NFL announces Rams-49ers will be on Saturday night in Week 16

The NFL awarded Rams-49ers a prime-time slot in Week 16, with kickoff at 8:15 p.m. ET on Saturday night.

The Los Angeles Rams are quickly falling out of playoff contention with each mounting loss, seeing their postseason odds drop to 16.5 percent after Week 10’s results. Yet, the NFL still wants them in prime time late in the season.

The league announced on Tuesday that the Rams-49ers matchup in Week 16 will be held on Saturday night. There were three time slots available on Saturday in Week 16 with five games to choose from, and the NFL decided to give this NFC West showdown was given a marquee spot.

Bills-Patriots will be at 4:30 p.m. ET, with Texans-Buccaneers taking place at 1 p.m. ET that Saturday. The other two games – Raiders-Chargers and Lions-Broncos – will be on Sunday.

This means four of the Rams’ final seven games will be in prime time, with two in a row coming up against the Bears (SNF) and Ravens (MNF) the following week.

When Week 16 rolls around, the Rams hope to be in playoff contention. If not, they’ll try to play spoiler against the 49ers and drop them down in the postseason seeding.