49ers News: Kyle Shanahan Says Defense Is 'Just Getting Started' After Rams Win

Even with a 5-0 record following Sunday's 20-7 win against the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan believes his team will continue to get better.

Speaking to reporters after Sunday's game, Shanahan singled out his defense as one of the biggest reasons to be optimistic about the 49ers:

"I'm very happy with how we played. We're 5-0, which is a great thing, but we're not playing our best ball. We can do a lot of things better than that. It seemed like our defense played at an extremely high level, obviously minus the first drive. We can continue to get better on offense. We can continue to get better on special teams. I also think our defense is just getting started, too."

It's no surprise Shanahan would sing the praises of his defense, especially after their performance in Week 6. They limited the Rams to 157 total yards, including 48 net passing yards for Jared Goff, 10 first downs and stopped two 4th-and-1 opportunities.

That's nothing new for the 49ers, who have yet to allow an opponent to score more than 20 points in a game this season. They entered Sunday ranked second in the NFL in points allowed (57), yards allowed per game (257.5) and passing yards allowed per game (175.8.) and were tied for third with 11 takeaways.

San Francisco proved Sunday it can win games without playing well on offense. Jimmy Garoppolo was 24-of-33 for 243 yards, but he threw a terrible interception right into Marcus Peters' hands at the goal line with the score tied at seven in the second quarter. The vaunted rushing attack was limited to 99 yards on 41 attempts.

But none of those offensive flaws mattered because 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has his group firing on all cylinders right now.

San Francisco sits atop the NFC West and is one of only two remaining undefeated teams in the NFL, along with the New England Patriots.