St. Louis vs San Francisco NFL Handicapping
To teams that are looking to keep pace in the NFC wild card hunt will square off on Sunday afternoon, when the San Francisco 49ers host the St. Louis Rams at Candlestick Park.
When: Sunday, Dec. 1, 2013 at 4:05 p.m. EST
Where: Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California
TV: FOX
LINE: -8.5 (49ers), O/U 42
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St. Louis (5-6) has had an up and down season so far, but find themselves with a 5-6 record and are two games behind the Niners’ and Cards for second in a race for the AFC West title.
The Rams have been able to some extent, survive, without starting quarterback Sam Bradford who went down with a knee injury in an Oct. 20 loss to Carolina.
But even though backup QB Kellen Clemens has filled in nicely in relief, he is by no means a top flight quarterback. And asking him to win a game of this importance, especially on the road is an awful big request.
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Defensively, St. Louis has been stingy as of late, holding its last two opponents to 98 yards on 40 carries while its own ground game has continued to soar behind Zac Stacy. Stacy has really emerged as a power running back, but will likley miss this week’s game after being forced from last week’s game with concussion. He is listed as questionable.
Meanwhile, the hard-hitting 49ers (4-2) have started to turn things around following a couple of shaky outings.
The offense is begging to click as quarterback Colin Kaepernick seems to have put his early season struggles behind him with a much better outing on Monday night against the Redskins. And with receiver Michael Crabtree set to return from injury this weekend, this may be Kaepernick’s best outing of the season.
Mix in a solid rushing attack led by Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter, and the Niners’ are a very tough team to defend against.
But as good as the Niners’ offense is, the most formidable aspect of San Francisco’s game seems to be its defense, which ranks 4th in the NFL against the pass and 12th against the rush.
Matt’s Free Prediction
The Rams have been extremely unpredictable this season, and are 0-4-1 in their last five visits to San Francisco, while the Niners’ have seemed to have finally turned the corner on their way to a better season.
And while I expect that St. Louis will make it interesting, I expect the Niners’ defense to put this one away in the final quarter.
49ers 27, Rams 24
