# How Raheem Morris broke Sean McVay's offense

> The 49ers held the Rams to seven points without a single sack, and their new coordinator already looks like somebody's next head coach.
- Title: How Raheem Morris broke Sean McVay's offense · California Post
- Summary: The 49ers held the Rams to seven points without a single sack, and their new coordinator already looks like somebody's next head coach. Pressure and disguise…
- Keywords: nfl, 49ers, defense, raheem morris, coaching, news, entertainment, Raheem, Morris, broke, Sean, McVay's
- Source: California Post — https://nypost.com/2026/09/12/sports/raheem-morris-may-not-be-49ers-dc-for-long-after-rams-beatdown
- Published: 2026-09-12T20:09:34+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: nfl, 49ers, defense, raheem morris, coaching, news, entertainment
## A 27-7 statement
San Francisco opened the season by beating the Rams in Melbourne, holding Los Angeles to two third-down conversions on nine tries and 15 total first downs.
## McVay said the word
Three red zone trips produced mostly nothing, including a goal-line stand the 49ers answered with a 99-yard drive. The Rams coach called it a humbling day.

> This is a humbling day for us
## Stafford looked lost
He threw for 155 yards, his fourth fewest in 75 games with McVay, and posted a 61.2 rating, his second worst in a Rams uniform.
## Morris knows the playbook
He was the Rams' defensive coordinator from 2021 to 2023, going against McVay in practice every day. That familiarity showed up on every snap.
## He's done it before
As Falcons head coach last season, Morris's defense took three of Stafford's eight interceptions on the year. It was Stafford's only game with more picks than touchdowns.
## Disguised coverages
Morris's biggest new wrinkle is hiding what the secondary is doing until the snap. It scrambled one of the league's most cerebral quarterbacks.
## Almost nobody came back
Of the 11 defenders who started the NFC divisional loss, three started the opener. Only two others are even on the roster.
## The heart came back too
Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw all played together for the first time since 2024. Bosa set the tone on the first snap, and Warner punched out a fumble Greenlaw set up.
## Zero sacks, total chaos
The 49ers never got Stafford down, yet hit him eight times and logged 14 pressures on 25 dropbacks. Osa Odighizuwa had five pressures and four hits by himself.
## He won't be here long
That pressure pace over 17 games projects to 136 QB hits, second in the league last year. Richard Sherman said the 49ers manhandled the Rams.

> When you play defense like that, you ain't gonna have Raheem Morris for long
## Key takeaway

Pressure and disguise beat sack totals. Morris got 14 pressures on 25 dropbacks and turned last year's worst pass rush into a problem for an MVP.