Dramatic Build-Up To Week 18 Sums Up Wild Year

The 2021 San Francisco 49ers’ season has been an unpredictable wild ride throughout, so it is no surprise they head into a decisive Week 18 matchup with questions abounding about what their team will look like against the Los Angeles Rams.

San Francisco has tripped up against a Kyler Murray-less Arizona Cardinals and suffered a sweep at the hands of the worst Seattle Seahawks team of the Pete Carroll era but has also reeled off wins over playoff teams in the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals. In essence, making definitive predictions about the Niners is an exercise in futility.

Their ability to continue a dominant run against the Rams will, unless the New Orleans Saints lose to the Atlanta Falcons, decide whether the Niners’ season extends into the Wild Card round.

But the identity of the players who will line up at two positions critical to their hopes of defeating Los Angeles for the sixth straight time may not become apparent until gameday, with the mystery surrounding the build-up to the Niners’ regular-season finale marking a fitting end to an exciting and often frustrating rollercoaster of a campaign.

Garoppolo or Lance?

Of course, the question casting the biggest shadow over the Niners’ preparations for a season-defining game surrounds who will play quarterback.

Jimmy Garoppolo has returned to practice in a limited capacity after missing the 49ers’ win over the Houston Texans, raising hopes he could play through the torn ligament in his right thumb.

Yet on Thursday, offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel spoke about concerns with Garoppolo receiving the ball from center and handing off to running backs. Garoppolo has not been seen taking snaps from center in practice this week.

In a game where San Francisco will surely look to dominate on the ground having run the ball 44 times in the 31-10 win over the Rams in Week 10, the Niners can ill-afford any botched snaps or hand-offs.

Starting Garoppolo could, therefore, be viewed as an unnecessary risk, especially when the Niners have an alternative who brings greater upside to the offense.

After a shaky first half, Trey Lance grew into the game against the Texans and produced a display that should make San Francisco fans extremely excited about the future.

Lance finished with 249 yards and two touchdowns, along with an interception on an ill-advised first-half throw. Save for that error, it was a performance in which he displayed aggressiveness and accuracy.

Per rbsdm.com, Lance led all quarterbacks in Air Yards per attempt (11.6) in Week 17 and was sixth in completion percentage over expectation (8.5).

Lance is healthy, offers a downfield element that has frequently been beyond Garoppolo and brings added value as a runner. However, if Garoppolo is in a position where he could play through the pain, head coach Kyle Shanahan may be swayed by his decisiveness on throws over the middle of the field that set up opportunities for yardage after the catch and have played a huge role in the Niners’ success against the Rams.

The decision Shanahan comes to will be even more pivotal if the game turns into a shootout due to the 49ers’ lack of options in the secondary.

Thin defensive back depth

The timing could not be worse for the Niners, who have seen their thinnest position group hit hard by coronavirus, with Josh Norman and Emmanuel Moseley their only cornerbacks who haven’t been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list this week.

Shanahan offered a boost in an interview with KNBR (h/t David Lombardi of The Athletic) when he declared Moseley—undoubtedly the Niners’ best corner—good to go on Sunday having missed the last four games due to an ankle injury.

More good news came when rookie Ambry Thomas was activated off the COVID-19 list, the third-round pick having displayed encouraging progress since being pressed into a starting role by Moseley’s injury.

Moseley would likely start in the slot if K’Waun Williams remains on the COVID list, while Thomas and Norman would occupy the starting roles on the outside.

However, having benched him against the Texans, the 49ers would surely rather prefer not to have to rely on Norman, while the importance of free safety Jimmie Ward makes his presence on the COVID list a significant concern.

Ward had a pick-six versus the Rams in Week 10 and his versatility in playing the deep middle and the slot makes him extremely valuable to the Niners as they try to slow down a Rams passing game built on the outstanding rapport between Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp.

San Francisco’s stellar defensive front will have a huge bearing on how the Niners’ defense fares in keeping the Rams in check as they did in Week 10. Yet if they are without the likes of Williams and Ward, the 49ers will be left with a thin secondary more vulnerable to an aerial attack in which Odell Beckham Jr. is playing an increasingly prolific role.

With the quarterback situation, the decision is very much in the 49ers’ hands. In the secondary, they are beholden to their players’ recovery from an illness that continues to have an impact on the NFL season.

The uncertainty at both spots has given the lead up to the a do-or-die game for the Niners a sense of drama entirely in keeping with a season that has been anything but calm.