After a dominant victory in Week 6 over the Los Angeles Rams, the San Francisco 49ers can officially be declared the best team in the NFC.
TheSan Francisco 49ersare the best team in the NFC. There is no more debate, no more discussion, and there are certainly no more excuses.
The 49ers are as dominant as any team in the league and on Sunday they went out and proved it. But it wasn’t just the fact that they defeated a very good team in the Los Angeles Rams.
Rather, it was how they did it.
San Francisco went on the road against a division rival and took care of business defeating the Rams by a final score of 20-7. And if the 49ers are the best team in the NFC, then they’re being led by the best defense in the NFC.
Robert Saleh’s unit absolutely dominated the high-powered Rams offense from start to finish. Going into the game, Los Angeles was averaging 421 yards per game, but they managed only 157 on Sunday.
The Rams entered the week averaging 31 points per game but came away with only seven. And quarterbackJared Goffwas averaging a whopping 330 yards per game before he ran into the 49ers defense.
He finished with just 78 passing yards.
The 49ers defense might have put together the best defensive showing of the season absolutely dominating Sean McVay’s usually high-scoring offense. People expected this 49ers defense to be improved this year, but nobody saw it playing this level of dominant football.
The front-four remains perhaps the best in football withNick Bosa,Dee Ford,DeForest Buckner, andArik Armsteadwrecking games at the line of scrimmage. The linebacking core ofFred WarnerandKwon Alexanderbring game-changing speed and are a force in the middle of the defense.
And despite all of the love the front-seven gets, the secondary has been nearly as good.Richard Shermanlooks like the “Legion of Boom” version of himself whileAhkello Witherspoonwas tearing it up before his injury.
And at safety,Jaquiski TarttandJimmie Wardhave played much better than anyone could have predicted. And before Ward’s return from injury, second-year defensive backTarvarius Moorewas impressing after being moved back to safety.
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The defense is a complete force to be reckoned with, with game-changing talent at each level. And the offense, to their credit, has done just enough to remain undefeated.
Despite a lackluster performance in Week 6, the ground game has carried the offense on the heels of a much-improved showing this season from the offensive line.George Kittleremains the most complete tight end in football and the 49ers have enough weapons at receiver to make do.
AndJimmy Garoppolois Jimmy Garoppolo.
Garoppolo will make his fair share of mistakes but he knows how to win football games. He’ll have his usual boneheaded turnover or two including his red-zone fumble and infuriating endzone interception this week.
But Garoppolo puts himself in a position to win. And Kyle Shanahan’s offense knows how to do just enough to secure victories on the back of their dominant defense.
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Could it catch up with them eventually? Yes, it probably will. Garoppolo will eventually be asked to win a game for the 49ers with his arm instead of relying on the ground game or his defense.
And when that time comes, Garoppolo has proven that he’s capable of doing so. The 49ers’ gameplan works, and they are the most complete team in the NFC.
The Seattle Seahawks are a strong team but their offensive line could hold them back despiteRussell Wilson‘s magic. And the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints are great but neither’s defense is nearly as strong as San Francisco’s.
The 49ers gameplan for success is exactly the formula it takes to win championships — win the battle in the trenches and clinch games with a dominant defense.
There may be no team in the NFL — apart from the New England Patriots — that does those things as well as the 49ers do them.
The 49ers are the best team in the NFC, and it’s time for the rest of the football world to recognize them as such.
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