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The Los Angeles Rams Week 18 matchup with the San Francisco 49ers is a huge game for both teams but for different reasons. For the Rams, they are trying to secure the number two seed in the NFC and potentially deny the 49ers a playoff spot. For San Francisco, they are playing for their playoff lives, as a win would send them into the postseason and a loss would possibly (depending on the New Orleans Saints-Atlanta Falcons game) send them home before wild-card weekend.
From the Rams' perspective, they have lost five straight times to San Francisco and need to exercise this demon just about as much as any team needs to beat any other team in the league. The Rams simply cannot go into the playoffs with a sixth straight loss to the 49ers and expect to make it to the Super Bowl.
For more insight on the Rams' Week 18 matchup against the 49ers, listen below:
Here are four predictions for Sunday's Rams-49ers game that can help the Rams finally get over the hump and beat the 49ers.
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Rams Week 18 Predictions
4. Cooper Kupp will set the receiving yards record but not the single-season catches record
Kupp needs 11 catches to tie Michael Thomas for the most catches in a single season and 135 yards to tie Calvin Johnson for the most receiving yards in a season. With the 49ers paying loads of attention to Kupp in this game, he might not be able to get the eleven catches but the 135 yards seems manageable against a burnable secondary. Kupp has said that the records should be separated as the previous players got their records in a 16-game regular season and Kupp had his record-breaking season under the new format of 18 games. A record is a record however you look at it, though, and no one will be saying, 20 years from now, “Oh yeah but Kupp got his record in 18 games.” Just like no one cares that Charlie Hennigan's 1.546 yards were done in a 14 game season when they see his name in the record books.
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3. The 49ers will run for less than 90 yards
This one is a very bold prediction, especially if you go off of last week's results. The Rams were gashed on the ground by the Baltimore Ravens and the 49ers ran all over the Houston Texans. Before last week, though, the Rams had been playing excellent run-defense and that will be crucial against a 49ers team that runs the ball as successfully as any team in the NFL. The Rams know that they HAVE to stop the run this week, or the 49ers will play ball-control offense all game and that will be terrible for L.A. That is the strategy that has beaten them five straight times and one that they simply cannot afford to let the 49ers use.
2. Tyler Higbee will finally find the endzone again
Higbee has found the endzone just three times in 2021 and has not done so since November 15th. That game just happened to be against the 49ers, though, so Tyler has a little bit of confidence built up against San Francisco. Giving up scores to tight ends has not been a common theme for this team in 2021, though, as San Francisco has been the fifth-best team against tight ends in the NFL this season. None of that will matter On Sunday when Higbee scores the first rams points of the game to put the team ahead 7-3 in the first quarter.
1. Taylor Rapp will win the game with an interception
Everyone saw the issues last week between Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Safety Taylor Rapp. This has not been the first time that Ramsey has been critical of how deep of a drop that Rapp is taking on certain plays. He called him out in 2019 after a loss to–you guessed it–the 49ers, and it boiled over again on Sunday. This week, though, Rapp will have his head on a swivel and a mind that's out for blood after being embarrassed on Sunday. With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will fire one deep that is intended for receiver Brandon Aiyuk, only for Rapp to come out of nowhere and take the ball–and the game–away from the 49ers. The Rams beat the 49ers 24-17 and move on to the playoffs as the second seed. The 49ers also see the Saints win, which sends them into golf season instead of the postseason.
Click here for the odds on the Rams' upcoming game against the 49ers, courtesy of FanDuel.
