Sunday’s game between the 49ers and Rams continues a storied, modern rivalry between teams led by offensive minds Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay. But don’t expect Week 18 to advance football philosophy in any significant way.
The 49ers have locked in the No. 1 seed and have already ruled out Brock Purdy (rest) and Christian McCaffrey (calf) for the game, meaning Sam Darnold will get the start. The Rams have clinched a playoff spot, will start Carson Wentz at quarterback and will be the sixth or seventh seed facing the Lions, Eagles or Cowboys in the wild-card round.
But more importantly, two weeks after this game, there’s a chance these two teams will face each other again in the playoffs. And neither coach will want to show their cards in early January.
The No. 1 seed 49ers would come out of the first-round bye to host the lowest remaining seed in the divisional round. Since the Rams will be either the sixth or seventh seed in the NFC, a win next weekend in the wild-card round would almost clinch a rematch with the 49ers.
If the Rams beat the 49ers on Sunday, Los Angeles will be locked into the sixth seed. If the Rams lose and the Packers beat the Bears, Los Angeles will get the seventh seed.
Sunday’s game between these teams will be more competitive than an NBA All-Star Game, for example, but about as classic as the second NFL preseason game.
“As vanilla as it gets,” a source from one of the teams said.
Please check the subscription box to confirm that you wish to subscribe.
Thanks for recording!
Keep an eye on your inbox.
Sorry!
An error occurred while processing your subscription.
The 49ers beat the Rams, 30-23, in Week 2 at SoFi Stadium. Shanahan is now 10-4 against McVay, including nine straight regular season wins.
But despite all the recent success against the Rams, the 49ers suffered their only loss to Los Angeles in half a decade in the playoffs. The Rams came back from a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit in the NFC Championship Game in the 2021 playoffs to win, 20-17, and capture the Super Bowl.
With that in mind, and with decent chances of a third meeting this year, you should expect basic game plans from both sides on Sunday.