The San Francisco 49ers dominated their state rivals the Los Angeles Rams, 31-14, on the road in Week 8 of the 2022 NFL season. This fourth win put the 49ers in second place in the NFC West. Here we will look at Christian McCaffrey and three other 49ers most responsible for their Week 8 win vs. the Rams.

The 49ers just have the Rams' number this season. It wasn't long ago when the 49ers beat the Rams at Levi's Stadium. They did it again, effectively sweeping the defending champions in 2022. This was, in fact, the 49ers' eighth regular-season victory in a row over the Rams. How's that for dominance, eh?

The 49ers' victory at SoFi Stadium wasn't the only good news for them on Sunday. After the game, head coach Kyle Shanahan stated that the club had no injuries to report in the immediate aftermath of their Week 8 conquest.

San Francisco now heads into its bye week, where the 49ers hope to get a few guys back in shape. Any injuries incurred in Week 8 may have persisted into the bye, but nothing coming out of the game is a good indication. The 49ers are 4-4 heading into their break. After this, they will return to San Francisco to host Justin Herbert and the Chargers on Sunday Night Football.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, however, let's focus on this win, where new acquisition was Christian McCaffrey the bona fide star of the show. Here we look at McCaffrey and three other 49ers most responsible for their Week 8 win vs. the Rams

4. LB Fred Warner

San Francisco's defense shut down the Rams ground assault while rendering Los Angeles one-dimensional. The 49ers kept the Rams to 61 yards in the second half That was thanks mainly to Fred Warner and Nick Bosa spearheading a ferocious defensive line. In fact, after halftime, the 49ers limited star WR Cooper Kupp to one grab for seven yards.

Warner was absolutely superb here. He registered 12 tackles, 1 pass defensed, and 1.0 sack. It marked the sixth sack of his career and his fourth career game with 10-or-more tackles and 1.0-or-more sacks. This was probably his best game of the season so far.

After allowing 529 yards against the Chiefs, the 49ers finished their two-game sweep of the Rams by allowing 480 yards total. Take note that they accomplished it without two important defensive starters who had been standouts in the previous game but were unable to play due to injuries: Arik Armstead and Dre Greenlaw. Warner, however, carried the slack as they shut the Rams out in the second half.

“In the last game, we held them to three (points) when they did get down there (in the red zone),” Warner said. “In this game, they got those two touchdowns. So the second half was huge for us to be able to get that shutout.”

3. WR Brandon Aiyuk

The Rams struggled to contain wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who broke the 80-yard receiving mark for the third time in as many games. He caught all six of his receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown. In this game, Aiyuk's touchdown reception marked his fourth of the season and the 14th of his career.

Said touchdown was one of the big highlights of the day as the pass came from an unlikely source — Christian McCaffrey.

Because San Francisco was without star wideout Deebo Samuel (hamstring), Aiyuk stepped up big-time as WR1. Over his previous three games, the 24-year-old has averaged seven catches and 82.0 yards with three total touchdowns. With a strong 38/483/4 line after eight games heading into the upcoming bye week, the former first-round choice is also on track to establish new career highs across the board.

2. QB Jimmy Garoppolo

While most of the praise was heaped (and deservingly so) on CMC, we cannot discount the effort shown by 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo. He actually produced one of his most effective performances of the season. Jimmy G completed 21-of-25 pass attempts, threw two touchdowns, and had no interceptions. As such, he finished with a 132.5 passer rating.

To be fair, Garoppolo did throw one pass right to Rams CB Jalen Ramsey, who dropped the ball. Still, the 49ers would have won even if Ramsey had hung on to the interception because the Rams were just uneven in this game. They consistently made Garoppolo look fantastic. Specifically, in the second half, Jimmy G produced several big-time end-zone plays.

Additionally, Garoppolo's 84.0 percent completion percentage is the 5th-highest in a single game in franchise history. Kudos to him.

1. RB Christian McCaffrey

Newly minted 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey played only his second game in a 49ers uniform. And yet, he accomplished something unprecedented in the franchise's 76-year history. The former All-Pro running back became the first 49ers player – and only the fourth since the 1970 merger – to pass, receive, and run for touchdowns in the same game as his team bested the Rams.

McCaffrey joins Hall of Fame running backs Walter Payton and LaDainian Tomlinson, as well as wide receiver David Patten, as the only players to record a hat trick since the merger. The former Panther put up a total of 149 yards on 24 touches. That included the aforementioned 34-yard touchdown pass to Aiyuk that put the 49ers on the board. Again, McCaffrey's performance was significant given that the 49ers missed Deebo.

Also, despite sharing the field with reigning Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp, McCaffrey was the game's difference-maker. His numbers and historic feat speak for themselves. McCaffrey has so far been a godsend for the 49ers. In fact, he is single-handedly bolstering San Francisco general manager John Lynch's case for NFL Executive of the Year.