Will there be a preliminary decision in the NFC West in the California duel?
It’s Thursday again, which means it’s time for football again! This week’s Thursday Night Game not only features an attractive divisional matchup, but also a clash between two teams that are still in the playoff race. We are, of course, talking about the clash between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams, in which the odds are somewhat surprisingly in favor of the home team.
The Niners are still alive! Yes, it was only the Chicago Bears who were able to beat San Francisco on game day 14, but the way they did it was reminiscent of vintage 49ers football, both offensively and defensively. However, the bad news just keeps coming, which is why it’s hard to make a prediction about the hosts between the 49ers and Rams.
Because the Rams also showed that they can still rightly expect to make the playoffs. They beat the second-best team in the AFC, the Buffalo Bills, in an offensive game 44-42. Nevertheless, the guests are traded as outsiders at “Levi’s Stadium”, which means that an LA win, for example at Tipwin, offers plenty of value. That’s why we’re also choosing this tip for the California duel between the 49ers and the Rams!
49ers – Statistics & current form
It almost seemed like an act of defiance when the Niners took the field against Chicago. With one piece of bad news following another in the days leading up to the game, head coach Kyle Shanahan made perfect use of every remaining member of his offense. The 24-0 halftime lead underscored the strong performance just as impressively as the final score of 38-13.
Instead of reporting on the injured players again, let’s take a look at how the offense moved the ball last week. Tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Juan Jennings were once again the most reliable receivers for quarterback Brock Purdy. Kittle had already accumulated 138 receiving yards by halftime! San Francisco relied on the means that have proven themselves for this unit in recent years: a functional rungame, coupled with play-action elements, jet sweeps and under-center plays. However, after the game, there were of course the next injuries to report for this unit.
Running back number five?
Against the Bears, rookie Isaac Gurendo started at running back for the first time, recording a strong 128 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns! In the final quarter, however, he had to be replaced by Patrick Taylor Jr. due to a foot injury. Due to the few days of recovery time until the 49ers’ game against the Rams, our prediction is that 26-year-old Taylor will have to start at running back.
On the depth chart, he is actually only number five behind Christian McCaffrey, Elijah Mitchell, Jordan Mason and Gurendo! Although he scored his first touchdown in a Niners uniform last week, in our eyes – and statistically – he represents an enormous downgrade compared to Gurendo and for the top seven rushing offense.
Like the offense, the defense also surprised with a very good performance, despite the continued absence of key players such as defensive end Nick or linebacker Dre Greenlaw. Nevertheless, the team finally managed to hold an opponent to under 20 points for only the third time this season!
Whether they can do it again on Friday night is doubtful, given the quality of their opponents’ offense. In the first meeting, San Francisco conceded 27 points, and on that occasion, the Rams were missing their most important offensive playmakers. In the upcoming game, there are already great betting odds for the 49ers and Rams between 24 points for the visitors, compared to the various bookmakers.
Key Players:
- QB: Brock Purdy
- RB: Patrick Taylor Jr.
- WR: Juan Jennings
- TE: George Kittle
- K: Jake Moody
Rams – statistics & current form
And the impact these key players have on this offense was evident in the win against the Bills. On the third game day, in the first duel with the team from the Bay Area, Los Angeles was missing the two wide receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp. LA won the game in September with receivers like Tutu Atwell and Jordan Whittington.
Without meaning any disrespect, but Nacua and Kupp are of much higher quality. Against Buffalo, they both had 17 receptions for 254 yards and three touchdowns! The two will definitely cause problems for the Niners’ statistically good passing defense, which is why the touchdown odds for the two most important receivers are tempting in the 49ers-Rams matchup!
Prediction for the next offensive explosion?
The perceived offensive explosion did not come as a surprise against the Bills, but the extent to which it did was unexpected. On the ground, as has been the case all season, running back Kyren Williams is shining. Even though he ultimately only had three yards per rushing attempt in the last game, the 24-year-old once again scored two touchdowns. With 14 touchdowns, he is currently ranked second in the league in this category.
The unit around quarterback Matthew Stafford is among the top ten in the passing game. With over 3,300 passing yards, only four quarterbacks are ahead of the 36-year-old in this category. It is not surprising that the main targets are the aforementioned Nacua and Kupp, who, although they have only played eight and nine games respectively, are still the receiving leaders. They form one of the best wide receiver duos in the NFL and have other good players who give the personnel group depth. The hosts will not be able to shut down this unit in the passing game permanently, not even on Friday night.
Based on the 42 points scored last week, a conclusion for this defense cannot actually be positive. However, they just played against one of the best offenses in the league, which is why we see this game as an outlier. Nevertheless, the hosts will also find scoring opportunities, and so, for example, variants with over-points should definitely be considered.
Key Players:
- QB: Matthew Stafford
- RB: Kyren Williams
- WR: Puka Nacua
- TE: Davis Allen
- K: Joshua Karty
49ers – Rams head-to-head / H2H record
51 points were scored in the first duel, and these would be enough to break the over/under limit of 48.5 points in the markets. We certainly don’t think this is out of the question, but we would like to briefly highlight what the matchup is about: due to the tight NFC West, in which both are based, the two teams need four wins out of the remaining four games to make the playoffs. So the current season is also at stake for both teams!
The question for both teams before the 152nd direct encounter is very similar: How well will their offense perform? For the Niners, we see a question mark regarding the Rungame, especially if Gurendo is really missing. It will be interesting to see whether the LA team can repeat the offensive “best-case scenario” that occurred against the Bills. Overall, however, we see enough opportunities for the offenses on both sides to take control of the game, and so we are going with an over-point tip between the 49ers and Rams.
In addition, as was probably clear from the LA section, we believe that the two wide receivers of the guests will cause quite a stir at Levi’s Stadium. We are therefore backing the younger of the two pass receivers, who scored both a rushing and a receiving touchdown against Buffalo. The Bet365 app offers very good value for this!
Due to the large number of injured players and also because of the performances in recent weeks, we cannot understand the betting odds in the markets. Therefore, in our last variant, we are backing a victory for the team from the “City of Angels” in Santa Clara.
