5. Linebackers did well in areas
Photo credit: Mike McCarn/ AP photographer.
So for those that are concerned about Bryce Hager starting, he didn’t play as often as the other starting linebackers. As expected, Hager switched out with Taylor Rapp and Marqui Christian. It was primarily Rapp considering Christian had to take over for the injured Eric Weddle. Rapp did an excellent job at this hybrid role. Littleton easily had one of the best games of his career and Fowler did well too. Matthews did have an explosive sack on Newton, but was relatively quiet. Ebukam did receive more playing time than expected. The linebacking corps couldn’t contain Christian McCaffrey, but that’s not an easy job for any defense. They were able to limit Greg Olsen’s production, and that’s an improvement considering they struggled with tight ends last year.
