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The rivalry between the Rams and 49ers has been somewhat one-sided in recent years. The 49ers have won the last seven regular-season meetings, but the Rams won the game that mattered most: the NFC title game in January, which propelled them to a Super Bowl win.
Sunday will mark the ninth meeting between these teams since 2019 and the second this season. The 49ers crushed the Rams in Round 1, 24-9, but the Rams are healthier now than they were in Week 4.
So can they pull off what’s technically considered an upset over their division rivals, despite being at home? Things are set up for them to do so. The Rams have Brian Allen, Van Jefferson, Cobie Durant and Troy Hill back from injury, all of whom should have an immediate impact. The 49ers, meanwhile, don’t have Deebo Samuel, Arik Armstead, Dre Greenlaw or Kyle Juszczyk for this game.
Not to mention, the Rams are coming off a bye, which gave them an extra week to prepare for a 49ers team that was just blown out by the Chiefs in Week 7. Momentum is on the Rams’ side, but history is not. The 49ers are often the more physical team and take advantage of any weaknesses Los Angeles has on the offensive line by relentlessly pressuring Matthew Stafford.
It’s hard to see that changing much on Sunday with the Rams starting three backups on the offensive line. Nick Bosa is still there and he’s a game-wrecker on his own. Fred Warner makes a ton of plays at linebacker and Charvarius Ward was a valuable offseason addition.
Offensively, the 49ers will be without Samuel, but Christian McCaffrey is more than capable of replacing his playmaking ability on offense. The Rams had trouble getting him on the ground two weeks ago when they played the Panthers, and he could be even more dangerous in Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
Brandon Aiyuk is having a very good season and there’s George Kittle, too. The key for the Rams is not only tackling those players in the open field, but pressuring Jimmy Garoppolo into mistakes, which he’s prone to.
This should be a very close game, much closer than Week 4. But I don’t know if this is the week the Rams get it done against their division rivals, given the state of the offense.
Final score prediction: 49ers 21, Rams 18