15 manhandling observations from the 49ers' dominant win over the Rams

The San Francisco 49ers desperately needed a win Monday Night against the Los Angeles Rams. On the heels of an extremely poor effort at home against the Arizona Cardinals, the team was looking to bounce back. No one expected the 49ers to win. But we had hoped they would at least play well and keep the game close.

They did that and more, playing inspired football, and manhandling the Rams, beating them 31-10. Here are my 15 observations from the 49ers dominant win over the Rams:

• Jimmy Garoppolo had another really good game. He finished the game 15-19 for 182 yards passing, and two touchdown passes. And Garoppolo was 7-9 for 123 yards (and both touchdowns) on third and fourth downs.
• Is Deebo Samuel the best running back the 49ers have? Kyle Shanahan used Samuel as a running back more than he usually does. And he was effective, rushing for 36 yards on five carries (7.2 ypc). He's also pretty good as a wide receiver. He had five catches for 97 yards. He also had two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving.
• Speaking of great rushing performances, Elijah Mitchell had another strong game, rushing for 91 tough yards.
• I loved how the 49ers used Jeff Wilson to compliment Mitchell. They need to make sure to take some pressure off of the rookie running back.
• The running game returned. The 49ers ran the ball 44 times, for 156 yards.
• The 49ers came out with a beautiful opening drive consisting of 18 plays. It covered 93 yards and used 11:03 of game clock.

• Jimmie Ward's last interception was 2016. Monday night, he had two, including a pick-six. This was his best game all season.
• It's been a week since we last saw him, but Josh Norman is still terrible.

• The 49ers offense came out on fire Monday night. Their first two possessions resulted in two 90+ yard touchdown drives.

• Brandon Aiyuk is continuing to show he's back. He not only had some big catches, he had some solid blocks.
• DJ Jones open-field tackle to thwart the Rams fake field goal was beautiful.
• The 49ers were +3 in turnover ratio (if you count the Rams turnover on downs).
• The San Francisco defense finally remembered how to tackle.
• The 49ers were more physical than the Rams on both sides of the ball. That's how we expect this team to play.
• Charlie Woerner is no George Kittle. Kittle dominated Von Miller in the run game. Woerner did not.

One reason I've been so grumpy with the 49ers this season is because I've felt they weren't playing like they were capable of. People would say they're a bad team, but I didn't agree. I just believed they were playing poorly. Monday night, they showed what they are able to do.


Now they just need to keep winning.

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