Ram Digest

Rams Defense Stalls 49ers Running Game in NFC Championship Win

The Rams took away the 49ers' key weapon on offense – the running game.

MJ Hurley

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All season, the San Francisco 49ers rallied around quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. When he could not make the plays in Green Bay, the defense and special teams did what was necessary for the 49ers to advance. 

However, in Sunday night's NFC Championship, San Francisco's supporting cast was unable to keep Garoppolo and the 49ers alive, as the Rams capped off a 20-17 win, advancing to Super Bowl LVI inside their home stadium.

Entering the NFC Championship game, one of the biggest concerns for the Rams was the running game of the 49ers. San Francisco deploys their versatile weapon Deebo Samuel in a multitude of ways, pairing him with the efforts of their rookie running back Elijah Mitchell, who logged over 1,000 all-purpose yards in his first NFL season.

One of the biggest reasons for the Rams’ defensive success on Sunday night was the play of defensive tackle Aaron Donald. The Rams' All-Pro defensive tackle embodied the leadership role in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game, pulling his team together when they needed to lock in and get back to playing their brand of football.

Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris commented on Donald’s leadership leading up to Sunday's game against the 49ers, saying he could feel the hunger in his sense of urgency.

"You can definitely see an increased sense of urgency in him as well," Morris said. "His willingness to lead seems to be higher."

Although three tackles and two quarterback hits don’t seem like a game-wrecking stat line, the consistent disruption caused by Donald requires so much offensive attention from opposing teams. 

49ers coach Kyle Shanahan had to deviate from his normal zone-blocking scheme to keep Donald from blowing up plays on a regular basis. That even included when San Francisco was ahead in the game. They dramatically shifted away from the running game as they couldn’t muster up much of any success on the ground.

Once Donald established his presence on Sunday night, the rest of the Rams defense followed suit. Just weeks after coming out of retirement, safety Eric Weddle led the Rams with nine total tackles. After playing every snap on Sunday en route to assisting the Rams in clinching a berth to Super Bowl LVI, Weddle kept it short and sweet.

”This is what dreams are made of," he said after the game in a TV interview.

The 49ers only ran the ball 20 times for 50 rushing yards, a dramatically lower volume than how they operated their running game in the two games earlier this season. In the 49ers' two wins over the Rams earlier in the year, they averaged 36 rushing attempts for 146 yards and two total touchdowns.

Against a team the Rams hadn’t beaten in the last six meetings, Raheem Morris’ unit stepped up and held them to 17 points and just three of nine on third down attempts. 

The last test for the Rams veteran defense is the young and feisty Cincinnati Bengals. The young nucleus of Joe Burrow, Joe Mixon, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins will come to SoFi Stadium in an attempt to make history. After going 4-12 last season, the Bengals have a chance to win the Super Bowl in Burrow’s second year as a starter.

With the dynamic weapons rolling into town two weeks from now, the play of the L.A. defense will be one of the top storylines. If the Rams can minimize the chunk plays Cincinnati has a tendency to hit on, their chances bode well to hoist the Lombardi Trophy inside their home stadium – an achievement only reached one other time in NFL history.

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MJ Hurley
MJ HURLEY

MJ Hurley is a writer, podcast host and credentialed NFL reporter.

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