San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan returned to the sideline in a big way on Friday in Australia.

The 49ers coach endured a car accident during the summer, and after working his way back, he didn’t miss a beat against the Los Angeles Rams. San Francisco came out big against the Super Bowl favorites, and social media reaction poured in for Shanahan’s coaching performance as the 49ers won big 27-7.

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“Kyle Shanahan is coaching circles around the Rams DC,” one X user wrote.

Niners quarterback Brock Purdy enjoyed a clean pocket in his first 34 dropbacks with only four quarterback hits and no sacks. That’s despite facing a fierce Rams pass rush that now features Myles Garrett.

Purdy had time to throw to a tune of three touchdown passes through the middle of the third quarter. Associated Press writer Josh Dubow pointed out Purdy made a rare Shanahan feat happen in the process as those touchdowns went to three different receivers for only the third time in the coach’s career.

Purdy hits Demarcus Robinson, Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel for touchdowns against the Rams. The other times that occurred, as Dubow pointed out, came against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023 and the Arizona Cardinals in 2019.

“Master class by Kyle Shanahan,” one X user wrote. “Purdy looks sharper too, always fit the system, but today he just looks more comfortable in all his decisions then usual.”

Niners Defense Dominated

San Francisco had much more than just Purdy engineering one successful drive after another. The 49ers defense contained the Rams throughout, inclding a successful goal line stand and collecting two takeaways.

“The Kyle Shanahan and Raheem Morris combo is great,” one X user piped in.

Shanahan added Morris to his staff this offseason, a big addition since Morris has head coaching experience. Morris’ unit got a boost with the return of Nick Bosa from injury, and he had four tackles, including two for loss, through the middle of the fourth quarter.

Shanahan’s offense delivered the biggest back-breaker of the night, however, when the 49ers drove 11 plays for 99 yards to take the 24-7 lead. Independent NFL analyst Warren Sharp called it “… one of the best schemed up and called games in the illustrious play calling career of Kyle Shanahan.”

Kyle Shanahan Building on Father’s Legacy

The 10th-year 49ers coach has been on coaching staffs in the league since 2004; he has enjoyed droves of success with an 82-67 record and two Super Bowl appearances. His father, Mike Shanahan, was an NFL coaching legend and won two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos.

The younger Shanahan has followed suit and won NFL Assistant Coach of the Year in 2016 and Sports News Coach of the Year in 2019. Shanahan is looking to do even more this year in a stacked NFC West with the Rams and defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, which opened the season with a home win on Wednesday against the New England Patriots, 13-10.

Thanks to Shanahan’s coaching, the 49ers can go back to the U.S. with a convincing win and a long break before Week 2.

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The Los Angeles Rams stumbled in the worst way against the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night, losing their season opener, 27-7. It was one of the worst losses in Sean McVay's tenure, making the long flight back to Southern California feel that much longer after a defeat like that.

Three players stood out in a positive way for the Rams, but many of their biggest stars were disappointments in Melbourne.

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Stud: Blake Corum

It's hard to find very many bright spots from this loss, but Corum was one of them. He rushed 10 times for 54 yards, with a long of 13 yards. At one point in the second quarter, he racked up 34 yards on four straight carries, looking quick and explosive through the line of scrimmage.

Some will make the case that he should be the Rams' No. 1 running back, and while we're not quite at that point yet, he did look like the bigger playmaker on the field Thursday.

Dud: Matthew Stafford

From the very beginning of the game, Stafford didn't look comfortable. He was holding the ball a second longer than usual, whether it was because receivers weren't getting open or he wasn't trusting what he was seeing. He completed just 15 of 25 passes for 155 yards and no touchdowns with one bad interception when the Rams were in field goal range.

He didn't see the field well and will need to be much better moving forward if the Rams are going to get back on track.

Stud: Puka Nacua

Nacua had very little to work with in this one. It was tough to find open space against the 49ers defense, and even the catches Nacua did make were in traffic and by no means easy. His 41-yard catch in the first quarter was the Rams' best play of the game and it required him to elevate and stiff-arm a defender to pick up the yardage that he did.

He finished with 74 yards on five catches, which is a modest stat line by his standards.

Dud: Myles Garrett

Garrett's debut couldn't have gone much worse than it did. He was blanked on the stat sheet, failing to record a single tackle or QB hit for just the fourth time in his career. He said after the game that he's not fully healthy and he was more worried about not getting hurt when he was on the field, but even at 90%, Garrett should be better than he was.

Stud: Trent McDuffie

One of the Rams' other big offseason additions looked great. McDuffie made four tackles and provided tight coverage on the back end, only allowing two catches on four targets for 12 yards, according to PFF. He also had two pass breakups and a tackle for a loss.

The Rams used a lot of zone coverage, but once they unleash McDuffie in man, he should be even better.

Dud: Davante Adams

Adams was barely involved in this one. He didn't have a single catch in the first half, had one reception for 13 yards in the third quarter and two more in the fourth when the game was just about out of reach. Even in the red zone, the Rams didn't have him on the field the majority of the time, instead going with their 13 personnel packages.

On six targets, he caught just three passes for 26 yards.

Dud: Tyler Higbee

It's hard to understand why Higbee is getting more targets and involvement than Terrance Ferguson. He caught two passes for 12 yards, which came on back-to-back plays, the second of which ended with a lost fumble that basically iced the game for the 49ers.

Higbee doesn't have the juice to be a downfield threat, nor does he offer the upside that Ferguson does as a run-after-catch receiver.

Dud: Kamren Kinchens

Kinchens appeared to be out of position on Demarcus Robinson's 39-yard touchdown catch, playing too shallow and allowing the receiver to blow by him on a streak down the middle of the field. He was also the closest defender on Deebo Samuel's 15-yard touchdown catch, though it's hard to know if he was fully to blame for it.

He just didn't look comfortable in space, which can happen against an offense as complex as Kyle Shanahan's.

This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Studs and duds from Rams' Week 1 loss: Stafford, Garrett disappoint

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