I stayed up late Monday night so you didn’t have to.
First, there were the Chris Bermanisms. See: “The Big Bell-bottom.” The game was at Levi’s Stadium. Bell-bottoms. Get it?!
And then there was the quality of football. Few matchups can reveal as much about the depth of quarterbacks in the NFL like Blaine Gabbert and the 49ers against Case Keenum's Rams.
But with San Francisco coming to Charlotte in Week Two, it was my journalistic duty to suck it up for three hours. Here are some things I wrote down:
Are the 49ers not THAT bad or are the Rams THAT bad?
It stinks when a city loses a team, but folks in St. Louis sure aren’t missing an entertaining offense. In their first game as Los Angeles’s new team, the Rams were reminiscent of the 2010 Panthers. Yeah, not good.
The Rams had just 87 yards at the half and finished with a grand total of 186 yards and zero points. The last time a team was shutout in Week 1? St. Louis by Seattle in 2009.
With their 28-0 win, the 49ers posted the week's largest margin of victory. That had a lot to do with the Rams’ ineptitude, but there's also a chance the 49ers are better than many have assumed.
Long, aggressive defense
To give Berman credit, during starting lineups, he likened the 49ers’ defensive line to a basketball team. That’s a good analogy for a line that features five guys who are at least 6-foot-5. To put that in perspective, the Panthers don’t have anyone on their D-line who's taller than 6-foot-4.
New 49ers coach Chip Kelly, who's famously partial to Oregon players, has three former Ducks on the D-line: Arik Armstead (6-7), DeForest Buckner (6-7) and Taylor Hart (6-6).
Because they didn’t have to worry much about Keenum or his receivers, the 49ers were able to focus their efforts on shutting down 2015 Offensive Rookie of the Year Todd Gurley, who managed just 47 yards on 17 carries.
The 49ers also put a good amount of pressure on Keenum, who was sacked twice and hurried plenty while finishing with two interceptions. One of those fell into the hands of NaVorro Bowman, the 3-time Pro Bowl linebacker who led San Francisco with nine tackles.
The 49ers’ defense isn’t the Broncos, but it has enough to make life potentially troublesome for Cam Newton and company.
Impressive ground game
If the Rams could've bragged about anything coming in, it would’ve been their elite front seven. But the 49ers had no problem running through Aaron Donald's line, especially in a 123-yard first half.
That’s especially notable following the Panthers’ struggles against the Broncos, who picked up 95 of their 148 rushing yards in Thursday's first half.
The 49ers were paced by Carlos Hyde, a third-year back who ran for 88 yards and scored twice on 23 attempts. Most surprisingly, quarterback Blaine Gabbert crushed the Rams’ spirit by scrambling four times for first downs.
Gabbert may be a good fit
When teaching his up-tempo offense, Kelly preaches “touchdown, first down, get down.” That means if a scrambling quarterback can’t score or get a first down, he should get down and move on to the next play. Gabbert took a couple more hits than he should have, but ultimately, the former Jaguars’ first-round pick looked like an OK temporary solution for Kelly’s offense.
The 49ers’ passing attack isn’t much of one, as evidenced by the fact recently acquired Jeremy Kerley led them with seven receptions and 61 yards on 11 targets. And Gabbert could have been more efficient than his 22-of-35 line. But he didn’t turn the ball over and led the 49ers to a 28-10 advantage in first downs.
While Gabbert isn't great, remember, just two years ago, the Panthers were blown out by Mark Sanchez and Kelly's Eagles. Carolina’s defense is better now than it was then, but if it’s clicking, Kelly’s offense is capable of giving anyone fits.