Only one more week remains in the NFL regular season, and the St. Louis Rams and San Francisco 49ers are slated to round out their respective campaigns with one last bout this coming Sunday.
There’s not a whole lot to look forward to from these two teams given the fact that they have been eliminated from playoff contention already. However, we can’t ignore the intense football and betting action to come from these two NFC West rivals considering that both teams are looking to end their respective runs with a little more dignity over the other.
Join us as we break down this intriguing divisional clash below. And for more on Week 17’s late afternoon games set to wrap up the entire regular season, check out our previews for the Jets vs. Bills and Vikings vs. Packers right after this.
Once again, the St. Louis Rams proved that they have the code that the Seattle Seahawks simply cannot crack.
[sc:NFL240banner ]Thanks to a stellar defensive performance, St. Louis stunned the Seahawks, 23-17, to nab its first victory in Seattle and also its first season sweep of their Northwestern rivals since the 2004 season. To boot, the Rams also snapped the Seahawks’ five-game winning streak.
Speaking of that St. Louis D… how does limiting the run-heavy Seahawks to just 60 rushing yards all game sound? If that wasn’t impressive enough, that daunting unit also caused three Seattle turnovers, with one being a 45-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by linebacker Akeem Ayers. As icing on the cake, the Rams front seven also dealt four sacks to Russell Wilson – three courtesy of often-overlooked defensive end William Hayes.
With such a superb showing on defense, Case Keenum didn’t really have to do much on offense (14-of-23, 103 passing yards, one TD) to seal his third-straight win as St. Louis’ starting QB. It also helped that his team’s running game led by Todd Gurley, who had 19 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown, did just enough on the ground to keep Seattle’s frightening offense on the sidelines.
For St. Louis to end its generally uneven season with a .500 mark, their defense must not San Francisco’s sputtering offense for granted, and its own offense better start generating even more yardage and points all the same. Because including Week 16’s win over the Seahawks, the Rams are just 1-4 over their last five road games (3-1-1 ATS), with the total going under in all five occasions.
The San Francisco 49ers have shown some fight in them throughout this lost season, but a 32-17 loss to the Lions on Sunday sent the team to its third-straight loss that pretty much sums up what kind of a tumultuous campaign this has been for the boys from the Bay Area.
Blaine Gabbert threw for 225 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 22-of-33 passing for a relatively solid day through the air, but his lost fumble in the second half led to points for Detroit to put the Lions up in the game for good.
But it wasn’t just Gabbert’s gaffe that did his team in. The Niners committed 11 penalties for the second-consecutive week, with seven of those being either offsides or neutral zone infractions – the most number of such penalties in a single NFL game since 1993. And with such a lack of discipline at the line of scrimmage, San Fran’s offense ultimately converted just one of their nine attempts on third down.
If there was any silver lining at all to this game, it would be that the 49ers running game still had some punch in it. Even without backup running back Shaun Draughn in the mix, the team still racked up 121 rushing yards against Detroit on Sunday. DuJuan Harris, who came from Baltimore’s practice squad just days before Sunday’s match, had 73 yards on 11 carries. Meanwhile, Aussie rugby star and reinstated 49er Jarryd Hayne also pitched in with nine touches for 27 yards.
It remains to be seen if this kind of output on the ground with such an inexperienced backfield corps can be sustained. Considering that the total has gone under in eight of the last 10 home games, the Niners better pray that Gabbert’s mojo returns for the season finale to make this coming Sunday’s match a little more engaging at the very least.
Writer’s Prediction
The Rams hand the Niners a defeat and also guarantee them high draft pick for next year, 19-13.
