San Francisco 49ers vs Los Angeles Rams: Saturday night lights

Bounceback spot

After a great win in New Orleans, which confirmed that they are one of the top teams in the league, San Francisco 49ers disappointed last week with a loss to 4-9 Atlanta Falcons. The final result might be slightly misleading though, considering that they held a 19-10 lead, going into the final 6 minutes of the game. They somehow blew that lead in the last minutes of the game, first allowing a touchdown pass to Julio Jones just seconds before the end of regulation, and then conceded another score while attempting to score with some backyard football with time expired.

Pass defense that looked so good this season was burned by Julio Jones who caught 13 passes for 134 yards. It seemed like it was the first time Emmanuel Mosley was out of his depth, trying to deal with a specimen like Jones, with Richard Sherman sidelined with an injury. Good news for Robert Saleh is that Sherman healed his hamstring and is ready to go for this divisional rivalry. They need him badly in order to deal with a plethora of quality wide receivers that the Rams have at their disposal.

Game Over

Los Angeles also suffered a tough loss last week, which denied them a chance of making a last-minute run at the playoffs. When it looked like they are finally getting their offense going, they crashed back down to earth in Dallas. The offense wasn't as problematic in that game as it was the defense, that allowed 250 yards on the ground to Elliot and Pollard. That is a very concerning stat, considering that 49ers are probably the best rush offense in the league with three great running backs (Coleman, Breida, and Mostert), splitting the workload and staying fresh thoughout the game.

They don't have many worries when it comes to the injury report. Troy Hill injured his thumb and will undergo surgery, but is expected to suit up for this game. Greg "The Leg" Zuerlin is out, which forced them to quickly find a replacement and I believe they got a decent one in Brett Maher, who struggled lately for the Cowboys, but showed a lot of potential earlier, especially for converting 50+ kicks.

49ers vs Rams best bet

An unexpected loss like the one 49ers suffered last week against Falcons may throw off some of the teams. But I believe that they proved over and over again this season that they are a good, trustworthy team. Even Jimmy G is much more reliable lately, throwing an interception in only 1 out of last 4 games. If he takes care of the ball here and they manage to establish the run like Dallas did last week, they should control the course of this game and win without problems. Getting Richard Sherman is very important because he can lock down that left side of the defense and let Robert Saleh be creative with his coverages and pressures. Unlike last week when they struggled to keep Julio Jones in check and subsequently everything fell apart.