Los Angeles Rams vs San Francisco 49ers: Report card not so kind to backups

Quarterbacks

Sean Mannion actually performed better than I thought he would. Even though he had a handful of inaccurate passes, he wasn’t the reason the offense couldn’t move the ball effectively. Mannion had at least five or six nice passes (some that would of went for very large gains) dropped - from a bevy of receivers. Mannion also had a dime along the left sideline right before halftime to WR Mike Thomas that got the Rams three points. His low point of the day was a near interception.

Running Backs

The running backs were probably the class of the Rams skill players on offense on Sunday. Starter Malcolm Brown didn’t have much help, though he ended the day with a 14-54 line. Tavon Austin added 24 rushing yards, and Lance Dunbar added 20 of his own, as well as the groups lone touchdown.

Wide Receivers

Drops. That seemed to be the theme from this group, as well as the TE’s. The top dog here was Mike Thomas who had 3-75 in the game, with a great vertical down the left sideline right before half that he caught (not really) which ultimately netted the Rams points. Pharoh Cooper had a 2-30 line though he had a drop or two. Josh Reynolds also chipped in with 2-16. Lastly, everybody’s favorite #11, was a non-factor in the passing game, though he did have a drop as well.

Tight Ends

Gerald Everett had a very, very rough game, to put it nicely. With multiple drops (4 or so), a fumble, and a running into the punter penalty that extended a drive for the 49ers, he had a day to forget. Hopefully he got it out of him just in time for the playoffs. Pretty much nothing else happened from the TE group, outside of two catches for 10 yards from Derek Carrier.

Offensive Line

The Rams averaged 3.9 YPC with 102 total rushing yards on the day, and allowed three sacks on Sean Mannion. Not a terrible day in the office, but not inspiring either.

Defensive Line

Literally nobody stood out from this group. They were continuously being gashed against the run and Jimmy Garoppolo was not sacked once. The depth needs to get sorted out.

Linebackers

Bryce Hager was second on the team with four tackles, and also had forced fumble and fumble recovery. He had a solid showing. His running mate in Cory Littleton showed flashes of solid play, mixed with struggles in coverage, which has sort of become a theme since taking over for the injured Mark Barron. The OLB’s were invisible.

Defensive Backs

The DB’s weren’t giving Jimmy G any trouble either, sans one player, CB Kevin Peterson. Peterson had a terrific game with two interceptions and another pass breakup on 3rd down, effectively ending a drive. Peterson may garner more playing time with such a strong performance, though the remainder of the group was very monotone throughout the game.

Special Teams

Was getting rid of the jitters all that Sam Ficken needed to get used to the NFL game? Well, we won’t know for sure until he gets more playing time, but he had a good performance. Sure, he wasn’t kicking from 55-yards every play, but going 2/2 on FG’s and 1/1 on XP’s will inspire confidence in himself and in the coaching staff/team.

Coaching

Take this game with the largest grain of salt you can find. The Rams effectively benched everybody, and their 2nd stringers simply couldn’t claw the 49ers enough to win. The real test starts this week.