Five 49ers players to watch in Sunday's game vs. Rams
The 49ers' backs are against the wall after a 2-3 start. They'll need these five players to show up Sunday to beat the Rams.
This is not the team the schedule-makers were expecting when the 49ers were slotted for "Sunday Night Football" for two of the league’s first six weeks of the season.
The injury-bit 49ers are 2-3 and in last place in the NFC West.
The Los Angeles Rams (4-1) come to Levi’s Stadium one game behind the unbeaten Seattle Seahawks in the division.
This is a pivotal game for the 49ers, who begin a tough stretch of games against the resurgent Rams. After this week, the 49ers have consecutive tests at New England and Seattle, vs. Green Bay, at New Orleans and the Rams, and home against Buffalo.
Here are five players who must come up big for the 49ers on Sunday in order for them to avoid a third consecutive loss:
Jimmy Garoppolo said he was ready last Sunday. He was not.
The 49ers will go back to him in this crucial Week 6 matchup, and he must produce in order for his team to have any shot at staying in the NFC West race.
Garoppolo was favoring his bad wheel and not throwing with good mechanics upon his return to the starting lineup against the Miami Dolphins. But as he returns to start another game after being out for two weeks with a high ankle sprain, there are no excuses.
Garoppolo has to turn it around. Quickly. There are no guarantees the 49ers will want Garoppolo back for the 2021 season. Likewise, there is no guarantee they will not want him back.
His production will determine his future with the club, and this game against the Rams’ strong pass defense gives him the opportunity to begin building for a strong final 2 ½ months of the season.
Dre Greenlaw is back as an every-down linebacker, where he spent a lot of his rookie season when Kwon Alexander missed half the season with a torn pectoral.
Greenlaw is a second-year pro who is locked up on a bargain contract for the next two seasons on his rookie deal. Frankly, there has been no drop-off in play whenever Greenlaw has been asked to step in for Alexander.
Now, Greenlaw figures to be in the lineup for an extended period, as Alexander sustained a high ankle sprain in the 49ers’ Week 5 loss to the Dolphins.
The Rams do not have a great running game with Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown as the lead backs. Greenlaw will play a big role in limiting the Rams’ ground attack on early downs, while also serving a key role while covering tight ends Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett
The Rams acquired cornerback Jalen Ramsey last year and signed him to a five-year, $105 million extension last month. Ramsey is getting paid a lot of money to be the Rams’ best defender -- other than their amazing defensive tackle with two first names.
Could Ramsey see more action matched up against Kittle? It’s possible, but the 49ers hope to keep the Rams honest with wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk on the outside.
Kittle had a heart-to-heart phone conversation with Joe Staley after the club’s embarrassing loss to the Dolphins. Staley, in his first year of retirement, offered some advice on leadership.
“I talked to him after the last game and that’s one thing he told me," Kittle said of his talk with Kittle. " ‘Look, you have to hold people accountable and you have to tell them that you hold them to the highest standard because that’s what we’ve done for the last three years.' “
The 49ers are a better team when Kittle gets a lot of touches. That’s a demand he must make of coach Kyle Shanahan and Garoppolo.
Starting cornerbacks Richard Sherman (calf) and Emmanuel Moseley (concussion) have been out. Moseley is expected back this week. Ahkello Witherspoon has not been consistent and reliable during his four seasons with the club.
Suddenly, Verrett is the 49ers’ top cornerback and entrusted with matching up with the receiver on the wide side of the field.
“He's gotten better every single day,” 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said of Verrett. “He's got such a great mindset to him. There's a reason why he was an all-pro in his earlier years before all the injury luck hit him, but his film study, his practice habits, his attention to detail, all of it is fantastic.”
With so many other issues on the 49ers’ defense, Verrett has to be a player the 49ers can count on to take care of business without a lot of help. That task will not be easy, as Rams quarterback Jared Goff is off to a hot start.
Verrett, making his fourth consecutive start, will face the best pair of receivers the 49ers have gone up against this season: Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp, both of whom are averaging 13.0 yards per reception with two touchdowns apiece.
Blocking Aaron Donald is not a one-man job. It takes a village.
Well, it takes 11 people on offense doing the right things consistently throughout a game. It certainly includes the quarterback being decisive, the receivers getting open quickly, and the running backs helping out with pass-protection while hitting the right holes in the run game.
And, of course, it includes the offensive line being on the same page from start to finish.
Donald had his way last week against Washington left guard Wes Martin, who surrendered three sacks. Donald moves around on the Ram’s defensive front, but Tomlinson likely will be tested more than any of the 49ers’ offensive linemen in this game.
This has not been a smooth season for the 49ers’ O-line. Left tackle Trent Williams and Tomlinson have experienced an unacceptable number of plays when they have not been on the same page. They cannot afford any mental miscues on Sunday.
Donald might be the best non-quarterback in the NFL. He had a career-high 20.5 sacks in 2018, and he appears heading toward similar numbers this year with 7.5 sacks in five games. Tomlinson must be at the top of his game to prevent Donald from wrecking this game for the 49ers’ offense.
