NFC Game Of The Week

San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams

49ers: You talk about coming out with a bang. That’s exactly what they did in week one against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I’ve said this for years and I’ll say it once again. When you’re a physical football team on both sides of the ball, it travels well and you have a chance in every road game, no matter where it is or what the conditions are. This is still the best defense in the league and the reason why I put them over the Dallas Cowboys is because of what I just mentioned, the physical nature they play with. What Dallas has over them is athleticism. The last time we saw Brock Purdy on a football field, it was back in the NFC Championship in January against the Philadelphia Eagles. He unfortunately got hurt which changed the entire dynamic of the game. I didn’t think he’d play in week one, but he did and basically picked up where he left off. I feel this San Francisco 49ers offense doesn’t get enough credit and I say that because they have a nice core of weapons starting with Brock, Christian McCaffrey has found himself once again since coming to San Francisco and most importantly, he takes pressure off of Deebo Samuel because everything Deebo was doing prior to Christian’s arrival, CMC can do, George Kittle when healthy is a force, of course, there’s Deebo, but the piece that flies under the radar is Brandon Aiyuk and he’s the 49ers best pure Wide Receiver on the perimeter. He’s that field stretcher. Entering the season, there were only three teams that stood out to me in the NFC. That was of course the Philadelphia Eagles (they won the NFC a year ago), the Dallas Cowboys and these 9ers. Everyone else in the conference is looking up to them as far as I’m concerned. On Sunday afternoon, they’ll make their way back to the West Coast for a divisional showdown.

Rams: There’s always something that surprises me each week during the season. There were two things that stood out. The first was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers punching the Minnesota Vikings in the mouth and the other was the Los Angeles Rams going into Seattle and dominating them by 17 points. There’s been so much uncertainty with this team and let’s not forget this is the team that’s almost two years removed from winning the Super Bowl. Sunday in Seattle was the best I’ve seen them look in a complete effort since that season when they did win the entire thing. I really didn’t know what to expect without Cooper Kupp on the field because last year, he was all they had offensively and it was also too much because they didn’t have another pass catcher to play alongside him. Remember, they had Odell Beckham Jr at one point. When they won that Super Bowl that year, I said before the game and on Monday Evening Quarterback a few weeks back that if they traded away all that draft capital and didn’t win a title between the next two to four years, they’d be a bust. We don’t have to worry about that label now. I’m not sure what to expect from them in 2023. They lost some key contributors to free up cap space which I understand. At one time, you couldn’t talk about the NFC’s elite teams without mentioning them. On Sunday, they return home for a rivalry game.

49ers X-Factor: Javon Hargrave– Their off-season signing. I was excited when they signed him because I saw the impact he had in Philadelphia and I know he can have the same impact here with the 9ers. Javon’s specialty is getting after the passer. He doesn’t have to worry about stopping the run because those linebackers will do it.

Rams X-Factor: Tutu Atwell– He ran circles around the Seattle secondary in week one. I was asking myself who could be that guy to replace Kupp while he was out? Look at the trust Matthew Stafford had in Tutu throughout the game. He’s a shifty receiver that wants to create down the field and take the top off coverage.

Three Things I’m Watching

1. Eight– That’s where the 49ers regular season winning streak against the Rams stands as we speak. They always present such a tough challenge to the Rams and beat them at their own game which is a physical display of football on both sides of the line of scrimmage. The last time the Rams beat San Francisco was in the NFC Championship in 2022 en route to their Super Bowl victory. In the regular season, it’s been all San Fran.

2. Purdy Good– Brock Purdy has yet to lose a regular season game as the starting Quarterback of the 49ers. This will be a tough test because he’ll be lined across from one of the best defensive players ever in Aaron Donald. This will also be Brock’s first time facing the Rams. I want to see who else outside of 99 on LA can apply pressure on the Quarterback and make some key defensive stops.

3. Circle– Who will the Rams circle in on when they face this San Francisco offense? Is it Aiyuk? Deebo? Or, is it George? I know if I’m in that defensive room for the Rams, I’m zooming in on Christian McCaffrey because he’s who makes this 9ers offense go. Shut down the run and make Brock and the passing game beat you is my mantra this week heading into this football game. This is what I’m looking forward to seeing.

Final Analysis: It’s a rivalry game we have here! I could watch this 49ers team play football every day. They’re very well coached and one of the best teams in the league when everyone is healthy and all is clicking for them. The Rams are trying to get back to the elite table after a down year in 2022 in which they were decimated by injuries. For the Rams to win this game, they’ll have to do it through the air because San Fran will shut this running attack down from the jump. They must also keep Stafford protected because they will bring pressure consistently. The 49ers offense will be slowed down by the Donald impact, but overall looking at this matchup, they have much more depth compared to the Rams and that’ll show on Sunday. I like the 49ers to keep rolling.

Prediction: 49ers 31, Rams 17