Tomorrow, 49ers training camp-week begins! We want to look at each opponent and provide a reason for and against the San Francisco 49ers beating them. We’ve included a poll for the community to vote on whether they expect a win or a loss. We’ll see what kind of prediction this provides at the end.
Week 1 @ Minnesota Vikings
Week 2 vs. Detroit Lions
Week 3 @ Kansas City Chiefs
Week 4 @ Los Angeles Chargers
Week 5 vs. Arizona Cardinals
Week 6 @ Green Bay Packers
Week 7 vs. Los Angeles Rams
Week 8 @ Arizona Cardinals
Week 9 vs. Oakland Raiders
Week 10 vs. New York Giants
Week 12 @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 13 @. Seattle Seahawks
Week 14 vs. Denver Broncos
Week 15 vs. Seattle Seahawks
Week 16 vs. Chicago Bears
Most of what I felt about the Los Angeles Rams at Levi’s Stadium can be said again, but given the fact this is the final game, there are a couple more severe scenarios that can play into the psychology of the 49ers winning and losing.
Reason For: The possible Rams implosion
We’ve said it several times: The Rams have a lot of personalities on that team. With Ndamukong Suh, Marcus Peters, and Aqib Talib as some of the more dominant ones, the Rams need to hope they can keep things together. If things go bad, they could go bad in a hurry and that could be ripe for the 49ers to swoop in. Given that it’s Week 17 and playoff positioning/births are at stake, the 49ers could take advantage of this. If the Rams aren’t having a good season, or things have fallen off the rails, this is about when things can really get interesting on the sidelines and in their play. If the 49ers are the beneficiaries of a good season (and their lightened second-half schedule) this plays right into their hands.
Reason Against: The exact opposite
Until proven otherwise, the Rams are the team to beat in the NFC West . If they manage to build on their first season with Sean McVay, it will not only help establish his legitimacy as an NFL Coach, but playing in LA in Week 17, with precious playoff seeding on the line, the Rams could have come together as a unit and simply could prove to be far too overwhelming for the 49ers. That roster is no joke and if Jared Goff has proven 2017 wasn’t a fluke, the 49ers are going to have their hands full. The Rams defensive line outclasses the 49ers offensive line and the Rams running game could cause fits no matter how improved the 49ers defense is (and this is assuming there are no injuries to the defensive front.
If you can’t see the poll, click here.