The 49ers are still waiting on MRI news, and that’s never the part of the week anybody enjoys. But this one at least comes with some cushioning: it’s a Saturday after a big Thursday win, and there’s plenty from that victory over the Rams to sort through while the injury update hangs in the air.
One of the biggest talking points coming out of the game was Kyle Shanahan’s use of Kyle Juszczyk. Shanahan kept getting creative with “rounded motions,” sending Juszczyk across the formation in ways that gave him a head start as a lead blocker.
On the 49ers’ first offensive snap, Juszczyk lined up outside Williams, went in motion and paved the way for Christian McCaffrey’s 6-yard burst up the middle. A few plays later, he was back in motion on the right side and cleared out Kam Curl on a screen to Kaelon Black.
Those banana-shaped movements drew attention online, but they weren’t exactly new. Juszczyk was doing something similar against the Rams last season in a loss in November, when he looped around QB Mac Jones from shotgun to serve as a full-speed lead blocker on an 11-yard run. Fox analyst Tom Brady had plenty to say about that kind of design.
“In 25 years of watching football, I’ve never seen that exact concept,” Brady said.
The rest of the win gave Shanahan plenty of material, too. The 49ers kept finding ways to chip Myles Garrett, and Fred Warner was all over the field making what were described as superhero plays.
There was also the broader conversation around the trip to Australia and what it might mean down the line. The 49ers put strict routines in place on the 16-hour flight over, with instructions on sleep, fluid intake, window shades and blue-light glasses. After the rout of the Rams, Warner made the return-flight plan sound a lot simpler.
“Party it up,” Warner said.
Still, the long-term question is what comes next. One analysis pointed out that the 49ers could stumble after spending so much time in Australia and using so much energy to get the win, but they also have two home games coming up against Miami and Arizona before the schedule tightens again. The real read on the full-season effects may not come until the Oct. 11 game in Seattle, when it should be clearer whether the 49ers handled the trip perfectly or are about to deal with some body-clock payback.
There was also some hard data from the game review. In the PFF grades, right tackle Colton McKivitz posted the highest offensive grade among 49ers linemen at 75.1, while left guard Connor Colby came in lowest at 53.5.
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Christian McCaffrey Shared The Australia Moment He Never Saw Coming
Christian McCaffreys first trip to Australia for the 49ers season opener gave him more than a win over the Rams. After the game in Melbourne, he spent part of his postgame session talking about the lighter side of the trip, from the local coffee to a barber who gave his haircut a review that caught him off guard. It was the kind of off-field moment that usually gets lost in a long road trip, except this one had enough charm to stick.
McCaffrey said the barber called the cut cracker, Australian slang for excellent, and he seemed to enjoy the brief culture lesson as much as the coffee. For a player whose production still mattered in San Franciscos victory, it was a reminder that the teams first game abroad came with a little more texture than the scoreboard alone showed. The football part was straightforward enough, but the travel story added a different kind of memory to the opener. [Read more 🡒]
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Steve Youngs postgame message served as a reminder that the real challenge for San Francisco is rarely about upside. The former quarterback pointed to the obvious strength of the roster while noting how often injuries have complicated things for this team, which is why the path to another Super Bowl run still has to be handled week by week. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Just Found An International Edge Rams Fans Hate
The 49ers did not just show up in Australia for a game, they treated the trip like a chance to make a first impression that could last. While the Rams opted to arrive late for their NFL date down under, San Francisco got there early and worked the local scene, a contrast that gave the 49ers a chance to feel less like visitors and more like a team willing to meet the country halfway.
For a franchise always looking to widen its reach, that kind of approach matters. It helped the 49ers build more support in Australia while leaving the Rams to wonder whether they had passed on a rare opportunity to grow a fanbase in a market still figuring out which NFL team to adopt. [Read more 🡒]