Los Angeles Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers: Sunday Night Football Preview and Predictions

By AJ Olona

Sunday, Oct. 18 at 8:20 P.M. EST NBC

Spread: Rams, -3.0

Three weeks into the season, the NFC West was one of the most competitive divisions of all of football. However, with both the Cardinals and 49ers floundering a bit in recent weeks, the Rams and the Seahawks have taken a step forward. At the beginning of the season, this matchup was looked at as one of the most exciting and one of the most anticipated. However, that was before the 49ers suffered a flurry of injuries to both their offense and defensive lineups. With the 49ers coming off of a blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins, it is becoming more and more likely that the 49ers Super Bowl team from last year is not the same team in 2020.

LA Rams

The Los Angeles Rams enter this Week 6 matchup with a 4-1 record, coming off of a 30-10 win against the Washington Football Team. The only loss on the season for the Rams came in Week 3 at the hands of the Buffalo Bills, a game that was heavily impacted by a questionable pass interference call that helped the Bills eventually win the game.

(USA TODAY Sports)

Rams Offense

So far this season, the Rams have had one of the most explosive offenses in the entire league. They rank 4th in the NFL in terms of yards per game in which they are averaging 403.6. The Rams are propelled by their running game this year, which is surprising given that they let Todd Gurley go from his contract in the offseason and are sparingly using rookie second-round pick, Cam Akers. The Rams are leaning heavily into the “hot hand” approach in the backfield this season. So far through 5 games, we have only seen the same running back receive a majority of the touches in back-to-back weeks once. The Rams have been getting both Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown involved in different weeks. While the Rams do not have one receiver on the roster that is taking the game over, both Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods have been chipping in separately. Couple that with the fact that the Rams are also getting good production from both Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee, and the Rams offense has been hard to stop all year. Sean McVay has done a great job revitalizing this offense back to what it was from a year ago. The Rams are the second least penalized team in the NFL and have allowed only 7 sacks through 5 games. If they can keep it up on the offensive side of the ball, the 49ers are going to have their handful all night long.

Rams Defense

The Rams defense has been dominant so far in 2020 as they also possess a top-5 defense on the year heading into Week 5. They currently are allowing the fifth-lowest amount of passing yards in the league, which is spearheaded by Jalen Ramsey. The Rams defense employs both Ramsey and Aaron Donald, arguably the best players at their respective positions. Aaron Donald is coming off of a game in which he was able to bring down the Washington Football Teams quarterbacks 4 times all by himself. Given the fact that the 49ers have one of the worst offensive lines in the league, and this game spells trouble for Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers offense.

San Francisco 49ers

No team has seen a bigger drop off in from 2019 to 2020 than the San Francisco 49ers. After the team blew a lead to the Kansas City Chiefs, things have been downhill. The 49ers have dealt with a flurry of injuries on the year to both the offense and the defensive side of the ball. Although the 49ers are finally getting healthier as the season is progressing, they are still not able to pull it together.

49ers Offense

For the first time all year in Week 5, the 49ers had most of their offensive players all on the field together. Against the Miami Dolphins, the 49ers got back quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, running back Raheem Mostert, and wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Despite finally having their full offense together on the field, the 49ers looked off. They could not get anything going all day against the Miami Dolphins. Jimmy Garoppolo in particular looked off from the get-go. It’s possible that he was rushed back too early from injury and simply could not perform to his fullest abilities, but it is also possible that Jimmy G simply does not have what it takes to lead this 49ers offense. Against the 1-3 Dolphins, the 49ers could only put 17 points on the board. Garoppolo started the game 7/17 for 77 yards and 2 picks before he was pulled for backup C.J. Beathard. Garoppolo will start this upcoming game against the Rams, but if he fails to get anything going once again, the 49ers may find themselves turning to their backup quarterback once again. Raheem Mostert was able to pick up right where he left off, rushing for 90 yards on just 11 carries. For the 49ers offense to get back on track, Mostert needs to take on more of a role in the offense early on. The 49ers must get back to controlling the game on the ground to finally open up the passing game.

(Photo courtesy of The Athletic)

49ers Defense 

The 49ers defense has also been a shell of its former self from 2019. They have been without Richard Sherman and Nick Bosa pretty much for the entire season, and the decision to send DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts proves that it may have had a bigger hit on the team than the organization may have anticipated. Whether it is due to injuries or not, the 49er’s defense has been troublesome. In Week 5, the 49ers allowed the 1-3 Miami Dolphins to shred their defense. The Ryan Fitzpatrick-led offense was able to put up 43 points on the defending NFC Champions. The 49ers were able to contain the run against the Dolphins, but that is not surprising given that the Dolphins have one of the worst rushing offenses in the entire league. It didn’t matter though, as Ryan Fitzpatrick was able to throw from 350 yards and 3 touchdowns on the day. Fitzpatrick didn’t turn the ball over once and only had six incompletions. Jared Goff is a much better quarterback than Ryan Fitzpatrick at this point in his career. Given that the 49ers struggled so heavily with Fitzpatrick, it is safe to think that they might also struggle with Goff.

Prediction

The 49ers have had multiple primetime opportunities to prove that they are still the same team from 2019 that made the Super Bowl. However, they have failed at every opportunity that they have had. Even though the team is finally getting healthy, they are still not on the same page. The 49ers were just embarrassed by the Miami Dolphins, a team that they should have had beat. Jared Goff and the Rams are on a hot streak so far this season and look to continue on Sunday against the 49ers. The 49ers look like a bad team and another loss here will be a huge hit to the rest of their season. If Garoppolo continues to play as he has lately, the 49ers may already be looking toward the future. Seeing what the Dolphins just did to the 49ers, this game could be ugly.

SHAWN’S PREDICTION: Rams 28 - 16

AJ’S PREDICTION: Rams 48 - 23

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