Tag: 49ers vs rams

49ers Week 18 practices begin with 10 players out due to rest or injury

The #49ers had 10 players out of Wednesday’s practice:

Who plays and how much for the 49ers in their season finale against the Rams is still up in the air for head coach Kyle Shanahan. Quarterback Brock Purdy is going to get the week off, but beyond that Shanahan said there’s no guarantee any other players will rest.

Part of that is because the team has to field a full roster on game day and their injury situation will keep them from perhaps sitting as many players as they might want to. They also have a bye in the wild card round which complicates the situation since two full weeks off could lead to some rust for players when they finally suit up again for the divisional round.

San Francisco’s injury situation is illustrated in the Wednesday practice participation report, where 10 players were out of the session for either rest or injury. Two other players were limited.

Here’s a look at the full practice report from Wednesday:

49ers vs. Rams will be backup QB battle with Carson Wentz likely starting for LA

The #49ers won’t see Rams QB Matthew Stafford on Sunday with Carson Wentz slated to start.

It sounds like Sunday’s game between the 49ers and Rams will be a battle of backup quarterbacks. NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo on Wednesday reported Carson Wentz will start for the Rams with their playoff seeding set at the No. 6 or 7 spot.

Wentz recently joined the Rams prior to Week 11 to back up veteran signal caller Matthew Stafford. He’d previously been unsigned. Sunday will be his first start since Week 16 of last season.

Since joining the NFL as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 draft, Wentz has played in 94 games with 92 starts. He’s completed 62.6 percent of his passes and averaged 6.7 yards per attempt. Wentz has 151 touchdown passes and 66 interceptions in those 94 games.

Last season he played well against San Francisco in backup duty for the Commanders. The 49ers won 37-20, but Wentz completed 12-of-16 for 123 yards and a touchdown.

With the 49ers not playing for playoff positioning Sunday and the Rams prioritizing rest over their seeding, the backup QBs starting is a sign of how the coaches intend to treat the game.

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Sam Darnold to start for 49ers vs. Rams in Week 18

The #49ers will start Sam Darnold vs. the Rams.

With their No. 1 seed wrapped up, the 49ers won’t start quarterback Brock Purdy in their season finale against the Rams. Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Wednesday in a press conference told reporters Purdy will sit out the team’s Week 18 game at Levi’s Stadium. Sam Darnold will get the start.

Purdy in two of the team’s last three games had to exit briefly because of a stinger in his non-throwing shoulder. Given that left tackle Trent Williams may also sit out it makes sense that San Francisco wouldn’t want to risk its starting QB behind backup offensive linemen.

Shanahan did note that Purdy is the only player who will for sure rest Sunday.

Darnold has appeared in nine games for the 49ers this year. He’s completed 12-of-20 throws for 108 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception. Sunday will mark his first start with San Francisco since signing this offseason.

In 65 games Darnold has 55 starts in his career. He’s completing 59.7 percent of his passes with 62 touchdowns, 56 interceptions and 6.7 yards per attempt.

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8 49ers who could get rest in Week 18 game vs. Rams

Here are some #49ers who could get rest in Week 18:

The 49ers don’t have anything to play for in their season finale. They’ve locked up the No. 1 seed, and the Rams have already clinched a playoff spot so there’s not really a spoiler angle they can lean on.

With their seeding locked in, it would make sense for San Francisco to give some of their starters an extra week of rest to close the year. Even with the first-round playoff bye, an additional week off could pay dividends for some of the team’s starters who have been banged up this year.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan has already announced that running back Christian McCaffrey is out with a calf strain. Defensive tackle Arik Armstead will also remain out with knee and foot injuries. It wouldn’t be a surprise if a handful of other players dealing with injuries like safety Ji’Ayir Brown and tight end Ross Dwelley aren’t pushed into action in Week 18.

There are a handful of other players who could get the week off in the season finale, or at least see substantially reduced roles. If the 49ers treat their home bout with the Rams as a preseason game, here are some players who could (or should) miss the game:

Deebo Samuel says he and 49ers starters will play vs. Rams

There’s one #49ers starter who says he won’t be resting for the team’s regular season finale:

The 49ers by clinching the No. 1 seed in the NFC gave themselves a unique opportunity to close the 2023 season. They could conceivably decide to rest some players the final week to give them some extra time off with the bye week already secured. However, it doesn’t sound like the team plans on resting much according to wide receiver Deebo Samuel.

Samuel in an appearance with Kay Adams on her show, ‘Up and Adams,’ said the team is viewing Week 18 as an opportunity to get better and stay in the flow of the season.

“You definitely want to keep the flow going, but you also want to give your body a rest,” Samuel said. “So I feel like we’ll play this game for a good bit just to keep the groove going and not take too much time off. I feel like we’re gonna be going this week and practicing hard, and continue to do the things we do.We just gotta keep building. We haven’t played our best ball yet so we just gotta continue to get better and better each day.”

This lines up with what head coach Kyle Shanahan has told reporters in two media appearances since their Week 17 game ended. He understands the value of rest and keeping the team’s top players out of harm’s way, but there’s also a need to continue playing and getting better to ensure the club is playing its best heading into the postseason.

Shanahan on Monday said he hasn’t made a decision on which starters will play and which ones won’t. Although running back Christian McCaffrey and defensive tackle Arik Armstead have already been ruled out. McCaffrey is dealing with a calf strain, and Armstead is working through knee and foot issues.

There may be other starters who wind up sitting out, but Samuel is confident he’s suiting up against the Rams on Sunday. When Adams asked if he’s playing, the 49ers All-Pro wide receiver didn’t mince words.

“Yeah, fa sho.”

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Kyle Shanahan will ‘definitely rest some guys’ vs. Rams in Week 18

The #49ers do plan on resting some players in their season finale vs. the Rams.

The 49ers on Sunday wrapped up the NFC’s No. 1 seed, leading their Week 18 game against the Rams to become relatively meaningless for San Francisco.

They’ve secured a first-round bye in the playoffs thanks to snagging the top spot in the standings, but now they can ostensibly turn Week 18 into an opportunity to get some banged up players an additional week off.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Sunday after the 49ers’ win over the Commanders said he hadn’t given much thought to resting players, but it sounds like he’s keen to do so vs. the Rams.

“I’m not sure,” Shanahan said. “I really didn’t think about it. We were just focused on this (game). We’ll definitely try to rest some guys, but you can’t rest everybody. It’s too hard. You don’t have enough players, so we’ve gotta field a team without a doubt, but we’re gonna have a big week of practice, I still think there’s lots of things we gotta obviously get a lot better at and the only way you do that is playing football and practicing football. So, we’ll have a big Wednesday-Thursday-Friday, figure out our roster as the week goes, and decide what we’ll do for Sunday.”

There are some obvious choices to rest like left tackle Trent Williams who is dealing with a groin issue, and running back Christian McCaffrey who’s now working through a calf injury. It wouldn’t be a shock if quarterback Brock Purdy sat out as well.

Outside of that though Shanahan may rely on the week of practice to see who can/should take a week off vs. the Rams.

We might also see the 49ers treat Sunday like a preseason game where some starters play a couple series before exiting.

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NFL Twitter reacts to Rams’ late backdoor cover vs. 49ers

After Sean McVay sent his FG unit onto the field for a late backdoor cover against the 49ers, NFL Twitter exploded with reactions.

https://x.com/ActionNetworkHQ/status/1703549808953495907?s=20Heading into Week 2’s divisional contest against the Los Angeles Rams, the San Francisco 49ers were listed as a 7.5-point favorite according to most sportsbooks.

After taking a 10-point lead with a Jake Moody field goal with 2:59 remaining in the contest, it looked like Kyle Shanahan, Brock Purdy and the 49ers were heading towards covering the number against the Rams.

However, Matt Stafford and Sean McVay had 1:34 remaining on the clock on the final possession of the game, trailing by 10 points. While Stafford moved the ball down the field, time flew off the clock as the Rams’ chance of a late miracle faded.

With four seconds on the clock and the Rams down by 10 points, McVay made a decision that caught the attention of sports bettors, especially anyone who bet on the 49ers at -7.5 points.

With the game seemingly out of hand, McVay sent his field goal unit on the field to cut the 49ers’ lead down to seven points. As Brett Maher banged the 38-yard field goal through the goal post with the clock hitting triple zero to make the final score 30-23, the Rams’ kicker broke the hearts of the 49ers’ bettors while likely putting a smile on anyone’s face who had Rams +7.5.

Following the kick, NFL Twitter exploded with reactions. Here’s a look at what fans, analysts and bettors were saying on Sunday afternoon.

This post originally appeared on Niners Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

NFL Twitter reacts to 49ers’ 30-23 gritty win vs. Rams in Week 2

After the 49ers moved to 2-0 with a gritty win over the Rams in Week 2, NFL Twitter chimed in with a flurry of different reactions.

After letting Matthew Stafford, Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams’ offense move up and down the field in Week 2, Steve Wilks and the San Francisco 49ers’ defense came up with two of the most pivotal plays of the game

First, Isaiah Oliver snagged a one-handed interception after a Matthew Stafford pass came flying off Kyren Williams’ hands. Behind Oliver’s interception, Jake Moody nailed a 57-yard field goal to cling to a 20-17 lead.

Later in the fourth quarter, the Rams again had the chance to drive the ball down the field to tie the game at 27. Instead, Deommodore Lenoir came up with a clutch interception off Stafford. With another field goal, the 49ers turned the contest into a two-score game with under five minutes remaining.

After giving up 17 points in the first half, Wilks’ defense only allowed six points in the final two quarters as the 49ers secured their second win of the season, 30-23.

Brock Purdy stayed hot under center with 206 yards through the air. Christian McCaffrey rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown. Deebo Samuel added 101 total yards with a rushing touchdown.

Following the 49ers’ win over the Rams, NFL Twitter chimed in with reactions. Here’s a look at what fans and analysts are saying on Sunday afternoon.

This post originally appeared on Niners Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

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Watch: 49ers’ Deebo Samuel break multiple tackles on his way to a vintage touchdown vs. Rams

The 49ers’ wide receiver broke a flurry of tackles on his way to score against the Rams.

With the chance to extend their lead to double-figures late in the game, the San Francisco 49ers put the ball in Deebo Samuel’s hands. After driving the ball nearly 75 yards down the field, Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy turned to Sameul for a vintage performance.

From the 11-yard line, Purdy swung the ball around to Sameul in the flag. While the play initially looked like it was headed towards a short gain, Samuel went to work. The 49ers’ pass catcher navigated through traffic and broke tackle after tackle on his way to a score.

Via @49ers on Twitter:

https://x.com/49ers/status/1703537155379757458?s=20

Samuel notched six catches for 63 yards to go along with four rushes for 36 yards on the ground in an impressive performance for the 49ers against the Rams.

This post originally appeared on Niners Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

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Watch: 49ers’ Brock Purdy punches in touchdown to tie game as time expires in first half vs. Rams

Before the clock hit zero in the first half against the Rams, Brock Purdy punched in a touchdown on a gusty call from Kyle Shanahan.

Trailing by a touchdown to the Los Angeles Rams, the San Francisco 49ers received the ball with under two minutes remaining in the first half in Hollywood. Just enough time for Brock Purdy and Kyle Shanahan.

After leading a drive right down the field with connections to Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey, the 49ers were sitting at first and goal. However, the clock was ticking down to the final seconds.

Following some unsuccessful plays at the goal line and penalties, there was only one second left on the clock. Instead of opting for a field goal to get points on the board, Shanahan kept his offense on the field and put faith in his young passer.

Purdy took it himself, running it right up the middle to tie the game as time expired.

Via @49ers on Twitter:

https://x.com/49ers/status/1703522891613053210?s=20

Behind Purdy’s rushing touchdown, the 49ers and Rams are locked at 17 each with two quarters left to play in Los Angeles.

This post originally appeared on Niners Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

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