The San Francisco 49ers have yet to prove that a second-half playoff push is in the cards, but their performance on Monday night was a critical step in the right direction.
For the first time in more than a year, San Francisco won a game on home turf, as they unexpectedly crushed the rival Los Angeles Rams, 31-10, in primetime at Levi's Stadium. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan challenged his offense to run the ball 40 times, and they exceeded that number with Jimmy Garoppolo properly controlling the pace and flow.
"Jimmy Garoppolo playing well the past few weeks kind of takes the heat off him and calms down the fanbase a little bit, which is really where most of the pressure was coming from," 49ers reporter Jennifer Lee Chan told After Hours with Amy Lawrence on Tuesday. "You look at how Trey Lance played in the preseason, in Arizona, he's got a lot to learn...
"He's got to be able to think his way, work his way out of the pocket without hurting himself and putting himself in harm's way... He's their quarterback of the future. But they're going to take their time with him. They want him to be ready, and they don't want him to be rushed in... If they have a chance to stay in the running for the postseason, they're going to stick with Jimmy for now."
Garoppolo wasn't asked to do much against the Rams -- the 49ers rushed for 156 yards on 44 carries -- but he made key plays, completing 15 of 19 passes for 182 yards with two touchdowns. San Francisco's opening drive happened to be the longest (11:03) by any team this season, and it ended with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Garoppolo to tight end George Kittle.
The 49ers put the game out of reach early in the fourth quarter. On 4th-and-5 from the Rams' 40-yard line, Garoppolo connected with Deebo Samuel, who broke free from defenders inside the hashmarks and reached the end zone. Although the 49ers' offense looked rejuvenated, their defense delivered a playoff-caliber performance, forcing two turnovers, scoring one touchdown, and limiting Los Angeles to just 278 total yards of offense.
San Francisco (4-5), which sits in third place in the NFC West, will visit the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-7) on Sunday afternoon. According to FiveThirtyEight, the 49ers currently have a 35-percent chance to reach the playoffs.
The entire 49ers conversation between Chan and Lawrence can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow After Hours With Amy Lawrence on Twitter @ALawRadio and @AfterHoursCBS, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.