The San Francisco 49ers have to be wondering how different things would have been if they acquired Jimmy Garoppolo in the offseason instead of at mid-season. Jimmy G is undefeated as a starter, leading the 49ers to four straight wins over the last four weeks. Kyle Shanahan has been able to deploy the schemes that made him successful in Atlanta last year with Garoppolo at quarterback. That has helped San Francisco beat good teams like Tennessee and Jacksonville these last two weeks. Now, San Francisco is looking to end its season with one last win against a Los Angeles Rams team that is going to rest a lot of its players.
Kickoff for this regular season Week 17 game is set for Sunday, December 31, 2017, at 4:25 p.m. ET at Los Angeles Memorial Stadium.
NFL Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
San Francisco 49ers -3
Los Angeles Rams +3
Over/Under 44
Odds Analysis
San Francisco has covered in three of its last four and all four of those covers were outright wins as an underdog. This offense has come alive with Garoppolo under center, and 49ers fans have to be ecstatic after what they did to the NFL’s best defense last week. They put up 44 points on the Jaguars in a win that sent a message to the rest of the league for 2018.
Los Angeles has already clinched the NFC West and Sean McVay has said that he doesn’t care if his team gets the No. 3 seed or the No. 4 seed. The Rams have turned things around in just one year under McVay and he should be one of the favorites for Coach of the Year at this point.
Key Absences
McVay has said that the most important thing right now is for his team to get healthy before the playoffs start. He hasn’t specifically singled out which players he plans to sit, but it seems likely that anyone who has been listed on the injury report in recent weeks will be out for this meaningless game against the 49ers.
Most of the starters at linebacker and along the offensive line have been dealing with different injuries over the last few weeks. It seems very likely that many of these players will sit for this game.
Additionally, McVay has hinted that even stars like Jared Goff and Todd Gurley will rest for this one. A number of superstars across the league have gone down with injuries this year, so he may decide to be especially cautious with these two.
Player to Watch
Jimmy G has been phenomenal since taking over the starting quarterback role. He has proven to be worth a second-round pick and is a significant upgrade from Brian Hoyer and C.J. Beathard.
Whereas the other two quarterbacks threw a lot of short passes because Shanahan didn’t trust them to throw downfield, he has unleashed Garoppolo. Garoppolo is averaging 8.8 yards per pass attempt and has completed 70 percent or more of his passes in three of his four starts.
It’s already looking like he is one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, and San Francisco will try to sign him to a long-term deal this offseason.
Free ATS Pick
As the week goes on, we will probably get a better idea of who McVay plans on starting and sitting. The keys will be along the offensive line and whether or not Goff and Gurley will sit, so pay particular attention to those announcements as they come out. The back-ups to Goff and Gurley are Sean Mannion and Malcolm Brown, so needless to say this line will move by a point or two once it becomes apparent those two are out.
This is a great spot to back the 49ers, even laying points on the road. Los Angeles has nothing to play for, while San Francisco has been rejuvenated. With all the Rams’ starters sitting, San Francisco will win handily.
NFL Odds: 49ers 31, Rams 20
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