The San Francisco 49ers will face a challenging game on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Rams, a strong team. The 49ers and Rams are arguably the top two teams in the NFC West, despite how well the Seattle Seahawks have played in the early stages of the year. All three teams sit at 3-1, meaning this will be a massive game for both sides.
Unfortunately for the 49ers, the injuries have already started to pile up for them in the early stages of the campaign. The 49ers must fix their roster through trades, improved health, and other moves to become the team they aspire to be.
49ers Earn Praise From Rams’ Matthew Stafford
Thursday night won’t be an opportunity for them to do that, and it sounds like quarterback Matthew Stafford understands that. Despite Stafford knowing how many injuries the 49ers have dealt with, he had nothing but praise to say about what Kyle Shanahan and San Francisco do ahead of this big matchup.
âTheyâre doing a heck of a job. Had some injuries early in the season, obviously. [Nick] Bosa was a big one. [Brandon] Aiyuk has been dealing with some stuff since the last season. So theyâve overcome a lot. Their starting quarterback was out for a while. â¦Thatâs what Shanahan does though. He is a heck of a football coach. I think theyâre a really well-rounded football team, always have been.Â
“When we play them itâs a bare knuckles physical fight. Theyâre gonna try to run the ball right at you, play action it over the top, and on defense, theyâre gonna line up, know exactly what theyâre in and just try to out physical you. So itâs a big challenge for us, but a lot of credit to them because theyâve done a heck of a job with some injuries along the way early on,â Stafford said on âSiriusXM NFL Radio.â
Can the 49ers Replace Nick Bosa?
Speaking of Nick Bosa, given Stafford’s shoutout to the all-world edge, who suffered another knee injury, Shanahan admitted that the team wasn’t able to play as aggressively as it typically does. He said that they hadn’t blitzed a ton in their loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars, which could play a factor in the Rams’ game.
âWe didnât blitz a ton in the game. When we did, there was pressure and he got rid of it. I would love to have gotten more on him, but I thought they did a good job of getting rid of it quick and when they didnât I thought we had four-man rushes where they were chipping and had double teams, so depend a little bit more on coverage that way. Always want to get more pass rush, but wasnât a huge concern of that game,â he said, per 49ersWebZone.
Regarding Brock Purdy, it remains uncertain if he’ll play on Thursday night. Reports indicated on Tuesday that he was set to be listed as questionable. According to John Lynch, the San Francisco 49ers general manager, he believes Purdy is doing fine, but there are questions about whether he’ll be ready to go because it’s a short week.Â
“We will take every precaution to make sure Brock’s all right,” Lynch said, per The Athletic. “I think he is. Now it’s just a matter of, can he turn it around on a short week?”
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