3 Takeaways from 49ers' Week 10 Win

The San Francisco 49ers' 2021 season hasn't gone as many might have hoped. As was the case in 2020, injuries have been part of the problem, but inconsistent play has also been an issue. On Monday night, though, we saw the good version of the 49ers, who rolled against the rival Los Angeles Rams.

San Francisco jumped out early, thanks in part to a pair of Matthew Stafford interceptions—one of which was returned for a touchdown. The 49ers never let up, either, controlling both the tempo and the clock for all four quarters.

The end result was an emphatic 31-10 victory. The win doesn't necessarily signal a change in course for the 49ers, but it could suggest that the Rams aren't quite the NFC favorites that they appeared to be early in the year.

"These last two weeks have certainly been humbling." Rams coach Sean McVay said, per NFL.com's Grant Gordon.

The Rams have lost back-to-back games in blowout fashion, while the 49ers aren't quite dead in the playoff race. Here are our three biggest takeaways from San Francisco's Week 10 win.

Jimmie Ward Is a Vital Piece of the Secondary

Jed Jacobsohn/Associated Press

Fans who haven't closely watched the 49ers this season may not realize just how valuable safety Jimmie Ward has become. He's started every game in which he has appeared over the last three seasons, and he's now played 100 percent of the defensive snaps in six 2021 contests.

For the season, Ward has allowed an opposing passer rating of only 87.8 in coverage.

Ward missed last week's game against the Arizona Cardinals and was sorely missed. With Kyler Murray out, Cardinals backup Colt McCoy threw for 249 yards and a touchdown. The 49ers defense surrendered 437 yards of offense in that game.

Ward returned on Monday, though, and shined on the big stage. He picked off Stafford twice, returning one of them 27 yards for a touchdown and an early 14-0 lead.

While Ward hasn't always been a shutdown defender on the back end—he allowed passer ratings above 105 in each of the last three seasons—he's been fantastic more often than not this year.

Deebo Samuel Has Arrived

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Rams wideout Cooper Kupp continues to lead the NFL in receiving yards (1,141) and is on pace to approach Calvin Johnson's single-season record—he set the mark with 1,946 yards in 2012. Kupp is on pace for roughly 1,940 yards.

49ers wideout Deebo Samuel isn't quite on Kupp's level just yet, but he's quickly becoming one of the biggest game-changers in the NFL. He had another huge game on Monday night.

Samuel finished with five catches for 97 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed five times for 36 yards and another score. He now has seven combined rushing and receiving touchdowns on the season and is on pace for 1,849 receiving yards.

There's still a chance that Samuel overtakes Kupp for the 2021 receiving title.

After flashing promise as a rookie (802 receiving yards, 3 TDs) and then missing nine games in 2020, Samuel has emerged as the clear-cut No. 1 receiver this season. Tight end George Kittle is still an important piece of the puzzle, but San Francisco's passing attack now runs through Samuel.

There's Still Time for San Francisco to Turn the Season Around

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Monday's win isn't necessarily a turning point for the 49ers—but it could be. San Francisco showed that it can hang with and even dominate a quality opponent when things are clicking. The trick will be to keep things in rhythm moving forward.

At 4-5, the 49ers are still long shots to make the postseason. It's worth noting, though, that with a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars next week, San Francisco will pull back to .500 with seven games remaining on the schedule.

It will be important for San Francisco to take care of business in its remaining divisional games, as the 49ers are 1-3 against NFC West foes. They have the Seattle Seahawks in Week 13 and a rematch with the Rams in the regular-season finale.

Both of these games are now must-wins for the 49ers.

San Francisco is going to have to go on a sizeable run to sniff the postseason, as it's in ninth place in the conference standings. If the 49ers can play more complete games like the one on Monday night, though, that's entirely possible.

*Advanced statistics from Pro Football Reference.