NFL
By George Lopez
The Los Angeles Rams play their home opener against their NFC West division rival San Francisco 49ers this Sunday. The Rams are looking to get off the deck as they were beaten handily 41-10 by the Arizona Cardinals in week two that dropped their record to 0-2. The 49ers are coming off a 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings that evened their record to 1-1.
Matthew Stafford leads the Rams offense. Through 2 games, Stafford has passed for 533 yards. Touchdowns have not come as much as the Rams anticipated as Stafford has only 1 touchdown pass through 2 games. Stafford has done a good job at protecting the ball as he has 1 interception while averaging 38 pass attempts per game early in the season. Stafford will look to protect the ball against the 49ers defense.
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The Rams offensive line, a strong point entering the season, has been beset by injuries. Starting center Steve Avila and starting left guard are on injured reserve and will not play against the 49ers. Starting left guard Kevin Dotson has been limited in practice with a foot injury but is expected to play Sunday. With Jackson and Avila out, Logan Bruss and Beaux Limmer are expected to start at guard and center. Alaric Jackson, who missed the first 2 games of the season while serving a suspension will make his first start of the season at left tackle for the Rams.
With the injuries to the offensive line, pass protection has been an issue for the Rams as Stafford has been sacked 7 times through 2 games. Having starting tackles Alaric Jackson and Rob Havenstein back on the field should help with pass protection coming from the outside. Limmer and Bruss will be tested by the 49ers interior pass rush and the 49ers inside blitz scheme.
The Rams will be without their 2 top receivers as Puka Nacua is on IR and Cooper Kupp suffered an ankle injury in week 2. It does look like the injury to Kupp is not as severe as the team feared as he has not been placed on the IR. With Kupp and Nacua are both unavailable, Stafford will look to Demarcus Robinson, Tutu Atwell, Tyler Johnson, and rookie Jordan Whittington to adopt the next-man-up mentality. Look for TE Colby Parkinson to play a bigger role in the Rams passing attack against the 49ers with short passes to counter the 49ers aggressive pass rush.
The injuries to the offensive line have had an impact on the Rams running attack. Kyren Williams has been held to a total of 75 rushing yards through 2 games, averaging 2.5 yards a carry. In their first 2 games, the Rams have not stuck with establishing the run early in their games. The team is averaging less than 22 carries and 68 rushing yards per game. To keep the 49ers defense honest, and balance the Rams offense, look for the Rams to go to the run early in the game. When the Rams running game is effective, it opens the passing game for the Stafford.
The Rams defense played one of their worst games against the Arizona Cardinals. Not only did they allow 41 points, they allowed 489 total yards. The pass rush was undisciplined as they failed to maintain outside pass containment as Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray was able to escape to the outside numerous times that allowed him to extend passing plays as well as tuck the ball and run. With Murray able to extend plays, the pass coverage from the Rams secondary broke down that left numerous receivers wide open. Brock Purdy, quarterback for the 49ers has the ability to extend plays by getting out of the pocket to avoid the pass rush. Look for Rams edge rushers Byron Yound and Jared Verse to be more disciplined in maintaining outside pass rush containment.
The Rams rush defense was non-existent against Arizona, allowing 231 rushing yards and nearly 6 yards per carry. Christian McCaffrey is on IR and will not play against the Rams. Jordan Mason has stepped up for McCaffrey, rushing for 247 yards with 2 touchdowns in the first 2 games for the 49ers. Look for the 49ers to test the Rams rush defense early attacking both the Rams interior defensive line as well as running off tackle.
Deebo Samuel, a key player in the 49ers offense will not play against the Rams as he is dealing with a calf injury. With Samuel out, look for WR Jauan Jennings and Brandon Aiyuk to be a bigger factor in the 49ers pass attack. TE George Kittle will be a target for Purdy to the short outside as well as over the middle. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk figures to play a significant role in the passing game.
As the team deals with injuries to key players on the offensive side of the ball, head coach Sean McVay will look to devise an offensive game plan that will get the running firing on all cylinders, which in turn will open up the passing lanes for Stafford. Look for defensive coordinator Chris Shula to come up with a game plan to slow down the 49ers running game and keep Brock Purdy from escaping the pocket. With the schemes the Rams will look to implement, the 49ers will still be too much for the Rams. Look for the Rams to fall to 0-3 on the season.
