USAT: Rams Wire audio clip

USAT: Rams Wire

Jan 30, 2022

Leading up to the season finale between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers, hardly anyone could have predicted that these would be the last two teams remaining in the NFC. The Rams, sure, but the 49ers were in a win-or-go-home scenario in Week 18 – and they were trailing Los Angeles 17-3 at halftime. - The 49ers not only upset the Rams in the last week of the season to make the playoffs, but they then stunned the Cowboys and Packers in the first two rounds. The Rams cruised against the Cardinals and should’ve blown out the Buccaneers last week, reaching their second NFC title game in four seasons. - And now, it all comes down to this. The Rams are one win away from playing Super Bowl LVI in their home stadium. The 49ers are one victory shy of an improbable run to the big game. San Francisco is riding a six-game winning streak against the Rams, but on paper, the Rams look like the better team. - Of course, games aren’t played on paper and in order for the Rams to beat their division rivals, they’ll need to play more like the way they did against the Buccaneers and less like their performances against the 49ers in Weeks 10 and 18. - The blueprint for a Rams victory is obvious. They have to protect Matthew Stafford from the 49ers’ powerful pass rush, they can’t miss 19 tackles like they did in the season finale, and they have to avoid costly turnovers. That’s typically the recipe for success against any team, but the 49ers aren’t a team that’s going to put up 35 points in a shootout – which is why it’s so critical for the Rams to avoid handing them points with pick-sixes and lost fumbles. - They put the ball on the ground four times against the Buccaneers, which is the only reason Tampa Bay had a pulse in the second half. That can’t happen against the 49ers. It’ll be hard for the 49ers to beat the Rams if Los Angeles’ offense executes, but Los Angeles is a team that has beaten itself too many times. - Running the ball successfully against the 49ers isn’t even completely necessary. The way to attack this defense is by throwing the ball and forcing the secondary to make plays. Stafford will need to throw with anticipation against zone coverage. And when the 49ers are in man, he has to trust that Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham Jr. will be able to beat the guy lined up across from them. - Defensively, it mostly comes down to tackling and pressuring Jimmy Garoppolo. The Rams missed 19 tackles in the finale – an inordinately high number for a defense as talented as Los Angeles’. The Rams pressured Garoppolo 13 times, which was less than half the 28 pressures San Francisco registered on Stafford. - They forced Garoppolo into two interceptions, which is easy to do when he’s under pressure. He’s mistake-prone and doesn’t take care of the ball when the pocket collapses – something that’s proved to be evident in recent weeks. - The Rams know what they have to do to beat the 49ers. They’ve talked about it all week. It’s about doing their jobs and executing against a physical team. And after losing six straight to San Francisco, I think this is the day the Rams snap the streak. - Final score prediction: Rams 27, 49ers 20 - - - - - - - - - - - - Email - - - - - Sign up - - - - - - - - Like this article? - Sign up for the Rams Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning - - - - An error has occured - - - Please re-enter your email address. - - - - - - Thanks for signing up! - - - You'll now receive the top Rams Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.

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