Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers finished their first orbit around the NFC West with a perfect 3-0 record, a considerable boost to their 6-3 start.
The second time around, the division begins with an NFC West two-step, starting on Sunday against the 6-2 Los Angeles Rams in Santa Clara before a Week 11 trip to Arizona.
It was a Thursday night primetime overtime match in Los Angeles at the start of October, with the 49ers pulling it out in a three-point victory the last time these two met. Since then, the 49ers have split their four games while the Rams have won their last three in a row to find themselves tied atop the division.
With the 49ers looking for consecutive victories since 2023 and their first season sweep of the Rams since 2022, here are the numbers to know for the Week 10 clash:
4
The 49ers will have (at least) four different starters on defense from their Week 5 win over the Rams.
It’s for varying reasons, but the 49ers defense will look much different than it did a month ago in Los Angeles. San Francisco will be without Fred Warner and Mykel Williams on Sunday due to injury, while the Week 5 safety duo of Marques Sigle and Jason Pinnock has been dropped from the starting lineup. That foursome of players played a combined 251 snaps in Los Angeles, with Warner, Sigle, and Pinnock not missing a single snap.
Williams will likely be replaced by Bryce Huff, who could return on Sunday after suffering a hamstring injury a few weeks ago against Atlanta. Huff was featured against the Rams, playing 40 snaps and recording his third sack of the season.
Bethune didn’t play a snap in Week 5 but has turned into an unsung hero of the defense due to Warner’s injury. The second-year linebacker has recorded 50 tackles in the four games since Warner went down, with 21 of those tackles being solo. After 10 tackles against the Buccaneers and Falcons, Bethune has set a new career-high in tackles each of the last two weeks, with 14 tackles in Houston and 16 last week against the Giants.
The safety switch could be the most beneficial of the lineup changes come Sunday, facing one of the best passing attacks in the league. Pinnock and Sigle have been replaced by Malik Mustapha, who was injured in Week 5, and Ji’Ayir Brown. Sigle was picked on by Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles, targeting the safety eight times with seven receptions, with Sigle allowing a team-high 138 yards when targeted, per Pro Football Focus.
Back in Week 5, it was the offense that was dealing with the injuries, but the 49ers still managed to squeak out a victory. On Sunday, it’ll be the defense with the wholesale changes, and that could spell trouble against one of the more potent offenses in the league.
4.5
The Rams allow a sack on 4.5 percent of drop-backs, the sixth-best rate in the league.
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