We won! We won! We won! We won! We won! Okay, don’t get too excited. It’s Week 1 and we all know what happened when we got over-excited after Week 1 last year. It made weeks 2-16 more painful. Screw that. We won! And we won big. The Faithful, at least the ones that were there, including this one, were pretty excited about it.
I was at Levi’s last night to watch the San Francisco 49ers open their 2016 season by routing the Los Angeles Rams 28-0. And they made the Rams look terrible. Actually, the Rams did a pretty good job making themselves look terrible, but let’s give some of the credit to San Francisco. The Niner defense absolutely shined, holding the Rams to 185 yards of total offense. QB Case Keenum was nothing short of a disaster going 17-of-35 for 130 yards and throwing two interceptions. He was also sacked twice, once by Ahmad Brooks and once by Arik Armstead. RB Todd Gurley was held to 47 yards rushing. The Rams punted 10 times. 10.
CB Jimmie Ward and S Jaquiski Tartt had the breakout night fans were looking for, as the Rams receivers couldn’t escape them. Seriously, they were everywhere. CB Tramaine Brock quietly put together a great night, allowing only three catches for 16 yards on the eight times he was targeted. So that’s good. As expected, the 49ers’ secondary is going to be real bright spot for this team. NaVorro Bowman’s interception got the fans back in the game at a time it was desperately needed, and Ray-Ray Armstrong’s interception kept them there long after we knew we were watching a terrible football game.
On the offensive side of things, RB Carlos Hyde was the man. Clearly Hyde and opening week Monday Night Football get along. He finished the night with 88 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns. And he’s healthy. Hallelujuah!
Now to QB Blaine Gabbert. He had an ok night, with the best part of his performance coming in the 4th quarter when this thing was basically done. He was 22-of-35 for 170 yards, a TD pass, and 43 yards rushing. He missed a very open Jeremy Kerley on what would have been a 46 yard TD and there were times it seemed he couldn’t hit water from a boat. I’m not saying Colin Kaepernick is better, but he can’t be worse, and he’s probably better. But they won, so for tonight, it works.
Probably the most excitement came when a fan ran on the field and got more yards than the Rams offense. I’m kidding, kinda. Also, Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald got himself ejected after pulling off Quinton Patton’s helmet during a kerfuffle between the two teams. Then he threw his own helmet to the ground. It was something to see.
This fan is happy. This fan is relishing the Week 1 win. This fan is scared for the Carolina game on Sunday. But for now my faithful friends, we won and I’ll take it. The undefeated, NFC West leading San Francisco 49ers have something to smile about. How often do you think we’ll say that this season?