Rams, 49ers both missing key players going into NFC West matchup

San Francisco (1-1) at Los Angeles Rams (0-2)

Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EDT, FOX

BetMGM NFL odds: 49ers by 7 1/2.

Against the spread: 49ers 1-1; Rams 0-2.

Series record: 49ers lead 78-69-3.

Last meeting: Rams beat 49ers 21-20 in Santa Clara, Calif. on Jan. 7.

Last week: 49ers lost to Minnesota 23-17; Rams lost to Arizona 41-10.

49ers offense: overall (4), rush (11), pass (3), scoring (T-9).

49ers defense: overall (20), rush (12), pass (T-22), scoring (T-15).

Rams offense: overall (16), rush (31), pass (5), scoring (T-27).

Rams defense: overall (32), rush (30), pass (24), scoring (31).

Turnover differential: 49ers plus-2; Rams even.

49ers player to watch

WR Brandon Aiyuk. After missing all of training camp practices during a contract dispute, the second-team All-Pro from last season is off to a shaky start. Aiyuk dropped a potential TD pass in Week 1 and has just six catches for 71 yards in two games. With Deebo Samuel out a couple of weeks with a calf injury, the Niners will need Aiyuk to get back to his old form soon.

Rams player to watch

RB Kyren Williams. Missing their top two receivers in Cooper Kupp (ankle) and Puka Nacua (knee) for an extended period, Los Angeles will likely rely on Williams and the ground game to chew up clock, make things manageable for QB Matthew Stafford, and keep San Francisco’s offense off the field. Williams had 100 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns on 20 touches in a Week 2 loss to the 49ers last season and didn’t play in a meaningless Week 18 matchup.

Key matchup

Rams offensive line vs. 49ers defensive line. The injury-riddled Rams will have LT Alaric Jackson back in the lineup after he was suspended for the first two games of the season, joining RT Rob Havenstein and RG Kevin Dotson as the starters still standing three weeks into the season. That doesn’t bode well against a San Francisco front which has tended to dominate them in recent years. Nick Bosa got two sacks against the Vikings, and ex-Ram Leonard Floyd gives him a formidable bookend on the other side. After failing to keep Stafford clean in Arizona, the front five will have to be much better this week for the offense to have any traction.

Key injuries

S Talanoa Hufanga is expected to return for the first time since tearing his ACL last November. … The Niners will be without Samuel (calf) and RB Christian McCaffrey (Achilles’ tendinitis). The most recent time they played a game without both of those players was in Week 13 of the 2021 season. … Rams CB Cobie Durant continues to be bothered by a toe injury, though he was able to play through it against the Cardinals. … Dotson should be able to play again despite a lingering foot injury.

Series notes

The Rams had lost nine straight regular-season games to the 49ers before coming up with a 1-point win to wrap up the regular season in January. What probably helps Sean McVay feel better about those struggles against his friend and former colleague Kyle Shanahan is the victory in the game that mattered most, when Los Angeles took the NFC championship from San Francisco on Jan. 30, 2022 en route to a Super Bowl title.

Stats and stuff

The 49ers went 11-1 in division games the past two regular seasons with the only loss coming in Week 18 last season against the Rams when they rested several starters. … Niners QB Brock Purdy is 7-0 in the regular season against NFC West teams and 1-0 in the playoffs. … Purdy leads the NFL with 550 yards passing the first two weeks. … Purdy has a passer rating of at least 100 in 15 of 23 starts in the regular season. The only players to do that are Patrick Mahomes (16) and Kurt Warner (15). … The 49ers have allowed opponents to convert 59.1% on third down, second worst in the NFL. … San Francisco leads the NFL with an average time of possession of 36:44 per game. … Niners RB Jordan Mason is the second undrafted player in the Super Bowl era to rush for at least 100 yards and a TD in each of the first two games of the season. Willie Parker did it in 2005. … Mason’s 247 yards rushing the past two weeks are the most in franchise history for a player in his first two career starts. … Niners LB Fred Warner leads the NFL with three forced fumbles in the first two games. His 14 career forced fumbles are two shy of Patrick Willis’ franchise record. … Stafford was 19 of 27 passing for 216 yards against the Cardinals, marking just the fourth instance in his long career he completed at least 70% of his throws for at least 200 yards without a touchdown. … Los Angeles allowed 231 yards rushing to Arizona, its highest tally since Week 4 of the 2021 season when the Cardinals got 216 yards on the ground. … Rookie OLB Jared Verse had three tackles for loss, giving him four through his first two games. … NT Kobie Turner has at least one sack in six of his past 11 games. … Kupp has the Rams’ only receiving touchdown this season, 34% of their receptions (18 of 53) and 28% of their receiving yards (147 of 533). … Williams has run for a touchdown in each of the past five regular-season games he has played in. No Rams RB has scored in six games in a row since Marshall Faulk in 2000.

Fantasy tip

Rams rookie WR Jordan Whittington has a lot of the attributes that have made Kupp and Nacua so effective in McVay’s offense, making him worth grabbing for fantasy rosters. Depending on the recovery timelines of their two stars, the Texas product Whittington could emerge over the course of the season as a useful fantasy option and one of the bright spots in what is already shaping up to be a rough season for Los Angeles.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL