San Francisco 49ers training camp is just around the corner! It’s time for us to look at each opponent and provide a reason for and against the 49ers beating them. We’ve included a poll for the community to vote on whether they expect a win or a loss and will see what kind of prediction this provides at the end.

Week 1 @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 2 @ Cincinnati Bengals
Week 3 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 5 vs. Cleveland Browns

The 49ers first divisional matchup occurs in Week 6 against the Los Angeles Rams. The last two years have not been fun at all when this series comes on. You can read our opponent preview to see what the Rams have been up to. The Rams have been the class of the NFC West since Sean McVay arrived. When the 49ers had some semblance of a team, they could hold their own. When everyone was on injured reserve, they got their heads kicked in.

This year is a bit different. The Rams have had some departures and they also were embarrassed on the biggest stage of them all. It’s been well known that when the New England Patriots show how to beat a team, the copycat league that is the NFL now knows how to beat a team. Whether the Patriots’ game plan is something the 49ers can use will be up to you. That is not going to be a reason for, but it’s a good point to make. So many offenses look good until the Patriots find a way to shut it down.

Reason for: The Rams running defense

We all threw a fit when Pro Football Focus ranked the 49ers run defense last in the league, but guess who was at 31? Why our friends over with the Rams. What do the 49ers do well? Run the ball.

If they are going to get anywhere, it’s going to be from some creative run plays dialed up by Kyle Shanahan for the sole purpose of making that run defense look silly. It’s also good to keep that high-powered offense that Jared Goff drives off the field. If the defense can find a way to shut it down like the Patriots did in the Super Bowl (again, don’t write that one off), it might have some issues.

Put that running defense up to chew yards and kill clock and the defense clamps down? Could be a long day.

Reason against: Sean McVay at home

While the two are friends, there is still a rivalry between Sean Mcvay and Kyle Shanahan. When the Rams played their final game in 2017 against the 49ers, a game where they had all their starters pulled due to their playoff seeding solidified, it took every ounce of strength to for McVay to not put the starters in when the 49ers were laying the wood.

Much like Kyle Shanahan game-planning to beat his rival, McVay will be doing the same. This is the same guy who went for it on fourth down for the sole purpose of stopping George Kittle from getting the record for receiving yards last year.

Add in the fact the Rams are at home. Home crowd, McVay playcalling, it just might be a bit too overwhelming for the 49ers who have a slightly shortened week with the Monday Night game the week prior. The 49ers can win this game, which is a lot more than we’ve been able to say in years prior, but they will have to limit mistakes to zero.