The 49ers took a 24-9 lead on the strength of a 52 yard intercept by Hufanga. There is a 0:29
Nick Bosa didn't hesitate when he was asked what the ceiling was for the Niners defense.
Bosa thinks it is the best in the league. This year we have the personnel to do it, that's what our mindset is. All three levels are elite players.
Bosa's belief is backed by a lot of evidence, given what the Niners' defense did to the Rams on Monday night.
The Niners have won seven in a row against the Rams, but they lost the most important game of the season in the playoffs. They have won 17 consecutive regular-season contests against the Rams.
The Niners didn't pitch a whitewash against the Rams, who entered with a banged up interior offensive line. They did come close.
For the first time in Matthew Stafford's 25 starts, the Rams did not score an offensive touchdown.
Bosa and his teammates racked up 17 pressures and sacked Stafford seven times. Bosa leads the league in both categories with six and 23 pressures.
The Rams averaged 3.5 yards per play. In a game that was close for most of the night, the Niners' offense felt like it was under control.
Jimmy Garoppolo said there was a point when it was 14-9, but he felt confident in the defense. I don't watch a lot of it, but I see a couple plays that are bad for the quarterback. I like having them on my side, but I don't like going against them in practice, so it's a good group over there. They're not easy to deal with.
San Francisco's defense was able to generate some turnovers to finish the job. The lack of turnovers was lamented by Bosa and Warner last week and they said that would be the next step for the defense.
The second-year safety picked off a Stafford screen pass and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown to give the 49ers a 27-13 lead.
Each of the past four seasons, the Niners have had at least one pick-six against the Rams.
Warner said that the difference was the one they made. In order to win the game, we had to get the ball and we did that.
The team's seventh sack forced Stafford to lose the ball as Kerry Hyder Jr. recovered.
Monday's performance was the most complete for the Niners' defense, but it wasn't the only one. San Francisco is first in the league in points allowed per game, yards per game, sacks per dropback, and yards per play.
All of that for a group that is expecting starting free safety Jimmie Ward to return from a hamstring injury.
George Kittle said he didn't think they had given up 20 points in a game. If we score 21 points a game, we are going to win some games. We need to put points on the board and hold onto the football.
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