Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers are coming off their first loss of the season with a massive Thursday night tilt with the Los Angeles Rams that will decide the division leader after five weeks.
While the Rams will look the same as they have this season, the 49ers will have a different look, especially on the offensive side of the ball. One of the healthiest teams in the league, the Rams will host a team that, as usual, will be dealing with a plethora of injuries.
Just how injured are the 49ers? That’s where we start with this week’s numbers to know:
5
The 49ers offense will be without five Week 1 starters on Thursday night.
San Francisco showed they could survive without George Kittle, Brock Purdy, and Ben Bartch, going 2-0 under Mac Jones in Weeks 2 and 3. But Jones proved that having Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings was enough, hitting Jennings for the game-winning score against New Orleans and connecting with Pearsall for 117 yards in the win over Arizona.
Thursday night might prove too much for the 49ers’ offense, which will now be without Purdy, Kittle, Jennings, Pearsall, and Bartch; nearly half of their opening-week starters.
Purdy never looked comfortable moving around in Sunday’s loss to Jacksonville. That now makes sense with reports saying his toe injury might be more serious than once thought, keeping him out of Thursday’s game against the Rams. Pearsall and Jennings will also be out, both with injuries picked up on Sunday, with Pearsall dealing with a knee injury and Jennings nursing a rib and ankle injury.
The 49ers have grown accustomed to dealing with injuries over the past few seasons, but at this point, it feels ridiculous. While the offense will be with Christian McCaffrey, Jones’ three primary targets will be Dearcus Robinson, Kendrick Bourne, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, two of whom weren’t on the roster a month ago.
Oh, did I mention it’s a short week with a road game against a division rival yet? Because it is. Everything is setting up perfectly for what could be a rather embarrassing Thursday night for the 49ers.
22.1
Matthew Stafford has been pressured on 22.1 percent of his dropbacks, per Pro Football Reference.
Plenty was made about the 49ers’ pass rush’s inability to get to Trevor Lawrence in the Week 4 loss to the Jaguars. But Lawrence has only been pressured on 7.9 percent of his dropbacks this season, the lowest percentage in the league by a wide margin, according to PFR. That raises the question of whether it was just the 49ers’ pass rush, sans Nick Bosa, that was the problem, or if the Jaguars’ offensive line is truly that good.
Thursday will be a good gauge of just what the 49ers’ pass rush is without Bosa.
The league average pressure rate for a quarterback through the first four weeks of the season sits at 20 percent. If you are curious about what that looks like, Mac Jones has been pressured at...
