San Francisco 49ers put NFL on notice after second straight win | Opinion

The San Francisco 49ers swept their season series against the Rams, got healthy during a Week 9 bye and then outmuscled the Chargers, 22-16, Sunday night to complete a season sweep of Los Angeles’ two NFL teams. In the process, the 49ers demonstrated that they are one of the league’s best teams that’s finding its stride midway through the season.

The past two performances the 49ers (5-4) put on tape should put the rest of the league on notice.   

“Overall, I thought we played our best team, just the cleanest game against the Rams a couple weeks ago. That was great momentum that we felt. I thought it was the first time we done that consistently in all three phases. I really wanted to pickup off that this week,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said postgame. “I was proud of our team today.”

The Chargers outplayed the 49ers in the first half. Los Angeles went into the locker room with a 16-10 advantage. But the second half was all San Francisco.

San Francisco’s No. 1-ranked defense shut out a depleted Chargers offense in the second half and held Justin Herbert to a season-low 196 passing yards in the game.

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“We made some adjustments at halftime. Just continued to be physical,” said 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga, who had a game-sealing interception late in the fourth quarter. “We wanted to get after them upfront.”

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The 49ers played their style of football in their convincing 31-14 Week 8 win against the Los Angeles Rams and in the final two quarters versus the Chargers in Week 10.

San Francisco amassed 157 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 41 carries and the defense limited the Chargers to 238 total yards.

“We ran the football (41) times. I think whenever the 49ers do that, it’s gonna be a pretty good day,” pass rusher Nick Bosa said.

Seattle Seahawks lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to drop to 6-4 on the season. Both teams are tied in the loss column. However, it’s the 49ers who are playing some of the best football in the NFL. They are in the driver’s seat in the NFC West — and the rest of the NFL should be on notice.

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on Twitter @TheTylerDragon.

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