Will the Rams secure an important division victory?
Thursday Night Football! Once again, this week’s NFL game day will kick off on Thursday night. On the West Coast of the USA, the Los Angeles Rams will host the San Francisco 49ers, and the bookmakers’ odds are clearly in favor of the hosts. At first glance, this is surprising, as both franchises have started the season with three wins and only one defeat.
However, Los Angeles defeated the previously undefeated Colts last week, while the Niners suffered their first loss of the season against Jacksonville. In addition, the visitors have numerous injury concerns, especially on offense, which is why the markets’ assessment seems quite understandable.
In the end, it was the tough game against Indianapolis that had been expected in advance. In the style of a top team, LA won the game against the Colts with an 88-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to Tutu Atwell. This brought the team’s win-loss record to 3-1 and gave them their first three wins in the first four weeks since their Super Bowl victory in 2022. At their home stadium, SoFi Stadium, the Rams could now polish up their division record with a win and at the same time distance themselves from their rivals from the Bay Area. Given their offense, which has seemed unstoppable lately, the hosts are undoubtedly capable of success. As mentioned at the beginning, our prediction for the game between the Rams and the 49ers is that they will achieve exactly that victory.
Because with the Niners, it’s not even clear who will be distributing the ball. Quarterback Brock Purdy played against the Jaguars last week, but still seemed inhibited at times and complained of pain in his toe afterwards. A brief digression on this: the 24-year-old missed weeks two and three due to “turf toe.” He was excellently replaced by Mac Jones during this time. Jones then got injured in the final minutes against Arizona, which is probably why Purdy started recently, even though he was likely not 100 percent.
In part, the defeat in the first home game can certainly be blamed on him and his mistakes, but support for him is now also very thin. Against the Jaguars, the wide receivers were at times not Ricky Pearsall or Juan Jennings, but Demarcus Robinson and Kendrick Bourne. Pass receivers Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle have been out since the start of the season and for several weeks, respectively.
Rams – 49ers Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
The fact that the Bay Area team now has a short week due to the Thursday Night Game does not help the injury situation, of course. In addition to Purdy, Pearsall and Jennings also appeared on the injury report. In the worst-case scenario, five of the six most important offensive players could be missing at SoFi Stadium, which in turn will affect the Rams vs. 49ers odds! That’s why we find it hard to imagine how the weakened unit will be able to move the ball consistently against the hosts’ very good defense.
This naturally also influences our prediction between the Rams and 49ers, as the LA offense is now running at almost full speed. The visitors’ defense is by no means bad, but there are also injury concerns there. With Nick Bosa out, this unit is missing a key player for the entire season. Without him, for example, they failed to record a single sack in their last game against Jacksonville. It is fair to speculate whether head coach Kyle Shanahan’s team will once again be active in the trade market to strengthen their defense.
Rams quarterback Stafford will therefore have time in the pocket due to the lack of punch from the Niners’ defensive line. We therefore expect him to be able to regularly set up his playmakers. These pass receivers will be a real mismatch for the Niners’ defense.
Rams – 49ers Tip
Even if one or two key playmakers return to the visitors’ offense for the game in the “City of Angels,” we don’t believe this unit will be able to keep up with the pace of the LA offense. Therefore, we believe it is realistic that the hosts will cover the 6.5-point handicap. However, we are choosing a different main recommendation and are betting on a touchdown by Davante Adams. The 32-year-old wide receiver has scored in the end zone in each of the last three games.
In search of more attractive Rams vs. 49ers betting odds, we have decided to go over the point line and therefore expect at least 47 points at SoFi Stadium.
