49ers v. Rams - Preview, FTN Staff Prediction, Injury Report, and Live Score Updates

The biggest test for the 49ers thus far - the 4-1 Rams take on our 49ers, at home. The first of the "gauntlet" schedule, the toughest remaining in the NFL.

Sir Lancelot

El Shorts

SportyMiner

, and 2 others

Oct 18, 2020

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Gameday

San Francisco 49ers (2-3) vs. Los Angeles Rams (4-1) @ Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
Kickoff: 5:20 PM PST, 8:20 PM EST - Sunday Night Football
Weather: 79°F, 5 MPH, 38% humidity
Spread: LAR -2.5
Over/Under: 51 points
Channel: NBC, FuboTV, Streaming (in comments)
Radio: KNBR 680, KSAN 107.7, SiriusXM Channel 27
Announcers (NBC): Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya

Injury Report (will be updated):

San Francisco 49ers:

OUT:
- Kwon Alexander, LB
- Dontae Johnson, CB
- CJ Beathard, QB (inactive)
- Tom Compton, OL (inactive)
- Darrion Daniels, DL (inactive)
- Dante Pettis, WR (inactive)
QUESTIONABLE:
- Emmanuel Moseley, CB (will play)
- Marcell Harris, S (will play)
- Jeff Wilson Jr, RB (downgraded to OUT)

Los Angeles Rams:

OUT:
- Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, OLB

QUESTIONABLE:
- Micah Kiser, LB

(Santa Clara) - Despite playing 3 of their 5 games at home, the 49ers are.. 0-3 at home. And tonight, the LA Rams travel to Santa Clara to take on the 49ers in what will be a marquee divisional matchup - but it remains to be seen if this game will be competitive. The Rams are 4-1, and although they have played weak competition like the Jets, Giants, and Eagles - they have won those games. The 49ers have not won the so-called “gimmes”, at least as much as they should be, and that is why they have a losing record right now. But it’s a clean slate. The offense is fully healthy, and the lynchpin, Jimmy Garoppolo, had this to say about his injury:

The hit didn't really bother me. He went a little low, but it didn't bother me too much. As far as the ankle, it's feeling great this week. It really is. Just made a lot of improvements, just a couple extra days I think to consistently get better. So, it's just one of those things you’ve just got to keep working at it.

Kyle Shanahan displayed a similar sentiment, saying:

[With regards to Jimmy bouncing back] Because he looked healthy, had a good week of practice and he's played a lot of football before.

It’s clear that Garoppolo, although likely not 100%, should be able to perform up to his usual standard today. And that will be key against a top three passing defense in the league. The Rams are:

Best in net yards allowed per passing attempt - with just 4.9 allowed per play.
989 total passing yards allowed, 5th least in the league.
2nd best in yards allowed per completion.
81.3 rating allowed, 3rd lowest in the league.
2nd in sack percentage, 10%.
5 passing TDs allowed, 2nd least in the league.

Yeah. This defense is tough, but what did you expect? When you have the greatest defensive player of the last decade paired with a freaky CB like Jalen Ramsey, good things happen. Leonard Floyd, Michael Brockers, Samson Ebukam, Micah Kiser, John Johnson III, are all good players as well. This defense is tough, very tough. But they do have a weakness.

The Rams are 28th in defensive DVOA vs. the run and according to Rams fans themselves, that is their biggest weakness. Kyle Shanahan knows this, and so expect to see a steady dose of Raheem Mostert, assuming the game does not get out of hand early. Fortunately, this happens to be the first game which the starting offense has practiced together for and prepared for in a while. This offense must deliver, they cannot have three-and-outs galore like last week, it does the defense zero favors, and our defense is already beaten up. But the Rams DL, even with their poor run defense thus far, is still elite. Aaron Donald is going to give Laken Tomlinson and company fits, all day - Donald leads the NFL in sacks. And Jalen Ramsey, as said before, is one of the few players on this planet that is talented enough to play Kittle one v. one. That will make for a fun matchup, but Ramsey has shutdown prime Rob Gronkowski before. While Kittle is awesome, he is going to have his work cut out for him.

The 49ers can simply not allow themselves to get stuffed at the LOS - currently, they are doing so at the highest rate in the NFL. Offense is not going to work if that happens, point blank. And the key, as always, will be Jimmy Garoppolo. Can he deliver? We find out.

By now, you should know about the Rams offense, but in case you don’t:

Sean McVay, top 3 playcaller in the league
Top 5 offensive line in the league
Two elite WRs in Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp
Two good TEs in Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee
3 good RBs in Cam Akers, Darrell Henderson, and Malcolm Brown.
A good, young QB in Jared Goff

When you have all of those pieces combined, it’s no wonder this Rams offense is as explosive as it is.

Sosa K @QBsMVP

Wanna know how good the Rams' offense is right now? They rank 29th in pass attempts (90) yet rank 1st in explosive plays passing (15+ yards downfield, w/ 27), per @PFF. Outstanding.

That was a couple weeks ago, but they are still ranked very high in the same ranking - #2 to be exact.

This game will be tough - but it is a divisional game. They are almost always close games, and I guarantee that Kyle Shanahan has something up his sleeve. But it is hard to foresee a win based on these first 5 weeks of the 49ers so far.

Score Updates:

1st Quarter:

15:00 - 49ers receive kickoff, Richie James Jr returns to the SF 24.
11:39 - Jimmy Garoppolo finds Deebo Samuel for 6 yard TD, extra point good.

2nd Quarter:

11:14 - Jimmy Garoppolo finds George Kittle for 44 yard TD, extra point is good.
9:03 - Jared Goff finds Robert Woods for 10 yard TD, extra point is NO good.
1:47 - Jimmy Garoppolo finds Brandon Aiyuk for 2 yard TD, extra point is good.

3rd Quarter:

12:06 - 42 yard FG by Samuel Sloman is GOOD.

4th Quarter:

5:26 - 49 yard FG by Robbie Gould is GOOD.
3:52 - Jared Goff finds Josh Reynolds for a 40 yard TD. Extra point is GOOD.

Predictions by FTN Staff

SF 27 v. LAR 28 - Shanafandom

Prediction: Rams win 28-27. The O-Line has major communication issues and I don’t trust that against Aaron Donald and company. Jimmy should improve (how can he play worse than last week), but he’ll be under too much pressure. The injuries at edge and corner are tough so I expect a close loss.
Player of The Game: Kittle. He always plays well against the Rams and linebackers are the weak point of their defense.

SF 17 v. LAR 35 - Patrick Holloway

Prediction: The 49ers are a mess right now and it's going to take a lot to change my mind that they are anything beyond fourth place in the NFC West. This really shouldn't be happening, but until Kyle Shanahan and Robert Saleh learn to adjust schemes based on personnel, the 49ers will continue to lose. I understand their need to run their schemes, but when you don't have the players necessary, you have to adjust, it's basic coaching. I've seen Shanahan do it before, but Saleh has not proven to me he can. If the 49ers had a losing effort this year, but a defense in the top-15, Saleh would be hired as a head coaching candidate. Thing is, he allowed Carson Wentz to beat him. As long as Saleh turns in unacceptable defensive play, and Shanahan's offense sputters, I will have zero faith the 49ers can get anywhere in 2020. I just complained about the defense, but this game is going to be on the offense. That line vs Aaron Donald? Have fun boys.
Player of The Game: Aaron Donald. Three sacks. Book it. Oh, you mean the 49ers? George Kittle. Kittle ain’t gonna stand for this BS.

SF 24 v. LAR 30 - Riqonator

Prediction: Expect the Rams to get off to a hot start. This is the most explosive offense in the league by 20+ yard plays, the 49ers cannot allow the Rams to get off to an early lead - reason being, that would mean the 49ers would have to throw the ball against a top three passing defense in the league. The Rams are the #28 ranked run defense by DVOA, the 49ers must run the ball, especially with Jimmy Garoppolo’s health in question. Defense must take the inevitable punches from Sean McVay and his team for this game to be competitive, or the only person who can change the game - Jimmy Garoppolo, must step up and throw it like he did last season. The score is misleading. A couple of garbage time TDs get the 49ers in striking range, but it’s too little, and too late.
Player of the Game: Tarvarius Moore. He is going to be tasked with playing FS as Ward moves to nickel CB in all likelihood - and against an explosive passing offense, that means that Moore will be targeted by McVay and Goff. He will be key to keeping this defense afloat.

SF 24 v. LAR 35 - SportyMiner

Prediction: Sorry.
I can't predict a win for us after last week, it's not logical. I think Shanahan will go for field goal at 4th and 3 at the 20 yard line, as always, instead of going for 1st down and it will kill the momentum. Rams score is not an indictment on the Defense but because they can't get off the field due to quick 3-and-outs. I can't see a way out of this game with a W without an injury on the Rams side and a lot of luck. Donald is going to destroy our OL. I just hope Jimmy is playing like Week 2 and not Week 5 as I can't watch that again (I mean, I will, I won't do a Jed Cohn...).
This week, I'm really hoping to be wrong.
Player of the Game: I'll pick Warner every week, he's our best player outside of Kittle at the moment. But I'm going to plump for Hyder with 2 sacks this week - he's growing and not being double teamed yet, so this week is when it pays off.

SF 30 v. LAR 27 - El Shorts

Prediction: 49ers win 30-27 in overtime. If they lose again, I promise I won't predict them winning anymore! The Niners will need to score, and in a big way in order to win this game. Jimmy Garoppolo is either healthy enough to be the starting QB that the Niners need to get back on track, or he isn't. Either way, the Rams will be putting up many points against a still very depleted defense, and the Niners will need to answer by controlling the game on the ground with Raheem Mostert. The Niners will be forced to drive down the field and rely on a Robbie Gould 50+ yard field goal to send the game into overtime. The defense will bend but not break on the Rams first possession in overtime, and the OG YAC Monster Kittle will get just enough yards to get the game winning field goal in overtime. (Yeah, I’m going there).

Player of the Game: Raheem Mostert - 114 scrimmage yards and two TDs.

Only one FTN staff member has picked the 49ers to win today - but we will see what happens. The most important game of the 49ers season thus far has arrived, time for Jimmy G and co. to step up.

Leave a like and comment to support us if you like the article and our content, or if you have criticism, or simply for discussion. Check out our best content, including Part 1 and Part 2 of an in-depth look into Jimmy Garoppolo, where we look at what his issues were last season, and a in-depth look into the Kittle vs. Kelce argument.

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