This battle of two divisional rivals and two defensive powerhouses ended up with one of them not being able to score a single point. Both of these teams have relied upon their defenses to win some games for them in the past couple of seasons, and it’s looking like that is going to be the case this season as well.
NaVorro Bowman was spectacular tackling everybody all over the place and dominating like he used to do earlier in his career when he was an All-Pro. Rams just couldn’t contain this man. This 49ers defense showed some promise under new defensive coordinator Jim O’Neal, but their defense will be put to the test next week when they play against the Carolina Panthers and NFL’s reigning MVP Cam Newton.
Everybody expected that coach Fisher would feature Todd Gurley in his offense while Case Keenum was there to try to game manage and apparently the 49ers were prepared for that as they focused on Rams’ running back while Keenum did not even pass for more than 150 yards. He also failed to complete 50% of his passes.
The same can be said for San Francisco’s plans on the offensive side of the ball. They featured Carlos Hyde on offense while Gabbert was trying not to make a mistake and put his team in a bad position. He went 22/35 for 170 yards and 1 TD and no picks.
This is a good start for San Francisco and the 49ers for sure needed one. It will be tough for them next week against the Panthers, but that’s another opportunity for their defense to show that they are for real and that we can consider them to be a serious Playoff contender in this 2016 campaign.
