Injury concerns overshadow the NFC West classic!

Week three of the NFL is in full swing and the NFC West matchup is a real treat! However, both franchises lost unexpectedly last week and are also struggling with plenty of injury concerns. This, on the one hand, clouds the anticipation for the 151st duel between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers and makes it difficult to make a prediction.

10:41! The organization from the “City of Angels” was crushed by the division opponent from Glendale, Arizona. This means that Sean McVay’s team is in last place in the division after two defeats in two games. Even more concerning, however, is the fact that several key players, including the two best wide receivers, are injured so early in the season. The offensive output against the Cardinals was practically non-existent, and now they face a possibly even better defensive unit. That makes it almost impossible to pick between the Rams and 49ers.

Another of the favorites for this year’s Super Bowl victory surprisingly lost on the second day of play in Minneapolis at the Vikings. Kyle Shanahan’s team lost 17-23 and then reported the next painful loss of a playmaker.

Los Angeles Rams – statistics & current form

It felt a bit like “worst case” for the LA team when they played the Cardinals. After three series of the opponent’s offense and the first quarter, they were already down 0-21. To be fair, Arizona had an absolute banner day last week and a lot of things came together for the Rams early in the game. Star wide receiver Cooper Kupp had to leave the field injured in the second quarter.

So the negative prognosis and bad news for the Rams’ game against the 49ers came as early as Monday. At the press conference, McVay announced that Kupp would be out for at least a few weeks. It also seems realistic that he will be placed on the “Injury Reserve” list, which means he will be out for at least four weeks. In this case, LA would at least create a free roster spot to be able to activate a wide receiver from the “Practice Squad”, for example. The aforementioned injury list now includes a number of – more or less – prominent names who have worn the Rams uniform this season.

Incredible injury luck

The most important missing personnel are wide receiver Puka Nacua, cornerback Darious Williams, safety John Johnson III, and offensive tackles Jonah Jackson, Steve Avila, and Joe Noteboom. These absences, which primarily affect the offensive unit but also the defensive unit, make it difficult to predict the output of this team. Is a similar fate looming against the Niners as last week? At least the bookmakers are not ruling it out and are giving the hosts a handicap of 7.5 points. This ensures that at SoFi Stadium for the Rams vs. 49ers clash, the betting odds for an LA win are hovering around 3.80.

Let’s at least briefly turn to the personnel available to the coaching staff. On the ground, in the Rungame, little has worked so far, certainly also because of the injuries on the offensive line. It is not to be assumed that this will be better on Sunday evening. With 248 passing yards per game, the unit is currently in the top 5, but the receivers for the next few weeks are not Kupp and Nacua, but Tyler Johnson, Demarcus Robinson, Tutu Atwell or Colby Parkinson. We dare not predict what McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford can squeeze out of this group.

The defense’s stats look terrible after the game against Arizona: No team in the NFL allowed more yards for the opponent in the first two games, only the Panthers conceded more points on average, and opposing teams averaged 197 yards against this unit via Rungame!

Key Players:

• QB: Matthew Stafford
• RB: Kyren Williams
• WR: Tyler Johnson
• TE: Colby Parkinson
• K: Joshua Karty

San Francisco 49ers – Statistics & current form

So, everything points to the team from the Bay Area, right? Everything? No! As mentioned earlier, the Niners also have injury concerns. In addition to running back Christian McCaffrey, who has not yet played this season and will not be able to return to the field until week six at the earliest, other important players are also missing. On the one hand, rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, who will be out for at least another two weeks with a gunshot wound suffered in an assault, and on the other hand, wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Without wanting to spoil anything, but playmaker Purdy is slowly but surely running out of playmakers.

Without a doubt, Brandon Ayiuk, who secured a new contract via holdout in the offseason, must now come into focus. With 35.5 yards per game, he is currently only the fourth-most-used receiver in this offense. Ahead of him are the aforementioned Samuel and wide receiver Jauan Jennings and tight end George Kittle. The latter recorded the only receiving touchdown of the season so far. The other two six-touchdowns are attributed to running back Jordan Mason, who has so far presented himself as a worthy CMC representative.

Nevertheless, the question must be asked as to whether this unit can compensate for the absence of Samuel as easily as it managed with the McCaffrey absence. We can definitely see a scenario in which the offense can run into problems without the playmakers mentioned. We already expect this to a certain extent in the upcoming game. That’s why we wouldn’t bet on it being 383.7 offensive yards again, which is the average so far.

After a solid first game last week, the newly formed defensive personnel group repeatedly performed unhappily, especially on 3rd downs. The outstanding linebacker Fred Warner kept the Niners in the game against the Vikings for a long time with an interception and a forced fumble. However, this was not enough in the end. However, the run and passing defenses of new coordinator Nick Sorensen undoubtedly have plenty of potential.

Key Players:

• QB: Brock Purdy
• RB: Jordan Mason
• WR: Brandon Aiyuk
• TE: George Kittle
• K: Jake Moody

Los Angeles Rams – San Francisco 49ers head-to-head record

There have been eleven meetings since the start of the 2019 NFL season. The Rams have only beaten the 49ers twice in this period, and we dare not predict that Los Angeles will follow up with their next victory on Sunday evening, live on DAZN and RTL. At home in the SoFi Stadium, LA was only able to win the direct duel in the 2022 postseason.

Instead, we tend to think that Shanahan’s team will cover the handicap of 7.5 and thus bag their 79th win against the Rams. However, our main recommendation in this matchup is to bet on points or, rather, few points.

Since both offenses have enormous injury concerns, we think it’s possible that the defenses can determine the game at least to a certain extent. We just don’t trust the Niners without Samuel and CMC to produce the explosiveness that the Cardinals, for example, brought to the field against LA. That’s why we’re going with the option that a maximum of 45 points will be scored.

We definitely believe the guests will be successful on the ground, so the option of Jordan Mason scoring a touchdown should definitely be considered.