Los Angeles Rams: Staff predictions vs. San Francisco 49ers

The Los Angeles Rams have lost two in a row but are back at home and are hosting the undefeated San Francisco 49ers.

Things started out so promising for the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams started the season 3-0, which included a win over the New Orleans Saints and a win over the Cleveland Browns on the road.

Since then, things have not been going well for LA. The team allowed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to score 55 points in Week 4 behind a shaky Jared Goff game and were unable to go into Seattle and beat the Seahawks in Week 5.

However, there has also been a sense of overreaction throughout the league, especially towards Jared Goff. Yes, he has not been great the last two weeks, but if Greg Zuerlein would have made the game-winning 44-yard field goal then this would not even be a discussion.

Regardless, the Rams are looking to rebound in Week 6. Here is how the LA Sports Hub staff sees it playing out.

Jamaal Artis (6-2): 24-10, San Francisco 49ers

Will the real Los Angeles Rams defense show up this Sunday? Can Jared Goff overcome committing turnovers?

Unfortunately, the answer to both questions will be no. The Rams host the San Francisco 49ers who have a stout defense and a productive running game.

Expect the 49ers to run over the banged-up Rams who will be without Clay Matthews and Aqib Talib. On the offensive side, Todd Gurley has been ruled out for Sunday meaning, the Rams backfield will be by committee.

Hil Lopez (6-4): 23-20, Los Angeles Rams

The Rams look to put an end to their two-game skid when they face the 4-0 49ers this weekend at the LA Coliseum. They are coming off a heartbreaking loss Thursday night in which their kicker Greg Zuerlein missed a potential game-winning kick as it went wide right.

The Rams can afford no mistakes in this game as they are 3-2 and another loss would hurt their playoff chances immensely. The concerning part is Todd Gurley being ruled out.

Furthermore, wide receiver Brandin Cooks suffered a concussion in the previous game and is deemed questionable. Although, he is expected to play if he clears protocol in time.

On the other hand, the 49ers handled the Cleveland Browns 31-3 on Monday night behind their league-leading rushing attack as they average about 200 yards on the ground per game.

They suffered a couple of injuries in the game as they lost fullback Kyle Juszczyk and lineman Mike McGlinchey for 4-6 weeks. Losing these key personnel may hamper the 49ers’ rushing attack as soon as this week.

The Rams are the more desperate team in this game. They need to win this game to get back on track and keep up with their division rivals.

It will be a close game, but the Rams will come out on top barely 23-20.

Redan Lopez (6-4): 24-21, Los Angeles Rams

This is going to be a critical one for the Rams to prevent themselves from falling out of the NFC West Divisional race. The Rams currently trail the Seahawks (4-1) and Niners (4-0). Todd Gurley has been declared out and now the Rams’ must rely on backup Malcolm Brown and rookie Darrell Henderson Jr. in the run game.

Brown and Henderson’s competency in the run game will ultimately determine if the Rams pull out a win or not because they must have that balance with their above-average passing game provided by Jared Goff and their trio of receivers – Brandin Cooks, Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods. Keeping the Niners’ offense off the field will be important to prevent them from eating up the clock.

The Niners’ defense is scary and one of the best in the league. Just look at what they did to a hopeful Browns’ team last week on the road. The Niners’ demolished them 31-3, eating Baker for breakfast and stuffing Nick Chubb for short gains. The Niners’ are a run-first team and will want to keep Goff and company off the field for long stretches of time.

Cornerback Aquib Talib is also out for the Rams’, though I do not think it should matter too much as the Niners’ do not have a true No.1 receiver outside of tight end George Kittle.

This game will be a very close one. And the offenses won’t be moving the ball far very fast, so maybe not an entertaining one either. But the Rams need this one more than Niners to snap their two-game losing streak. They are more hungry for the win and will pull it out at home to the joy of the fans.

Jason Reed (4-6): 30-26, San Francisco 49ers

We have seen how bad the Los Angeles Rams can look without Todd Gurley in the game. It will be interesting to see how the team handles this. Will it be Malcolm Brown and him only? Or will the team finally use Darrell Henderson?

Regardless, this is an offense that relies on that running game to set up things in the passing game with play-action passes. Without that, the shortcomings of Goff become more and more obvious.

Goff will have a decent game but will throw two costly interceptions that end up leading to the Rams’ third loss in a row.