Game Overview ::
By >> Mike johnson
- This is a huge NFC West showdown between two teams with Super Bowl aspirations.
- These two teams met just a few weeks ago, with the shorthanded 49ers pulling off a road upset in overtime on a short week.
- San Francisco’s defense has surrendered 23+ points in five of their last six games since losing Nick Bosa and Fred Warner.
- The Rams and Seahawks are the only two teams that rank top-5 in the NFL in both offensive and defensive DVOA.
- 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey has rushed for over 100 yards in two of three games since George Kittle returned to the lineup.
JM’S JOURNAL ::
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How los angeles Will Try To Win ::
The Rams continued their strong season in Week 9 with a clean and efficient win over the Saints. The Rams dominated the time of possession and were a high-octane offense in that game, scoring touchdowns on five of their first seven possessions and mixing in a 39-yard missed field goal as well. As discussed last week, the spot was one that the Rams could and should dominate and they did exactly what great teams do – took it to an inferior opponent in all aspects of the game. They now have this showdown with the 49ers and next week’s game against the Seahawks to try to assert themselves atop their division. The first time the Rams played the 49ers was on a short week and the 49ers fans turned it into an away game for Matthew Stafford and company. San Francisco was shorthanded in that game on both sides of the ball, but they did have their defensive captain Fred Warner at that time. San Francisco has surrendered point totals of 30, 10, 26, and 24 in the four games since losing Warner while facing a below average slate of offenses.
The Los Angeles offense is a well oiled machine and can be broken down into essentially four buckets when considering their usage. Those four buckets would be:: Puka Nacua, Davante Adams, the backfield, and everybody else. Puka is their movable chess piece and most dynamic player. His ability and versatility is what really makes them tick. Adams is also versatile and his ability to line up in different positions allows them to fully maximize Nacua’s skill set and attack matchups and coverage schemes. Adams is primarily used as an intermediate and downfield threat, while also being their primary target in the receiving game near the goal line (Adams leads all NFL players in end zone targets and has five touchdowns in his last two games. The backfield is still a primary part of this offensive scheme and Kyren Williams has been more efficient this year thanks to the emergence of Blake Corum to keep him fresh. The Rams have an underrated supporting cast of other WRs and TEs who also contribute and make defenses pay for giving too much attention to their “Big 3”.
The 49ers defense is predicated on being solid and forcing opponents to be sharp and consistent to sustain drives. The Rams had no trouble moving the ball in the first matchup, posting 456 total yards of offense but making critical mistakes that cost them the game. The Rams lost two fumbles deep in 49ers territory and also missed a field goal, otherwise Los Angeles easily could have put up 30+. The Rams defense also played below their usual level in that game on the short week, allowing the 49ers to dominate the time of possession. Finally, the Rams failed on a 4th and 1 in overtime due to a questionable play call, once again missing a critical opportunity. This is all to say that the Rams should have no trouble moving the ball against this 49ers defense without Warner after a full week of prep and their usual recipe of focusing their offense around Puka, Davante, and the running game should have them in position to produce at a high level if they don’t make the same uncharacteristic mistakes.
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