San Francisco 49ers vs. St. Louis Rams: Full Report Card Grades for St. Louis
The St. Louis Rams (1-4) have suffered a 31-17 loss at the hand of the San Francisco 49ers (4-2). It was St. Louis' third consecutive loss and its first against an NFC West rival.
The game was eerily similar to the disasterous performance against the Dallas Cowboys during the Rams' last home game. St. Louis took a comfortable early lead (14-0), gave up a momentum-killing play before half (Brandon Lloyd touchdown) and relinquished the lead in the third quarter. It was total deja vu.
St. Louis, as a whole, has been completely incapable of producing two good halves in a single game. The Rams had a great first half against San Francisco, a great second half at Philadelphia and a great first half against Dallas.
As for a great all-around game? That has yet to happen this season. We've seen flashes here and there, so we know the talent and potential is there, but the young roster has struggled to put it together.
Unfortunately, sloppy and inconsistent play equates to less-than-desirable game grades.
This article will look at St. Louis' performance and provide a letter grade for each unit based on stats from the game, consistency and effort.
Quarterback: C+
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Austin Davis had an excellent first half with 137 yards and a touchdown, but that production did not continue after halftime.
Davis went just 10-of-28 in the second half (35.7 percent) and had just 13 total passing yards throughout the first five drives of the half. Additionally, he coughed up a needless pick-six at the end of the final quarter with the game on the line.
It's not Davis' fault his blindside protection was useless and his receivers failed to improvise on routes, but he deserves a decent portion of the blame.
Davis looked like a rising star in the first half, but his second-half self was nervous, erratic and completely reckless.
Hopefully, Davis will build on his mistakes and begin to look the part of a true starting quarterback after midseason. As for now, his performance Monday night was a grim reminder as to why he entered the year as a third-string passer.
Running Back: B
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No single running back stood out in a big way, but the top three backs combined for a respectable effort against a top-five San Francisco run defense.
Rookie Tre Mason made a statement in his NFL debut. The third-round pick carried the ball just five times, but he managed to pick up 40 yards. A 12-yard run by Mason in the first half set up a rushing touchdown for fellow back Benny Cunningham.
Cunningham and Stacy combined for just 38 yards on the ground, but receiver Tavon Austin added another 16 yards and three carries.
Overall, the backs managed to rush for 94 yards against a defense that allowed just 77.2 rushing yards per game prior to this contest. That's worth some recognition.
Wide Receiver/Tight End: C+
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Tight end Jared Cook had an excellent game with four grabs for 74 yards. He also had a 21-yard catch wiped out, thanks to an absurd offensive pass-interference call against him, but he had a great game, regardless of the officiating error.
Cook played with emotion and was clearly pumped for this game. He pulled in a key 39-yard catch on the opening drive, and that eventually set up Cunningham's rushing touchdown. He was easily the best receiver of the evening.
Lance Kendricks also contributed out of the tight end position. He had just one catch, but it was a 22-yard touchdown grab.
The wide receivers were contained for most of the game. Austin and Kenny Britt were the only ones capable of getting open with any consistency. The two combined for seven catches and 74 yards.
For the first time this season, third-year receiver Brian Quick was completely shut down. Quick has been piecing together a breakout campaign this year, but he was held to just a single 10-yard catch.
The most frustrating thing with the receivers was their inability to improvise and bail out Davis while he was under pressure. We also saw too many dropped passes and incorrect routes, and that lowers the grade.
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Offensive Line: D
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Greg Robinson, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2014 draft, made his first NFL start and did fairly well. He was a big reason why the Rams ran the ball better than expected against San Francisco's stout defense.
Unfortunately, that was one of the few positive from this unit.
Davis was under immediate pressure on practically every play. He was constantly running for his life, and it's simply miraculous that he had just the one interception.
Jake Long allowed Davis to take a hard blindside hit that forced a fumble. This is the second week in a row that Long has allowed this to happen. Last week against the Philadelphia Eagles, it resulted in a defensive touchdown. This time, the Rams were lucky enough to fall on the football.
It didn't end there. Long also had a false start in the fourth quarter when the Rams were already starting the drive from their own 1-yard line.
So far this season, Long has not been earning his money. The former No. 1 overall pick needs to step up, or the Rams will search for a replacement on the blind side.
Davin Joseph came in as a substitute for Rodger Saffold in the second half, and his shortcomings were noticeable as well. As soon as Joseph entered the game, San Francisco blitzed his side relentlessly, and he was totally helpless.
We saw some positive signs from Robinson, and the line did some decent run blocking at times. Other than that, it was a terrible game for this unit.
Defensive Line: C+
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As frustrating as it was to watch the St. Louis defensive line go another game without a sack, it was not a total nightmare for this group.
The run defense was surprisingly stout. In fact, it was better than we've seen all year.
The Rams entered the game with the 26th-ranked run defense (139.8 yards per game), but the defense managed to hold Frank Gore—who's normally a nightmare for St. Louis—to just 38 yards on 16 carries.
Colin Kaepernick managed to break off some devastating runs against the defense, but the two San Francisco backs combined for just 52 rushing yards and averaged just 1.9 yards a carry throughout the game.
Additionally, the front eight made several key third- and fourth-down stops in the final quarter to keep the Rams in the game, including a 4th-and-2 stop at the goal line.
Having said that, the lack of a pass rush allowed Kaepernick to run wild and shred the secondary, so that's something that must be fixed moving forward.
Linebacker: C-
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Like the defensive line, the linebackers also deserve credit for holding San Francisco to an embarrassingly low rushing total.
The longest run by a San Francisco back went for a mere nine yards, and Gore's 38 yards was his lowest rushing total against the Rams since Week 17 of 2011. The front eight deserves recognition for that.
James Laurinaitis also made a key play in the first half by recovering Vance McDonald's fumble, which set up St. Louis' second touchdown of the game.
The linebackers were poor in coverage, but the group has been much better the last two weeks. Hopefully, their play will continue to improve.
Secondary: F
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There's no nice way to say it—the secondary's performance was a total abomination.
The Rams were 25 seconds away from entering the half with a comfortable 14-3 lead. All they had to do was prevent the 49ers from going 80 yards within that time frame, but the secondary couldn't handle that daunting task.
Janoris Jenkins tried to jump Brandon Lloyd's route to secure a pick. Instead, Lloyd turned Jenkins inside out and burned him for an 80-yard score to close the half. That play took away St. Louis' momentum and handed it to San Francisco, and the Rams never got it back.
Jenkins' decision to go for the pick rather than covering his man was extremely selfish and detrimental to the team's efforts. If he doesn't have a great game next week against Seattle, the Rams will likely consider benching him in favor of Trumaine Johnson, as soon as Johnson returns from injury.
However, it was not just Jenkins who struggled. It was the entire unit.
Kaepernick's 343 passing yards was a career high, and his three touchdown passes were a season high. Against the St. Louis secondary, he looked less like a read-option passer and more like an athletic Peyton Manning.
The Rams entered the game with the No. 1-ranked pass defense (192.2 yards per game), but evidently, that statistic was a total fluke.
Special Teams: D
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The special teams unit managed to hurt the Rams throughout the game, and we saw very few positive plays from this group.
Jenkins was assessed a holding penalty during San Francisco's first punt of the game. The 10-yard penalty knocked St. Louis back to its own 19, and the drive went nowhere as a result.
The punting unit allowed penetration in the second quarter. A defender managed to partially block Johnny Hekker's kick, which went for a mere 13 yards and gave San Francisco the ball at midfield. The play resulted in an easy field goal for the 49ers.
It wouldn't have been that disturbing, except the punt-protection unit allowed similar penetration last week against Philadelphia as well. The Eagles blocked Hekker's punt and recovered for a touchdown.
The special teams coaches need to take a look at the punt-coverage personnel and consider making changes. This is unacceptable.
The onside kick was also a complete nightmare. Greg Zuerlein's kick was beyond awful and gave the Rams no chance at a recovery. Even worse, the Rams had a linebacker run in for the recovery rather than a receiver or back.
Overall, special teams contributed almost nothing. Had it not been for Zuerlein's field goal and the successfully executed punt inside St. Louis' own end zone, this group would deserve an "F."
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