When Brock Purdy connected with Deebo Samuel for a 15-yard touchdown, veteran offensive tackle Trent Williams sighed in relief, went to the locker room, and got an IV. It wasn’t an easy task for the San Francisco 49ers to put together an 11-play, 99-yard drive with defensive end Myles Garrett lining up on the other side. It was certainly a dreadful sequence for both Williams and the 49ers.

Still, the 49ers managed to contain the two-time Defensive Player of the Year, as Garrett finished the game without a tackle, sack, or quarterback hit. But once the dust settled, it’s safe to say that Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers came prepared for Garrett in Australia’s first NFL regular-season game. And now, two-time Super Bowl champion Bryant McFadden explained how the Niners managed to contain Garrett.

“We know Myles Garrett. He is an all-world pass rusher. You cannot debate that. But if there’s an area of concern within his game, it’s run support…That’s why you’re Kyle Shanahan; you’ve done your research. You’ve played against Myles Garrett before,” said McFadden on CBS Sports. “We’re not going to run away from him. We’re going to run to him because we’ve seen him struggle from time to time and setting the edge and being strong at the point of attack.

“And then eventually he got gas. That check engine light- his check engine light came on in the first quarter. He was just on fumes the rest of the way. Unfortunately, he can’t go to Auto Plus to get checked out because the game was still in place. So clearly, he was battling the condition standpoint, and he was battling the bully as well in number 71 (Williams).”

McFadden’s central argument is that the 49ers didn’t try to avoid Myles Garrett. In fact, they attacked the Los Angeles Rams‘ defensive front through the running game. The numbers tell the rest of the story.

The 49ers finished with 174 rushing yards, averaging roughly 5.8 yards per carry. Christian McCaffrey had 68 yards on 10 carries, while rookie Kaelon Black added 65 yards on 14 carries. The 49ers also received 29 rushing yards from Purdy on 5 carries, while Samuel had one carry for 12 yards.

Evidently, it marked just the fourth game of Garrett’s career in which he failed to record a tackle, and his first such game since Week 11 of the 2024 season. Even more striking, the Rams pressured Brock Purdy on just 7 of his 36 dropbacks, a 19% pressure rate, the team’s third-lowest rate since the beginning of the last season.

After the game, Garrett called his performance “the worst version of myself that I’ve put out there,” while the reigning Defensive Player of the Year dealt with a knee issue going into the game.

At the same time, Williams was the player primarily responsible for dealing with Garrett when the two lined up against each other. For broader context, Williams allowed zero pressures on 27 pass-rushing snaps against Garrett. It was reportedly Garrett’s first game without a pressure since 2018.

To put it simply, it’s safe to say that the 49ers’ offensive line did a great job taking care of Myles Garrett in his first start with the Rams. The unit didn’t allow the Rams to sack Purdy, as the quarterback went 25-of-34 for 205 yards and three touchdowns.

“They (O-Line) did an unbelievable job,” Shanahan said after the game. “The long ball to D-Rob (Robinson) that was huge. I think we took a seven-step drop…Which normally I would never expect to get that first-half pass rush. So it was a hell of a job by the protection by the whole line.”

At the same time, it’s worth noting that Myles Garrett entered the game with a knee issue. He had missed much of training camp because of knee swelling and had barely practiced. Before the opener, McVay had acknowledged that Garrett had been around 85% healthy during the buildup.

“When I was out there, I was a little bit more focused on myself and trying to stay healthy than what they were doing, and that showed,” said Garrett. “I wasn’t who I needed to be for my team.”

That said, the Rams will now return to LA ahead of their home opener against the New York Giants following a humbling experience in Australia. And at the center of it will be Myles Garrett, who is soon expected to be joined by Aaron Donald.