Last time the San Francisco 49ers traveled to SoFi Stadium, running back Christian McCaffrey made history in his first outing against the Los Angeles Rams as a member of the red and gold. He became just the fourth player in the Super Bowl era to complete the touchdown trifecta in a single game, throwing, catching and running in the rock for a score, and his efforts helped San Francisco secure their eighth-straight regular season win over LA.
One season later, quarterback Brock Purdy is also looking to impress in his SoCal debut. The start feels like a longtime coming for the second-year pro, who has now game planned for this opponent twice and not seen the field in either of those contests. He was second on the depth chart behind Jimmy Garoppolo in both Weeks 4 and 8 last season.
"Yeah, in a sense (it's weird I haven't started against them). Last year, the two games, we game planned for them and then, I didn't play in either of them. Now, it's my third time doing it," Purdy said. "It feels like I have played against them, but I haven't. I'm excited to."
Game planning for Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald and the LA defense will include some elements from past meetings especially given the success the 49ers have had in recent history.
"You have Aaron Donald, the scheme that they've been doing for a while on defense, so we've taken things we've done in the past and built off those types of things," Purdy said. "For me, it's going to be about going out there, seeing the defense, making sure we are in the right play formation and keep it simple. Just play our ball."
One important part of 49ers gameplan is the run game which will help set up San Francisco's passing attack. McCaffrey now has a full offseason under his belt with the team and there have been big expectations for his production in 2023.
Purdy shared his early memories of McCaffrey and his output against Los Angeles.
"Once he had a full week under his belt going into the Rams week, and his versatility to be able to use him, on the sideline, for myself, I said, 'Man, this is going to be fun to watch. I don't think anyone is going to expect what we are about to do with him,'" Purdy said. "When he actually performed and did what he did, we said, 'Man, this is going to be fun.'"
