“The playoff field is officially set, here are the teams the NFC West champions could face in the playoffs next week in the divisional round, ranked from easiest to the hardest until the match. .“
“Both teams stuck to the basic game plans in defense and without big changes and moves in attack. After all, it’s possible these teams will meet in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs in two weeks.
One area of concern from the game was freshman kicker Jake Moody, who failed on a 38-yard field goal and extra point attempt. It was Moody’s first missed PAT this season after 60 straight.
The 49ers enter the postseason with concerns about their starters.
The 49ers also left the game with one injury problem: linebacker Clelin Ferrell started the season 17, but suffered a knee injury in the opener that left his status uncertain for the postseason.
“With the 49ers scoring, Darnold threw a great pass to Ray-Ray McCloud that would have changed the game. Rams safety Russ Yeast broke it up and did the same to Chris Conley on the next drive. After finding Conley for the next. play, he was scrambling for the potential game-winner.“
“Of their five non-division road games, their shortest trip is in Minneapolis, about 1,600 miles away against the Vikings. Santa Clara.“
“Darnold opened the game with All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams, All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuki, who owns 1,000-yard seasons.
The result: Darnold did a fair impression of Brock Purdy, the Pro Bowl starter he replaced , as the 49ers have already secured the top seed in the NFC and a spot in the first round.
“This range will likely inform Shanahan’s decisions in the playoffs. Let’s say the 49ers have 4th-and-2 at the opponent’s 30-yard line. Do you settle for a field goal? Eh, maybe not.“
“It was Shanahan who made that mental shift and brought the players along.“
“You do some introspection,” 49ers Pro Bowl linebacker Fred Warner told NBC Sports Bay Area on “49ers Talk “. “. after the game after the game. “You look at the things that maybe hurt us late in the season on both sides of the ball and you focus on those things, you build on those little things and make sure you’re at your best when you need to be at your best. .”
“Small victory: After losing the game, Shanahan smiled as he noted his team’s “small victory”. They made Rams Pro Bowl rookie wide receiver Puka Nacua work for more than two quarters before he could celebrate.
Nakua, who needed four catches of 29 yards to break NFL rookie records in both categories, later reaching both milestones on a 6-yard catch with about 11 minutes left in the third quarter..
Shanahan said the 49ers covered Nacua often to force him to play four. quarters mostly with a pointless game where the primary goal of both teams was to survive.
“I wanted them to go through the stress that we went through: don’t hurt anybody,” Shanahan said. “These are not the most fun games for us.“.
