The 49ers head into a week ten Monday Night Football matchup with their biggest rivals, the Los Angeles Rams, in dire need of a victory as they try to stay within striking distance of an NFC Wild-Card berth. San Francisco comes into the game with a 3-5 record and Los Angeles is sitting pretty at 7-2. The 49ers have lost four of their last five games, the Rams have done the opposite and have won four of five.

The 49ers have also allowed more than thirty points in three straight games while the Rams have allowed more than thirty points only once all year. Even with all of this being taken into consideration, the Rams are only two and a half point favorites for the game. Here are four bold predictions for Monday night.

49ers Week 10 Predictions

4. Deebo Samuel will touch the ball 10 or more times

First off, Samuel is well known for having a disdain for the Rams. he has famously bragged about never losing to Los Angeles and has backed up his talk with some very good games against his biggest rival. His high for touches for a game this season is nine but we are expecting him to pass that this week for sure. The second thing that Samuel has going for him is that the 49ers have always tried to neutralize Aaron Donald with quick passes. That is Samuel's specialty, as well as his signature jet sweeps.

The running yards have eluded Samuel this season, as he has actually only received six runs so far on the year. We are expecting at least three runs for Deebo this week, however, as San Francisco “empties the bag of tricks” in an attempt to stay in the NFC West and Wild-Card races.

3. San Francisco will not run for over 100 yards

So far this season, only the Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals have held the 49ers under 100 yards rushing. That list is going to add another team after Monday night, as the Rams are going to hold the 49ers under 100 yards and actually under 50 to the running backs (Samuel will have 20+.)

The Rams have been very solid against the run ever since starting out the year allowing 135 yards or more in each game. Since the terrible start to the year, the Rams are giving up less than 80 yards per game on the ground. They have not faced a truly tough running game since they took on Arizona a couple of months ago–and that did not go well– but this is a different team now. They moved on from Kenny Young, Troy Reeder is losing snaps every week, and the Rams are breaking in Ernest Jones and

2. Brandon Aiyuk will score the 49ers ONLY touchdown

Although Samuel is expected to receive the lion's share of the targets in this game, it is Aiyuk who we are projecting to score the team's only touchdown of the day. While the Rams have been an impressive defense so far this year, when they have struggled, it is when they have failed to contain the “big play.” That is where Aiyuk comes into the picture.

As the 49ers' best theoretical deep threat, Aiyuk has the best chance of breaking off for a 30+ yard catch, and that is the best way of scoring on a Rams defense that prides itself not on how many yards it gives up but based on how many touchdowns they give up. Simply put, this team is one of the best red-zone defenses in the league and San Francisco cannot depend on touchdowns when they get down there–even with a healthy George Kittle in tow. With this being the 49ers' only touchdown of the game, that leads us to the reasoning behind our number one prediction…

1. Jimmy Garoppolo will not finish the game

It is time. The Jimmy Garoppolo era has officially run its course, and the Trey Lance era is set to begin. Kyle Shanahan has repeatedly said that Garoppolo will be the starter for the entirety of the season, but as the beatdown at home to the Rams has the 49ers looking at an 0-5 home record, he will have no choice but to “pull the plug” and go to the rookie.

Lance did not necessarily look ready to take over as the starter in his first start, but then again, he wasn't any worse than Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Justin Fields or Jordan Love were in their first starts. The proverbial band-aid has got to be ripped off at some point, and with a very winnable game coming up in week 11 in Jacksonville, what better time to do it than now?