INGLEWOOD – As injury ravaged as the 49ers and Rams are just two games into this season, you might think only B-listers will walk down Hollywood’s red carpet and into SoFi Stadium on Sunday.
You might be right. But, hey, don’t most docudramas offer intrigue and learning experiences if you can sit through the three-hour show?
The 49ers (1-1) are coming off their first loss since the Super Bowl, and while they were unable to spoil the Minnesota Vikings’ home opener last Sunday, they get a shot at wrecking the winless Rams’ re-opening of SoFi Stadium.
“In 15 years, I’ve seen lot of these situations. You understand no game is promised no matter what the spread is and no matter the injury report says,” left tackle Trent Williams said. “You still have to play football, and it’s a game of inches, so anything can happen.”
Missing from this script will be a who’s-who of offensive heroes. Already without Chrisitan McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel because of calf issues, the 49ers listed tight end George Kittle as doubtful, with both cornerback Charvarius Ward and defensive end Nick Bosa questionable.
The Rams have 11 players already on Injured Reserve, and they are down their top two wide receivers in Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. Coach Sean McVay is 0-2 for the first time in eight seasons, and the franchise last started 0-3 in 2011 while stationed in St. Louis.
Suiting up, however, are the NFL’s most prolific quarterbacks this season in terms of passing yards with the 49ers’ Brock Purdy and the Rams’ Matthew Stafford. Here are five ways they and their supporting casts will dictate Sunday’s outcome.
Here are five ways to get their first division win this season:
1. SCORE RIGHT AWAY
The 49ers failed to produce a touchdown on either opening drive in their games. While a 3-and-out start was an outlier in their 32-point barrage in Week 1 against the Jets, last Sunday’s quickie set the tone for their offensive jumbles in Minnesota’s dome.
Offensively, the 49ers opened last season 5-0 by racing out to early leads in each game, scoring opening-drive touchdowns in four of them while grabbing field-goal points in the other.
Coach Kyle Shanahan’s script sheet literally flipped by season’s end. Their opening drive in three playoff games yielded: a punt, a missed field goal, and a lost fumble. In the three regular-season games prior to that: an interception, a field goal, and an Elijah Mitchell touchdown run, that later result coming in a home loss to the Rams in Week 18 while most starters rested with the No. 1 playoff seed intact.
2. RUN MASON RUN
Too much outside focus is on Brock Purdy and Brandon Aiyuk after their tepid combination through two games – and an offseason-long battle for Aiyuk to command a $30-million annual extension. Aiyuk along won’t fill the play-maker roles vacated by McCaffrey and Samuel.
The 49ers love to run the ball down the Rams’ throat, and Jordan Mason is capable of doing that after 147- and 100-yard starts in McCaffrey’s place, with a touchdown in each game. Mason downplayed whether his vision has improved as a third-year veteran, saying: “I’m just running to an open hole.”
Without Aaron Donald to game plan around, Shanahan should summon Mason to run up the gut behind an offensive line hungry to rebound from last Sunday’s miscues in Minnesota.
Mason can not be a one-man show. Purdy, who entered the offseason looking to enhance his mobility, can also mix deceptive runs and scrambles through the NFL’s 30th-ranked run defense. Sprinkling in rookies Isaac Guerendo and Jacob Cowing would help, too. Patrick Taylor Jr. is down the depth chart but has the hidden potential to make gains in this scheme.
3. D-LINE DOMINANCE
The Rams’ Stafford is viewed by 49ers defenders as the league’s premier pocket passer, so they’re aware he will do all he can to uplift an unproven receiving corps. With Kyren Williams averaging only 2.5 yards per carry and rookie Blake Corum only eight carries (28 yards) into his career, the Rams’ rushing attack shouldn’t be too imposing behind a shabby, injury-strewn line.
The 49ers’ defensive front is thus set up to dominate more than it has in years. Of course, it would help if Bosa wasn’t dealing with a rib issue that limited him in Thursday’s practice. And the 49ers would thrive if Leonard Floyd came alive on the other flank against his former team.
Where the 49ers’ front really can improve is on the interior. Maliek Collins has made a favorable first impression with the 49ers, but Javon Hargrave, Jordan Elliott and Kevin Givens must ratchet up their performances, even if defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen claims of his interior linemen: “I feel great about it.”
4. STOP CELEBRATING DONALD
Up until kickoff, the 49ers can take pleasure in not having to face defensive lineman Aaron Donald, a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year who retired this offseason. Once it’s game time, the 49ers must perceive anyone as a Donald-esque threat, including rookies Jared Verse and Braden Fiske.
“It’s going to be a lot more enjoyable, I can say that,” Williams said. “He’s obviously one of the best defensive players to ever walk this planet. Not having him there does make a difference.”
Rookie right guard Dominick Puni has seen Donald’s impact on old film while preparing for the Rams, and he wishes he could have told friends he went up against “probably the best defensive tackle ever.” That said, Puni has an appreciation for Donald’s replacements, including Fiske and Tyler Davis whom Puni faced in the Senior Bowl. “They get after the ball, and heart of that defense is still their defensive line,” Puni said.
5. REMEMBER THE STAKES
The last time the 49ers won a third straight NFC West title was in 1994. They won something bigger that season, of course. If the 49ers can finally snap a 30-year Lombardi Trophy drought, winning a third straight division title will serve as the first step, all of which illuminates the importance of Sunday’s NFC West opener against the host Los Angeles Rams.
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Yes, the 49ers have won all four previous regular-season stops at SoFi Stadium, where their red-clad fans take over the majority of seats and dub it “Levi’s South,” or the “home dome,” as Aiyuk called it. “When you come out as an away team and just see a sea of red, it’s a very uplifting experience, for sure,” Williams said.
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But by losing 23-17 Sunday in the Minnesota Vikings’ home opener, the 49ers’ confidence should be in check. The reality is they are not in first place for the first time since November 2022. Ahead of them are the Seattle Seahawks (2-0 overall, 0-0 NFC West) and, technically, the Arizona Cardinals (1-1, 1-0).
