What a difference a week can make. The San Francisco 49ers improve to 2-0 against NFC West opponents following their 24-9 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on "Monday Night Football." The big "W" extends San Francisco's streak of regular season wins over LA to seven and keeps them perfect at home in 2022. Headed into Week 5, the entire NFC West owns matching 2-2 records.
Another dominant display by the 49ers defense kept the reigning Super Bowl champions out of the end zone for the entire night. Several players produced highlight reel worthy plays including the defensive line who accounted for six of the team's seven sacks. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw finished with 15 total tackles, and sophomore safety Talanoa Hufanga notched his first-career pick-six to seal the win in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
The offense also had its bright spots. Jeff Wilson Jr. got the scoring started for the 49ers with a 32-yard rushing touchdown, and Deebo Samuel broke ankles on a 57-yard catch-and-run touchdown. And, in spite of injuries to its starters, the offensive line did not give up a sack to the Rams.
"I was really happy overall," head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "It was a cool way to win. We knew it would be a battle."
The 49ers team win on "Monday Night Football" did not go unnoticed around the league. Here's a look at the NFL power rankings from several national outlets headed into Week 5:
NFL.com: 5
Around the NFL Writer Dan Hanzus
"The Niners picked a nice moment to deliver their best performance of the year. San Francisco used the Monday Night Football spotlight to stick it to the defending champions. The 24-9 win over the Rams sends all four NFC West teams into Week 5 with identical 2-2 records. The Niners' defense sacked Matthew Stafford seven times, and breakout safety Talanoa Hufanga iced the game with a fourth-quarter pick-six. The Jimmy Garoppolo-led offense was in fine form, as well: Nearly three quarters of Garoppolo's 239 passing yards came after the catch. 'We're getting the YAC Bros back,' Jimmy G said after the win. 'That's for sure.'"
NFL Writer Frank Schwab
"That was an absolutely dominant performance by the 49ers defense. San Francisco has the best defense in the NFL. And coordinator DeMeco Ryans is probably going to be a head coach at this time next year."
NFL Writer Mike Florio
"If they can play like this consistently, they can win it all."
For the most part, it was a successful Week 4 for the NFC West. The Rams were the only team in the division to suffer a loss, and as a result, LA fell out of the top 10 in the NFL.com power rankings, dropping down five spots to No. 11. The Arizona Cardinals defeated the Carolina Panthers 26-16 and moved up three spots to No. 17. The Seattle Seahawks locked down a win in Detroit, edging past the Lions 48-45 to move up to No. 23 in the rankings.
