49ers win over Rams gave them answers to their two biggest questions
SANTA CLARA — The San Francisco 49ers regrouped Wednesday for their first practice since returning home from Australia, and they packed more than a division win into their luggage.They brought home answers to two of their biggest questions.Forget the health concerns surrounding their biggest stars — Kyle Shanahan knows he can count on Brock Purdy to run the offense, Christian McCaffrey to do big things anytime he gets the ball, Fred Warner to fly around the defense, Nick Bosa to get into the backfield and so on.Of course, they all lived up to that billing and more in the 27-7 Week 1 win over the Rams.But what might explain the margin more than anything, what turned an evenly matched rivalry game into an epic rout, were wins in two areas the 49ers never could have seen coming:On both sides of the trenches.Just think about where the Niners are now compared to their state the week before kickoff. They had lost two defensive linemen — Alfred Collins and Sam Okuayinonu — and were so short at the position that they had to fly in help from more than 8,000 miles away.They had tried out five candidates to start at left guard and had yet to declare a winner.On both counts, the concerns felt less dire when the team took the practice field Wednesday.Not only was the 49ers’ pass rush able to put constant pressure on Matthew Stafford, it was another story for the Rams’ defensive front coming after Brock Purdy.Neither team recorded a sack, but the 49ers were able to generate pressure on 37.5% of the Rams’ dropbacks, compared to only seven of Purdy’s 36 attempts (19%) coming under duress.Of course, Trent Williams won his matchups with a less-than-100% Myles Garrett.But the unsettled interior of the 49ers’ offensive line took care of business, too.Connor Colby played all 65 snaps at left guard and gave Shanahan no reason to rotate in rookie Carver Willis, the runner-up in the competition.
According to Pro Football Focus, both of Christian McCaffrey’s biggest ga...