The San Francisco 49ers are now 5-0, but they haven’t gotten the respect of a true undefeated team in the NFL. Why? “They’ve played no one,” was a common narrative floating around the 49ers. That changed in Los Angeles.
To be the best you have to beat the best and the 49ers did just that with a 20-7 win against the back-to-back NFC West champs. They didn’t just squeak out a win, they walked into the Los Angeles Coliseum and punched the defending NFC Champions in the mouth.
Rookie Nick Bosa knew the magnitude of the victory.
"This is the win right here," Bosa said. "This is the opportunity we’ve been waiting for, to make a statement in our division. We’re in the driver’s seat now."
Uncle Sherm has a message for all those who doubted the #49ers pic.twitter.com/8g71xyISqi
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame)
October 14, 2019 A win against the Rams without both their starting offensive tackles and fullback validated the 49ers' claim as a true undefeated team. Today’s win stamped the 49ers' arrival as a team on a path to the playoffs.
This was as good as a statement win as it gets. After winning their 5th straight game and third road victory, The 49ers sent a message to the rest of the NFL that they are for real and here to stay.
The Rams had 9 full days to prepare while the 49ers were on a short week, but this game looked reversed. Sean McVay and Jared Goff looked overwhelmed by the 49ers' headliner defense. Goff had a career-low 78 yards passing while the Rams offense went 0-9 on 3rd down conversions.
“That’s pretty awesome,” said George Kittle with a big smile on his face after hearing the 49ers didn’t let the Rams convert a 3rd down attempt. Adding to that the 49ers stopped the Rams on four 4th-down attempts.
The 49ers held the Rams to:7 points (t-2nd fewest in McVay era).165 yards (fewest in McVay era)56 passing yards (fewest in McVay era)10 first downs (fewest in McVay era)0 third-down conversions (fewest in McVay era)
— Kyle Madson (@KyleAMadson)
October 13, 2019 It’s the same story just a different opponent when it comes to the 49ers defense. They held the Rams offense to only 165 yards of total offense. Sacked Goff four times and forced two turnovers. The 49ers defense limited the Rams offense to one of the worst games in the McVay Era.
The 49ers held the Rams to 3.3 yards per play today. That’s the lowest average in Rams franchise history since this has been tracked in 1940 (previous record, 3.4 yards per play in 1960).
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself)
October 14, 2019 After the game, Kittle said “there’s nothing more I love to do than watching our D-line play,”
49ers fans everywhere agree. The LA Coliseum was overrun with 49er red and the players took notice,
"It turned into a home game pretty quickly. It's awesome seeing the Faithful travel like that. I've never seen anything like it." said Jimmy Garoppolo.
George Kittle on all the #49ers fans on LA today:“I love that. Our fans showed up today. You could feel it the entire game.... They made it feel like a home game.” pic.twitter.com/KzEuCHlv7s
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame)
October 13, 2019 The 49ers now have a 3-game lead in the loss column against the Rams. A victory like the 49ers had today leaves naysayers with little ammo to question the team's legitimacy. This officially marked the passing of the torch in the NFC West from the Rams to the 49ers.
