The San Francisco 49ers improved to 2-2 on the year after their 24-9 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on "Monday Night Football." Week 4's win was a full team effort with contributions coming from all three phases, but it was the defense that kept the Rams offensive unit out of the end zone the entire night, limiting them to just three field goals. DeMeco Ryans' unit racked up seven sacks, six of which belonged to the defensive line, five pass breakups and a game-sealing pick-six from Talanoa Hufanga. As a result of this tremendous defensive showing, the 49ers defense once again earned a No. 1 overall ranking from PFF. According to NFL.com stats, San Francisco is the top-ranked team in scoring defense and has allowed the second fewest passing and rushing yards in the league.
On offense, Deebo Samuel delivered the offensive play of the night, breaking ankles on the way to a 57-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Running back Jeff Wilson Jr. also added a score, hauling in a 32-yard touchdown in the first quarter to get things started for the 49ers.
Here are San Francisco's top performers from Week Four:
Top Offensive Performers: Jimmy Garoppolo and Deebo Samuel
"Jimmy came out on fire," head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "We had a couple mistakes, especially on that second play of the game with the protection issue.
Garoppolo earned an 87.5 overall grade for his 50 snaps versus the Rams, the highest among all 49ers players in this matchup. His 87.5 PFF grade is just shy of the 90.2 overall grade he posted against the Seattle Seahawks after taking over for Trey Lance in Week 2. Garoppolo went 16-of-27 for 239 yards and a touchdown and registered a 100.7 passer rating, his highest since Week 14 of the 2021 season. Samuel was a close second to Jimmy G on the top performers list this week. No. 19 earned an 81.5 overall grade after recording six catches for 115 yards and a touchdown.
Top Defensive Performer: Nick Bosa
"In a game filled with superstar defensive talent, 49ers edge defender Nick Bosa put together the most dominant performance of them all, finishing with a 91.6 overall grade," the PFF staff wrote in their game breakdown. "Bosa was credited with a game-high two sacks to go along with an incredible 14 total pressures and 29.5% pass-rush win rate. The Ohio State product also added a run stop to round out his dominant evening."
This top performer should come as no surprise given his stellar performance against the Rams. Bosa graded out to 91.6 for his 58 snaps on Monday night, earning him the top spot on defense in Week 4. The defensive end added two more sacks to his season count and now leads the league in sacks with six. In addition to bringing down Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford twice, Bosa had 14 total pressures and three total tackles.
