The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: 5 Takeaways from Week 8

Rams fans were out numbered at So-Fi stadium, then Christian McCaffrey haunted them.

The 49ers were struggling for two weeks straight. Then they marched down to what their fans call "Levi's South" to take out the frustration on the Los Angeles Rams with a 31-14 win. Here are the five takeaways from that game.

1. The monster with a bag of tricks

Christian McCaffrey landed in Santa Clara to join a team going nowhere. The offense struggled the entire season, and the defense was falling partly due to injuries. The McCaffrey-painted 49ers have a new lease of life in less than two weeks. He achieved the rare feat of throwing, receiving, and rushing for a touchdown in a single game. There was a doubt whether the 49ers overpaid Carolina Panthers, but McCaffrey, with a bag of tricks as versatile as this, is priceless. Last year the 49ers relied on Deebo Samuel, but now there is a new hero to carry the workload.

Shanahan kept McCaffrey in the game late in the fourth quarter even after the Rams had no visible comeback. Keeping McCaffrey healthy is essential moving forward. Taking him out during garbage time will help that.

2. Jimmy Garoppolo

The quarterback was under pressure after two losses in a row. Garoppolo was lucky not to be intercepted by Jalen Ramsey, but it did not slow down his day. His deep throw to Ray-Ray McCloud was underthrown and late. Apart from the slight glitches, Garoppolo was excellent. His touchdown pass to McCaffrey was well-placed; only the receiver had a chance of making a play. Another touchdown pass to George Kittle late in the game sealed the deal. The mistake-free version of Garoppolo is required to get the team to the playoffs. He might need to save a copy of him from Sunday and paste it for the next nine games.

3. Defense stepped up

The No. 1 defense in the league went down way faster than NASA's DART mission impact with the asteroid Dimorphos. After two weeks of uncertainty, DeMeco Ryans group restricted the Rams to just two scores without anything in the second half. The Rams offense was ranked 26th in the league, but they had the lead at halftime.

Mathew Stafford was sacked seven times when the teams met during Week 4, and he had a terrific first half with 150 passing yards. After that, the defense shut down the Rams offense.

The 49ers have a precious bye week to get their defensive starters to come back from respective injuries. The win on Sunday stopped the defensive slide down the slope momentarily, but the 49ers cannot challenge top teams in the playoffs without their regular starters on the field.

4. Strong in the division

Since the beginning of the 2019 regular season, 25 percent of the 49ers' wins have come against the Rams. This year 75 percent of their wins are against divisional rivals. The team is 1-4 outside the division. Last year, the 49ers were swept away by the Seahawks and Cardinals but had a solid early start that would determine playoff seedings later in the season.

5. The Seahawks lead the division.

After the results on Sunday, Seattle leads the NFC West. The NFC as a whole does not seem to have unbeatable teams apart from the high-flying Philadelphia Eagles. The 49ers are the seventh seed as per the current playoff scenario. The remaining schedule for both Seattle and the 49ers is similar in strength. The Cardinals are one game behind the 49ers, but they are already in the horrible phase of their season, which usually comes during the latter part. The Rams might end up in the last place, missing many pieces from the successful campaign a year before.

If the 49ers can get healthy by Thanksgiving, they can keep the playoff hopes alive.