert Rochell
Rochell was in coverage on two of the 49ers’ third-down conversions in the second quarter, allowing a 20-yard catch to Deebo Samuel on third-and-7 and then a 21-yarder to Brandon Aiyuk on second-and-8. The on the next play, he missed a tackle on Samuel’s 8-yard touchdown run, failing to contain him on the outside. The rookie was forced to play more with Dont’e Deayon inactive.
Dud: Matthew Stafford
For the second week in a row, Stafford was far from sharp. He threw two interceptions again, though the second was completely on Tyler Higbee. There were also two other passes that very easily could’ve been picked off, both of which were intended for Ben Skowronek. He can’t blame the offensive line for this performance, either, because the protection was better than it was last week against the Titans. Stafford just wasn’t seeing the field well and struggled with his accuracy.
Dud: Tyler Higbee
Yes, Higbee scored a touchdown, but he also had two drops that were as costly as any plays in this game. The first came on a screen pass and resulted in a pick-six for Jimmie Ward, putting the 49ers up 14-0 in the first quarter. Then he dropped another pass at the end of the third quarter, coming wide open in the flat on what undoubtedly would’ve been just the Rams’ second conversion of the game. It went right through his arms and fell to the turf, causing the Rams to go three-and-out for the second straight time.
Dud: Johnny Hekker
It didn’t matter much in this game, but Hekker was not very good in this one. He punted three times for a total of 124 yards, his longest going for 44 yards – and it’s not because he was punting to short fields. Hekker had a 38-yard punt that put the 49ers near midfield, failing to pin them deep in their own zone. He’s not to blame for the failed fake punt, but there was no pop in his punts at all.
Duds: Sean McVay and Raheem Morris
Both coaches deserve a great deal of the blame for this loss. McVay’s fake field goal call was embarrassingly bad in that situation, and his play-calling out of the halftime break did nothing to get the Rams on track: a pass to Darrell Henderson Jr., a run, and a slant to Henderson. Quick three-and-out.
Morris did nothing to put the Rams in a position to win this game. He rarely had Ramsey on Samuel or Kittle in key spots, putting guys like David Long Jr., Troy Reeder and Leonard Floyd in coverage instead. And despite knowing the 49ers were going to run the ball time after time, Morris’ group had no answer whatsoever.
Dud: Van Jefferson
Jefferson made one nice grab on a deep crosser, but he failed to step up in an elevated role with Robert Woods out. He dropped a pass over the middle that would’ve gone for a big gain in the fourth quarter, and later on, he had a sure touchdown pass go off his hands in the end zone despite being open. This was not a good performance from the second-year receiver.
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