5 big losers, 4 consolation-prize winners from Rams' deflating loss to 49ers

Welp, that went poorly.

So much for a hot start to the season. The Los Angeles Rams' 27-7 loss to the 49ers on Thursday night was a dismal affair in most phases.

The passing offense never got going. The defense bent, then broke. It doesn't happen often, but Rams coaches were thoroughly out-gamplanned.

Predictably, winners on the Rams' side of the ledger were outweighed by the losers. For the sake of balance, however, here's a look at some of both the good and the much more abundant bad from a forgettable Week 1 performance.

5 losers from Rams' debacle Down Under

Quarterback Matthew Stafford

To put it lightly, No. 9 was not at his finest. His stat line - 15-of-25 passing for 160 yards and an interception - was easily worse than any he produced last season. Some of Stafford's throws were strangely lacking in the appropriate touch and he seemed out of sync with his receivers, leading to multiple overthrows and several near-picks in addition to the one the 49ers came down with. As for the team as a whole, it was an outing to forget.

The Rams pass rush and Myles Garrett

So much for adding Garrett, right? Obviously that's an exaggeration, but the Rams failed to record a sack and Garrett was absent from the box score altogether. The 49ers certainly sent reinforcements his way, deploying chip blocks and other mechanisms to slow his path to the pocket, and it proved a successful strategy. Left tackle Trent Williams was the winner of their one-on-one matchup.

Defensive coordinator Chris Shula

Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers' head coach and play-caller, thoroughly outmaneuvered Shula in this one. Although the defenses exchanged punches early, by the second half San Francisco had dink-and-dunked Shula's scheme to death and worn out Rams defenders. Led by Christian McCaffrey and impressive rookie Kaelon Black, the 49ers ran for 178 yards on 5.8 yards per carry. The passing game found reliable targets in Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel all night long.

Head coach Sean McVay

Similarly, former Rams DC Raheem Morris, now in the same role with the 49ers, won the chess match against his old head coach. When Puka Nacua was not the target, LA's passing attack was anemic. That was partly a product of Stafford's subpar play, but also of the fact that most of the time, no one was open. Morris constantly put McVay up against third and long, scheming up coverages that left little daylight between receivers and DBs. The Rams' 7 points speak for themselves. Morris rests his case.

Rams' travel strategy

Guess that decides it, if you'll pardon the tongue-in-cheek. As you must be aware, the Rams spent the week practicing in Los Angeles, at their normal facility while following their normal routines, before touching down in Melbourne, Australia around 28 hours before kickoff. The 49ers spent the week overseas. It doesn't help the Rams' case that almost the entire team came out flat and sluggish.

...And 4 consolation-prize winners

Quarterback Stetson Bennett

The Rams brought in Bennett with 3:29 to go and the game out of hand. Not only did he take his first official snaps, he made the most of them by going 2-of-3 passing for 12 yards, and taking off for a nine-yard scramble. For fans waiting to see Bennett in action since being drafted three years ago, it was a fun moment in an otherwise decidedly unfun event.

Safety Quentin Lake

Lake was busy all game, recording a team-high 10 tackles and a first-half interception that reversed a 49ers drive in Rams territory. Lake looked at home in his versatile, nomadic role as a captain of the secondary.

For the most part the Rams secondary held up decently well with Evans and Samuel doing work in the short game. The lone blemish was a 39-yard touchdown strike to former Rams receiver DeMarcus Robinson, who sped behind the defense for an easy end-zone grab in stride.

Running backs Blake Corum and Kyren Williams

The steady success of the Rams' running-back duo was the most tangibly positive takeaway from a menu of slim pickings. Corum carried 10 times for 54 yards, producing LA's longest run of the day (13 yards); Williams ran it 11 times for 41 yards and the Horns' only score, a five-yard plunge on the first play of the second quarter. Williams also caught three passes for 24 yards.

Corum has yet to emerge as a pass-catcher or blocker like Williams, but in terms of ball-carrying, the season opener suggests the Rams may adopt a more balanced time share after Corum burst onto the scene as a sophomore.

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