How the 49ers can beat the Rams and advance to the…

(Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports)

A first order of business for DeMeco Ryans and the San Francisco defense this week? Limiting the damage done by standout wide receiver Cooper Kupp.

Kupp has been sensational for Los Angeles this season, catching 145 passes for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns, all of which are career-high numbers for the fifth-year receiver. His elite level of production continued into the postseason, as he caught five passes for 61 yards and a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals in the wild-card round, and followed that up with an epic performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, catching nine passes for 183 yards and a touchdown, including a critical reception late to set up the game-winning field goal.

He has also been impressive against San Francisco this season, catching 18 passes for 240 yards and a touchdown in two games against the 49ers.

While Kupp operates primarily out of the slot, a large selection of his plays this season generally — and against the 49ers — have come with him working downfield off a vertical stem. For example, on this play from Week 18 you see him aligned in the right slot, and release vertically against Dontae Johnson before breaking late towards the boundary:

On this play from Week 10, Kupp aligns in the left slot and shows K’Waun Williams a double-move, cutting outside shortly after his release before cutting upfield on a vertical move:

Now, part of a reason the 49ers advanced to the NFC Championship game is how they limited the damage from another big-play receiver, Davante Adams of the Green Bay Packers. As outlined in this piece, the 49ers relied on a combination of safety help, brackets and true double-teams, and the ability to create some stalemates in one-on-one situations to limit what Adams could do on Saturday night.

You can expect some of those same elements to be in play this weekend. In fact, we have seen the 49ers incorporate some of those ideas into their previous meetings with Kupp. Take a look at this play from Week 18, which finds Kupp aligned as the outside receiver on the left in the Los Angeles empty bunch set. Pay attention to linebacker Fred Warner, who aligns in blitz posture over the left side of the offensive line:

While the 49ers show pressure, they drop into Cover 1 and Warner is the underneath hole defender. But instead of staying in the middle of the field and helping on in-breaking routes — such as the one run by Van Jefferson who eventually catches the football — Warner works towards Kupp, who is being covered by Johnson. On this play, a 3rd and 2, San Francisco wanted to make sure Kupp was not going to beat them.

When the 49ers roll out zone coverages, you might see cones or brackets rolled in Kupp’s direction. For example, look at this play from Week 18 where Kupp is aligned as the single receiver on the left side of the offensive formation:

On this play, the 49ers are in Cover 4 (Quarters) coverage but use a cone call on the backside over Kupp. Instead of safety Jimmie Ward working to the three-receiver side and the 49ers leaving Emmanuel Moseley in a “MEG” — man everywhere he goes — technique over Kupp, Ward and Moseley bracket him inside-outside. Ward opens right to Kupp’s route, and only when the ball is thrown to the checkdown does Moseley come off the receiver.

Kupp is going to be a problem for Ryans and the 49ers defense to solve, but having done a good job of limiting the damage from Adams, there is a good chance they can replicate that success in the NFC Championship game.