Matt Temple-Marsh previews Thursday night’s NFL action, with four bets for San Francisco 49ers against Los Angeles Rams.
NFL betting tips: San Francisco 49ers v Los Angeles Rams
2pts Los Angeles Rams (-6.5) at 10/11 (bet365)
2pts Puka Nacua 100+ receiving yards at 19/20 (bet365)
2pts Davante Adams anytime touchdown at 11/8 (bet365)
2pts Christian McCaffrey over 58.5 rushing yards at 5/6 (Sky Bet)
Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook
San Francisco 49ers v Los Angeles Rams
Kick-off time: Friday, 01:20 GMTTV: Sky Sports Main EventSpread: Los Angeles Rams (-6.5) at 10/11Total: Over 46 at 5/6
This is a heavyweight NFC West clash in Los Angeles — both teams arrive at 3–1 but on very different tracks.
San Francisco started the year by grinding out wins (they went 3–0 through the first three weeks) but were undone by costly turnovers and special-teams’ disasters in a 26–21 loss to Jacksonville last time out.
The Rams have been humming through the air — Matthew Stafford put on a clinic in a late comeback vs Indianapolis, and Puka Nacua exploded for a career-high 170 receiving yards in the same game.
LA’s offense is feeding Nacua at historic volume; he leads the league in catches/receiving yards through four games. Plus, their defence is looking fearsome, ranking as a top 10 unit in the league.
Back the Rams
These two teams are moving in opposite directions. Things are clicking for the Rams – their offence is on fire, with Puca putting up historic numbers, whilst the defence is thriving. If it wasn’t for an absurd Eagles’ special teams play, this team would be 4-0 and talked by many as a Super Bowl favourite.
For the 49ers, the injuries are piling up. Brock Purdy returned but he looked far from 100% with some shaky turnovers and a lack of willingness to scramble – and he’s even questionable for this game. The wide receiver room is down Brandon Aiyuk, then Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings were both questionable last time and took big blows – he’s lacking fire power.
Not just in the WR room, but the 9ers are missing a plethora of key players across the roster, most notably star defensive lineman Nick Bosa. In his absence, the team failed to produce a quarterback hit in a game for the first time since 2015.
Special teams are seriously hurting the team too – they’re conceding near top of the league numbers to kick-off and punt returns, an alarming trend. Recent history favours the Rams too – who have won three of the last four, including a sweep last season.
The Rams Receivers
Another reason to back the Rams is their super star WR Puka. Last time out he set a career high in receiving yards, but his start to the season has been surreal:
Week 1: 10/11 130 yardsWeek 2: 8/9 91 yardsWeek 3: 11/15 112 yardsWeek 4: 13/15 170 yards & 1 touchdown
Thanks to an obscene 52% target share, he’s on pace for nearly 180 catches and over 2,100 yards. He now gets to face the 49ers, who in three career games against he’s averaged 8.7 catches and 95 yards per game.
Puka is flourishing even more so this season thanks to Davante Adams – the threat of the veteran opposite him is helping to draw coverage away.
And with Stafford at QB, both WRs can eat. Davante is seeing a 36.5% target share, but most notably he’s the red zone threat. He has three touchdowns in his last three games – and that’s where Stafford is using him. In the red zone Davante has seen 9 targets (47% of the team’s share) – compared to Puka’s two.
Adams has played the 9ers 5 times in his career, and it’s been one of his most fruitful matchups. He’s scored seven touchdowns and stacked up a huge 633 yards. This duo is going to be a matchup nightmare for the young 49ers’ secondary.
The CMC offence
There was a lot of chatter around McCaffrey’s injury woes during the offseason – but through four weeks he’s touched the ball on 48% of the 9ers snaps. There’s no denying he doesn’t quite look like his explosive self (his longest rush is just 15 yards), but this volume can’t be shunned.
He leads the team with a 37% target share – just last week he saw 11 targets, his next nearest teammate saw just five.
The offence is dealing with a bounty of injuries, George Kittle is on IR, and Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings are both playing through pain. CMC is the security blanket for a banged-up Brock Purdy (or even Mac Jones), and he’ll have to keep returning to that well against a stout defence.
In his two games as a 9er against LA, the running back accumulated 149 scrimmage yards and 135 scrimmage yards, on top of three touchdowns.
Posted at 1150 BST on 01/10/25
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