The San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams have a rivalry that dates back to 1950. It was not quite as intense when the Rams played in St. Louis, but now that both teams are contenders things are back where they were in the 1970s. The 49ers have won 70 of the 140 meetings to date, with the Rams winning 67 and three ending in ties. The Rams won both of the 2018 matchups, but the 49ers won the game in Los Angeles earlier this season in 20-7 fashion. The Rams must win to have any sort of shot at a wild card, while the 49ers must win if they want a shot at a bye in the wild card round of the playoffs. Can the Rams recover from an awful game in Dallas last week and post the road upset? Or will the 49ers rebound from a bad loss of their own and get their 12th win of the season? Don’t miss our sports betting preview of this NFC West showdown.
Rams vs 49ers 2019 NFL Week 16 Odds, Preview & Prediction
Let’s finish 2019 strong. Sounds of the Game » https://t.co/mSIrmBRJlf pic.twitter.com/8xGc2DRQnC
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 19, 2019
- When: Saturday, December 21, 2019, 8:15 pm ET
- Where: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
- TV: NFL Network
- Radio: KSPN 710 AM Los Angeles / KNBR 680 AM San Francisco
- Live Stream: NFL Game Pass
- NFL Odds: San Francisco -6.5 / O/U 46
Why should you bet on the Rams?
What on earth happened to the Rams last week? They had demolished Arizona and Seattle in must-win games, and they headed to Dallas to take on a Cowboys team that had not beaten any team with a winning record and had only beaten one team outside the NFC East. Then the Cowboys went off for 475 yards of total offense and held the ball for more than 36 minutes of game time. The Rams’ defense had no answers, and there were no holes for Todd Gurley II to run through.
If you like the Rams, you think that this game was an outlier — and it might have been. The Rams have risen to the occasion this year time after time when it looked like their season was done. They came out of the gate with a three-game winning streak — and then they dropped three in a row. They have alternated periods of dominant play with periods of what looks like a stupor. But now their backs are against the wall again. Can they beat San Francisco on the road with the chips down?
Why should you put your money on San Francisco?
San Francisco comes in having lost two of three. However, if you look at those games a little more carefully, this isn’t really a three-game downturn. Their loss three weeks ago came on the road against Baltimore — arguably the NFL’s top team right now. Then they went to New Orleans and won a classic in barnburner fashion, making the game-winning field goal as time expired. But then came last week, when the Atlanta Falcons were able to come back and win at Levi’s Stadium.
There’s a much better argument for San Francisco’s loss to Atlanta serving as an outlier than there is for the Rams’ awful game in Dallas last week. Atlanta has five wins on the season. Five. On paper, they look like a dominant team, but they just haven’t executed consistently. It is hard to roll through a 16-game schedule without any stinkers, and you might think that the two scares the 49ers have gotten against Arizona would have gotten that out of their system, but it apparently hasn’t. However, the 49ers have not played two subpar games in a row this season. If you like San Francisco, you see them fixing the issues that cost them against the Falcons and completing the season sweep of the Rams.
Final Score Prediction
The Rams have played in fits and spurts this season, putting together dominant games and then giving unspirited efforts. They have played much less consistent football than San Francisco has. The Rams have managed to put things together when their backs are against the wall, but the 49ers already had their sloppy game last week. I predict a final score of San Francisco 27, Los Angeles 17.
