3. The Injuries to the Secondary are Killed the Defense

The 49ers were without Richard Sherman and Jimmie Ward against the Rams wide receivers. Their presence was missed exponentially as the team couldn’t contain guys like Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods.

With the inexperience of guys like Greg Mabin and DJ Reed and the underperformance of Ahkello Witherspoon, it’s not the best combination. Adding onto the injury woes, safety Adrian Colbert came away with an injury that has him on IR.

Much of the secondary is either injured or not playing up to par. The Rams were aware of this as they attacked the 49ers over the top multiple times throughout the afternoon. They allowed four plays that went 20 yards or more. All of them by Cooks and Woods.

It’s not something the defense wants to have happened as they continue to falter with the injuries to the team. With both Sherman and Ward plaguing nagging injuries and Colbert out for the year, it’s up to the rest of the secondary to step up.

It’s unsure what the team will do with Colbert out for the rest of the year now. They can either go with the rookie Reed or move Ward to his original position of free safety. But whatever the defensive coordinator Robert Saleh does will be best for the defense.