Kyle Shanahan “was real impressed” with the 49ers offensive line against Rams

The 49ers have left Week 4 with a dominant 24-9 victory over the Rams on Monday night. During his press conference, head coach Kyle Shanahan had high praise for the entire team. When asked about the offensive line, Shanahan had several compliments for the unit.

“I was real impressed with them, man. Just as a whole group,” Shanahan said about the Niners offensive line. “It was a huge challenge as always, going against that team with the personnel they have on the D-line and all the different fronts they do.”

While a miscommunication between center Jake Brendel and right guard Spencer Burford led to one quarterback hit early, 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was not sacked at all against the Rams. Given the absence of star left tackle Trent Williams, the Niners were surprisingly effective at limiting Aaron Donald and Los Angeles’ entire defensive line. They also created a massive hole for running back Jeff Wilson on his 32-yard touchdown rush.

“I thought we made much fewer mistakes than the week before,” Shanahan added about the O-line. “And there was a lot more challenges with the mental part of the game with all the different options we had to do with protection, so I thought they were really great in picking things up and they also gave [QB] Jimmy [Garoppolo] a lot of time when we needed it.”

The 49ers offensive line will need to deal with another serious injury going forward after backup left tackle Colton McKivitz suffered a sprained MCL. Until Williams is able to return to the field, the Niners will have their third-string left tackle, likely Jaylon Moore, blocking Garoppolo’s blindside. Still, it’s good to see the line holding up against a formidable defensive line.