PLAYER NOTES
–QB C.J. Beathard matched his career-high with two touchdown passes in the Week 6 loss to Green Bay. His record fell to 1-7 in NFL starts.
–QB Tom Savage signed a one-year deal with the 49ers on Tuesday. The former fourth-round pick of the Houston Texans will begin his 49ers career as the third-stringer behind QBs C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens, head coach Kyle Shanahan announced Wednesday.
–RB Matt Breida (sprained ankle) was limited to 14 touches (all rushes) in the Week 6 loss at Green Bay. He scored on a 3-yard run at the end of the 49ers’ first possession, the second week in a row he culminated the club’s first possession with a TD. The 49ers hadn’t scored TDs on their first possession in consecutive games since Weeks 16-17 of the 2014 season.
–RB Raheem Mostert registered career-highs for carries (12) and rushing yards (87) in the Week 6 loss at Green Bay. He also caught a 26-yard pass, the longest of his career. Mostert averaged 7.25 yards per rush, helping the 49ers raise their season average to 5.12, the third-best in the NFL behind Denver (5.32) and Dallas (5.15).
–WR Marquise Goodwin (strained hamstring) recorded career-bests of 126 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the Week 6 loss at Green Bay. After having missed the Week 5 loss to Arizona to help resolve his hamstring issue, Goodwin hauled in a 67-yard TD reception against the Packers, his longest catch-and-run of the season.
–TE Cole Wick was waived Tuesday and re-signed to the 49ers’ practice squad Wednesday. Wick has appeared in five games this season.
–G Zack Golditch was released off the 49ers’ practice squad on Tuesday.
–DT DeForest Buckner increased his season total to 4.5 sacks with one in the loss at Green Bay. He now has 13.5 sacks in his career.
–DE Ryan Delaire was waived Tuesday and re-signed to the 49ers’ practice squad Wednesday. Delaire appeared in one game this season.
–DB/FS Jimmie Ward (strained hamstring) couldn’t finish the 49ers’ Week 6 loss at Green Bay. He was unable to practice Wednesday as the team began preparations for the Week 7 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams and is unlikely to be able to play in the game.
–FS Marcell Harris (Achilles surgery) was placed on the 49ers’ Injured Reserve/Designated for Return list on Wednesday. The team’s sixth-round pick sat out the entire 2017 season at the University of Florida because of the injury.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: CB Ahkello Witherspoon. The 49ers went to CB Greg Mabin ahead of the demoted Witherspoon after Jimmie Ward had gotten hurt late in Monday’s loss to Green Bay. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan indicated Wednesday it would take a good week of practice to help Witherspoon leap-frog Mabin, burned repeatedly on Green Bay’s game-tying and game-winning drives, and possibly get his starting spot back this week should Ward not be able to play because of a hamstring injury.
GAME PLAN: It might seem silly to try to match points with the NFC’s most potent offensive attack. But the 49ers nearly got a surprising road win using the tactic against Green Bay, and also narrowly missed when beaten 41-39 by the Rams at Levi’s Stadium in Week 3 last season. The 49ers also put up 34 points in the rematch with Los Angeles in the regular-season finale last year, a 21-point San Francisco win.
Defensively, the 49ers have held three of six opponents under 100 rushing yards this season. But the run-stoppers failed to get the job done when they faced the Los Angeles Chargers’ running back Melvin Gordon (159 total yards) in Week 4. And Gordon is no Todd Gurley II, who burst onto the scene big-time with 149 yards and three touchdowns in the Rams’ win at San Francisco last year.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–49ers OLB Reuben Foster vs. Rams RB Todd Gurley II. Foster had arguably the best game of his career in helping limit Green Bay running backs to just 82 yards in Monday’s loss. He’ll be even more in the spotlight this week, as it tends to follow the elusive Gurley everywhere he goes.
–49ers WR Marquise Goodwin vs. Rams CB Sam Shields. WR Emmanuel Sanders burned the Aqib Talib-less Rams defense for 115 yards and a score last week, and it’ll be up to the 49ers to attack the side opposite of standout Marcus Peters just as Denver did. Goodwin demonstrated he’s at full speed with a 67-yard TD catch Monday against Green Bay, a troubling development for the Rams, who saw the speedster complete a 50-yard catch-and-run in the first meeting last season and make a touchdown reception in the rematch.
