LA Rams weekly Wednesday walk around the NFC West

San Francisco 49ers (0-1)

The San Francisco 49ers season may be their first year as the defending NFC Champion, but that all got tossed out the window in the season opener against the visiting Arizona Cardinals. It was an ugly and embarrassing loss for the Bay City,  Of course, the history of their defense against mobile quarterbacks got uglier as Murray shredded them on the ground and in the air.

The 49ers know that they have work to do. In a game where quarterback Jimmy Garappolo needed to step up, he didn’t.  After so many preseason analyses projecting him as the best or second-best quarterback of the division, he played horrifically. I have a problem with quarterback sitting on outstanding running games getting elite grades in the NFL.  Not that some don’t rise to that level, but to automatically anoint is just wrong. The true hero of the 49ers in week one was Raheem Mostert, who rushed 15 times for 56 yards and caught four passes for 95 yards.

Rookie results mixed

How did the 49ers top rookies do? Well, rookie WR Brandon Aiyuk’s hamstring injury prevented him from playing in the season opener. And the injuries continue to pile up for the 49ers, with TE George Kittle suffering from soreness in his knee and CB Richard Sherman has been assigned to the Injured Reserve.  While rookie defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw saw limited usage of 39 defensive snaps and recorded just one tackle, he did manage to get a solid one game grade from Pro Football Focus. That’s a solid grade, but again, just one tackle.

The 49ers did discover that left tackle Trent Williams still has the juice.  But the roster overall is getting crushed by the weight of an ever-growing list of player injuries. Even as press conferences continue to shower optimism, the reality is that players are not playing, and the competition is gaining ground on the 49ers. Perhaps the only real saving grace for the 49er is their schedule, which is loaded with their easiest contests in September.

But if the 49ers lose another September game, look for the NFC West crown to go to another team.

Next Game: The San Francisco 49ers will travel to the East Coast to face the New York Jets (0-1) at 10:00 am PT