NFL
By: George Lopez
The Los Angeles Rams travel to San Francisco for a matchup against the 49ers on Monday night football. The Rams are coming off a 20-12 victory over the Arizona Cardinals for their 2nd win in a row. The 49ers look to rebound from their 11-10 defeat to the Denver Broncos last Sunday night. Matthew Stafford completed 18-25 passes for 249 yards. He did throw a touchdown pass in the game. He did a better job at protecting the ball as he did not throw an interception in the game. Running back Cam Akers led the Rams in rushing with 61 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown. For the second week in a row, the Rams used a balanced offensive attack with 25 pass attempts and 20 rushing attempts. Defensively, the Rams were able to contain Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, holding him to only 8 yards rushing on 2 carries. The Rams defensive edge rushers did a great job at not letting Murray escape outside the pocket and extend plays. The Rams defense held the Cardinals out of the end zone, allowing only 4 field goals. The Rams will look to carry that momentum into Monday night.
Rams Offense vs 49ers Defense
The 49ers have won 6 out of the last 7 meetings against the Rams. The one win for the Rams in that stretch came in last season’s NFC Championship game. The 49ers defense has been able to disrupt and take away things the Rams like to do offensively. The 49ers pass rush, led by Nick Bosa, has been able to apply pressure on Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford sacking him 9 times in 3 games last season. The 49ers defense held the Rams to an average of 62 yards rushing in their 3 games last season. This season, teams have been using a quarter’s defensive pass coverage designed at taking away the deep pass from the Rams offense. Teams are trying to force the Rams to drive downfield and take away the big play. Look for the 49ers to employ the same type of pass coverage. Stafford can’t try to force to ball downfield. For the Rams to have success, Stafford needs to take what the defense will give him and methodically drive the offense downfield. Look for Stafford to use short to medium passes to WR Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson. TE Tyler Higbee should be a focal point in their passing attack. Coach McVay will need to stay committed to the running game. If he abandons the running game early, the 49ers pass rush will pin their ears back and look to put a lot of pressure on Stafford and disrupt his rhythm.
Rams Defense vs 49ers Offense
The 49ers lost starting quarterback Trey Lance to a season-ending ankle injury. Former starter Jimmy Garoppolo is back under center. Last week against the Broncos, Garoppolo completed 18-29 passes for 211 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Garoppolo has had some success against the Rams with a 6-1 record and a passer rating of 96 in those 7 games. The success of the 49ers offense is determined by their running game. Like the Rams, the 49ers offense is in better rhythm when they have a balanced attack. A key player the Rams will need to focus on containing is Deebo Samuel. Though he is listed as a wide receiver, Coach Kyle Shanahan will line him up in the backfield and be part of their running game. In the 2nd half of last year’s NFC championship, Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris changed how he defended the 49ers rushing attack. He committed to having his defense be more aggressive, using his linebackers to attack the line of scrimmage. This change worked as the Rams held the 49ers to 50 yards rushing in the game. Look for Coach Morris to use a similar approach to contain the 49ers rushing attack. Inside linebackers, Bobby Wagner and Ernest Jones will be key taking away the inside running lanes. The Rams defensive line will need to get off their blocks quickly and stay disciplined in their pursuit angles to eliminate possible cutback lanes for the 49ers running backs.
The Rams pass rush led by Aaron Donald and Leonard Floyd will look to put consistent pressure on Garoppolo to force him into making mistakes. In the secondary, Jalen Ramsey has bounced back in the last 2 games after a dismal performance in week 1 against the Buffalo Bills. Coach Morris likes to move Ramsey around in the secondary, at times lining him up to cover a slot receiver. Garoppolo will be mindful of where Ramsey is lined up in the secondary. He will throw to Ramsey’s side of the field but don’t look for a high volume of passes in his direction.
Prediction
Coach Kyle Shanahan seems to have Coach McVay’s number. He is 7-3 in the regular season against McVay. Shanahan has been able to game plan and exploit weaknesses in the Rams defense as well as take away things McVay likes to do offensively. When these 2 coaches matchup, it is a chess game. Look for Shanahan and the 49ers to continue their success against the Rams
49ers 21
Rams. 13
