49ERS VS RAMS FREE PICK, NFL FREE PICKS, NFL PREDICTION 9/22/24

San Francisco 49ers @ LA Rams SF -6.5, 43.5)

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49ERS VS RAMS FREE PICK, NFL FREE PICKS, NFL PREDICTION 9/22/24

San Francisco 49ers @ LA Rams

 This weekend, So-Fi Stadium will host an NFC West Clash between the San Francisco 49ers and LA Rams. Both teams are licking their wounds after frustrating, and in the case of the Rams, embarrassing, losses in week two. Typically, this has been a fixture that San Francisco dominates, boasting a 9-1 regular season record over them over the past five years.

This time around, the Niners are going to be lacking two key weapons in Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel. This will definitely be a loss for San Fran, because both players epitomize the physical bullyball football that has helped San Francisco dominate the Rams so much over recent years. Nevertheless, the 49ers appear to have found another fantastic running back option in Jordan Mason who has posted 247 yards and 2 touchdowns at an average of 5.1 yards per carry this year. That does not bode well for a Rams team who have conceded 197 yards on average per game this season, which ranks 30th in the NFL.

The Rams also conceded 130 first half yards and two touchdowns to Marvin Harrison Junior in his 'welcome to the league' moment which suggests Brock Purdy and Brandon Aiyuk should have some fun as well. The 49ers are in a good position to survive their injured stars. The Rams, however, are not.

This is a very ominous fixture for the Rams, who have to face down their division rivals with a severely depleted roster. At the moment, it feels like half the team are on IR, most notably including the majority of the offensive line and Puka Nacua, with Cooper Kupp also being a candidate to join them.

With so many key pieces missing, it is hard to see the Rams having too much success moving the ball on what is a very talented defense. San Francisco are still showing a few weaknesses on that side of the ball as they adjust to their new defensive coordinator, but their talent alone gives them a great advantage. Nick Bosa is lethal off the edge, and Fred Warner is playing out of his mind, registering a 95.8 defensive PFF grade so far this season.

They are a supremely talented bunch who should thrive against an offense that simply cannot establish the run, and is lacking playmakers in the pass game. 68 yards per game on the ground ranks the Rams as 31st in the NFL, averaging a pretty dismal 3.2 yards per carry. With the 49ers likely to stretch to an early lead, Matthew Stafford is going to have to work wonders to keep up. But without Nacua and Kupp on the field, he will have to face down Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, and Charvarius Ward, with a receiving corps headlined by Demarcus Robinson and Tutu Atwell. All whilst playing behind a very banged-up offensive line.

There’s no two ways about it, this is looking like a concerning fixture for the LA Rams.

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