[aeneas1]

through week 5 the niners lead the league in takeaways per game, almost 3 per, and they parlayed 2 of their takeaways into pick 6's.

conversely, through week 5 the rams are second only to the abysmal dolphins in most giveaways per game, over 2 per, which is uncharacteristic given the rams rank 11th in fewest giveaways per game for the 2017-2018 stretch, not 31st.

the good news is the niners have coughed the ball up too, they rank 6th in turnovers per game, while rams defense ranks 13th in takeaways.

[BobCarl]

Gotta pressure Jimmy G

@AaronDonald

[AvengerRam]

I'd argue that turnovers and, in all likelihood, the outcome, will turn largely on how each team performs on first down.

If we can find the mojo from last year's playoff games against Dallas and New Orleans and neutralize the 49ers' running game on first down, I think we'll be able to get to Garoppolo, and I think he's prone to turn the ball over.

On the other side of the ball, first down success will allow McVay to open up the playbook and keep the 49ers' DL on their heels, rather than in Goff's face.