The 49ers head into Week 1 in Australia treating their matchup with the Los Angeles Rams like a game they have to have.
That makes sense. After a 16-plus-hour flight, losing would be a brutal way to start the trip, and divisional games always carry extra weight. San Francisco has put itself in a good spot to win, but the Rams are still a dangerous opponent even without Aaron Donald.
The biggest test for the 49ers defense will be Matthew Stafford. The Rams quarterback is the kind of passer who can make a defense pay if he gets comfortable, so the first job is obvious: get pressure.
That’s the problem, though. San Francisco may not have the kind of pass rush it needs for that to happen.
Nick Bosa could be a shell of himself, and if that’s the case, it’s hard to see another 49er consistently stepping up in the front four aside from Osa Odighizuwa. If the 49ers can’t bother Stafford with four rushers, they may force Raheem Morris into a more aggressive plan.
That would not be unfamiliar territory for Morris. Last season with the Atlanta Falcons, he blitzed at the second-highest rate in the league at 37.4%.
If the 49ers can’t generate heat naturally, he won’t hesitate to lean on that tendency again. The issue is that Stafford has made a living punishing it.
He led the league with 33 passing touchdowns against the blitz last season, almost twice as many as the next closest quarterback, Caleb Williams, who had 17, per Next Gen Stats. Stafford also gets the ball out fast, with the seventh-quickest time to throw at 2.58 seconds, and he owns the sixth-lowest pressure-to-sack conversion rate at 10.9%. In other words, blitzing him may not solve much.
If Morris does decide to send extra rushers, he’ll have to choose the timing carefully. Every blitz leaves Puka Nacua and Davante Adams isolated in coverage, and that is not a spot you want to live in for long.
That’s why the safer path may be to rely more on disguised coverage and try to bait Stafford into a mistake. It won’t create the same splash plays as an all-out pressure package, but it also won’t invite as many explosives.
Still, if the 49ers can’t get to Stafford with their front alone, Morris may feel pushed toward the blitz anyway. It’s a tough balancing act, and not one with an easy answer.
As things stand, the 49ers’ defense does not look like the side to trust most in this game. If they turn in a strong performance, it will say a lot about how well they prepared. Otherwise, they may need a surprisingly sharp outing from the pass rush just to keep Stafford from taking control.
In Other News...
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49ers Fans Caught A Wild Live TV Mix-Up During Injury Update
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Rams Fans Face An Unusual Week 1 Problem Against The 49ers
Rams fans heading into Week 1 have a little more than the usual trip planning to figure out before facing the 49ers. The 2026 season opener is set for Thursday Night Football in Melbourne, Australia, and the game will stream exclusively on Netflix, giving the matchup a very different feel from the standard prime-time NFL telecast.
For Netflix, it is the first time the service will carry a Thursday Night Football game outside of Christmas Day after its renewed deal with the league. Pregame coverage is set for 6:30 p.m. ET, with Noah Eagle and Luke Kuechly on the broadcast team, so anyone hoping to catch San Francisco and Los Angeles in the opener will need to find the app before they find the couch. [Read more 🡒]