SF 49ers: Dissecting the Most Crucial Matchups in the Week 6 Contest vs. Rams
The San Francisco 49ers came away with a tough 22-17 victory last week against the Kansas City Chiefs. The win boosted the 49ers' record to 3-2.
San Francisco will now play the St. Louis Rams, a division rival, on Monday Night Football. The Rams enter this contest with a 1-3 record and starting quarterback Sam Bradford has been lost for the season with a torn ACL.
On paper, this looks like an easy win for the 49ers, but as we all know, the game is not played on paper. Playing at home in front of a national TV audience, the Rams should get a boost from their fans and anything can happen.
The Rams have a tough, physical defense, but the offense is still finding their way. Austin Davis will be starting only the fourth game of his career at quarterback. Although he has played fairly well early in the season, he will be facing a solid and improving San Francisco defense.
Let's take a look at three key matchups that will go a long way to determining who will win this upcoming game.
Rams quarterback Austin Davis against 49er safeties Eric Reid and Antoine Bethea. Davis has completed 97 of his 143 pass attempts, good for a 67.8 completion rate. He has thrown for 1,129 yards and six touchdowns, while giving up three interceptions.
Davis was particularly impressive last week against the Eagles, throwing for 375 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Davis will match wits against 49er safeties Eric Reid and Antoine Bethea. Reid has had a quiet year thus far but that has largely been because opposing quarterbacks are going elsewhere with the ball.
Bethea has settled in nicely as the replacement at strong safety for Donte Whitner. He has started 101 consecutive games and was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his outstanding play against the Eagles a couple weeks ago.
As reported by Taylor Price of 49ers.com, Bethea stressed communication as a key to the improvement of the 49ers defense. Bethea has done a good job in coverage and is second on the team with 24 tackles. In very short order, he has quickly become a leader for the defense.
Look for defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, along with Reid and Bethea, to try to confuse the young quarterback with different looks in the secondary. Bethea and Reid each have one interception on the year. This will be an opportunity for them to get more.
The second matchup to watch is nose tackle Ian Williams against Rams center Scott Wells. After playing in only two games last year due to injury, Williams started the season a bit tentatively. However, Williams has come on strong of late and is a force to be reckoned with.
The Rams will try to run Zac Stacy between the tackles and if Williams can get penetration or occupy multiple blockers, it will free inside linebackers Patrick Willis and Michael Wilhoite to make the tackles.
Stacy is the primary force on the ground for the Rams. In their first four games, Stacy has carried the ball 53 times for 223 yards and a touchdown. In order for the Rams to have the best chance to win on Monday night, Stacy must have a big day.
Stacy gives the Rams offense a good balance between run and pass. However, if he is unable to make an impact, the St. Louis offense will become one dimensional. The play of Williams will go a long way to determining that.
The third key matchup to watch is between Rams right defensive end Robert Quinn and 49ers left tackle Joe Staley. In 2013, Quinn had 19 sacks, was a Pro Bowl selection and First-Team All-Pro.
This year, Quinn is off to a bad start and has yet to collect a sack. He has only nine tackles in the Rams' first four games. He will be looking to break out of his slump and will be fired up to show his talent on Monday Night Football.
Staley will have his hands full against Quinn, who possesses a great combination of size and speed. The 49ers have not done a good job in pass protection this year and if Staley is unable to stop Quinn from wreaking havoc in the 49ers backfield, the offense will struggle.
Staley was also a Pro Bowl selection in 2013, so this is a great matchup of two very good players. Keep a close eye on this battle as it will go a long way to determining the success of the 49ers offense.
All stats courtesy of pro-football-reference.com.
.jpg?w=480 "NFL Combine Football")
.jpg?w=600 "Full Eagles-Cowboys Trade 🤝")
.jpg?w=600 "Brady Reacts to Mendoza Pick")
