If you watch a sport between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams, you may’t assist however really feel such as you’re really watching a very unusual episode of the Twilight Zone.
We’re not speaking a few rivalry right here, people. No, a rivalry is Cal and Stanford, Giants and Dodgers. Clear hatred, clear strains.
This? That is one thing a shrink must untangle.
Psychologists do have a reputation for this relationship between the Rams and 49ers: the Chameleon Impact. Kyle Shanahan and Rams head coach Sean McVay nonconsciously (I believe) mimic one another — postures, mannerisms, assistant coaches, gamers, and performs. All the pieces.
These two even have the identical team-building mannequin.
Sure, the NFL is a copycat league, however that is on a complete different stage. And, unsurprisingly, when the Rams and 49ers get collectively, issues get bizarre.
Doppelganger bizarre.
Going into this Week 10 matchup at Levi’s Stadium, every thing factors to the banged-up, just-trying-to-survive 49ers getting their enamel kicked in by a Rams staff that has kicked into hyperdrive within the final three weeks, outscoring opponents by a margin of 86 to twenty.
However you recognize what? Logic finds no quarter when these two groups face off in opposition to one another.
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For weeks, the 49ers have fended off the inevitable. It arrived in Houston
This matchup, successfully a far-too-early elimination sport for the NFC West title, has stakes which are a lot, a lot increased. Neglect the standings. That is the biannual — ahem — manhood-measuring contest for Shanahan and McVay. It’s a mixture of chess, poker and Chutes-and-Ladders — a dizzying, round showdown of the 2 sharpest minds within the sport.
They’re shut pals, archenemies, and so they deploy their 48-man sport day rosters as proxies of their endless battle of “I know that you know that I know.”
So, sure, the Rams have the higher 48 this time round. Nobody however probably the most ardent homers has picked the Niners (and even they appeared hesitant). And I’m not saying the Niners are going to win.
However amid all of the takes and evaluation, I’ve seen many fail to issue within the all-important Shanahan Issue. He at all times retains his most sudden, most devastating wrinkles reserved only for McVay. He may deal with these video games like simply one other NFL sport with the media, however deep down, he relishes them and treats them with only a bit extra reverence.
We noticed it again in Week 5, when the 49ers, a staff already resembling a MASH unit, went all the way down to L.A. on a brief week and stole a victory via sheer trickery and confusion.
The Rams didn’t count on Mac Jones and Kendrick Bourne to drive the 49ers offense up and down the sector with slant and over routes.
They usually actually didn’t see the Niners ripping off the Rams’ Cowl 6 protection for the week and conceding the surface zone run in an effort to promote out to cease McVay’s favourite run play, an inside run known as Duo. It caught the Rams off guard — their total sport plan was thrown off till they made some late first-half changes. (That adjustment? Relentlessly attacking rookie security Marques Sigle with deep passes.)
It proved to not be sufficient – the Niners snuck out of the Southland with a win.
Shanahan and his defensive coordinator, Robert Saleh, have magician-deep sleeves this season. We’re solely in Week 10 — simply previous the season’s midway level — nevertheless it’s honest to surprise if there’s one other trick up hiding in there.
But when there’s, it’s popping out on Sunday. Shanahan doesn’t maintain again in opposition to McVay.
If there isn’t, the Niners’ probabilities of successful the NFC West will seemingly go up in smoke.
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The Rams and Seahawks are taking part in at a Tremendous Bowl stage proper now. The Niners are clearly not at that caliber and won’t attain it in any respect, because of the staff’s ever-growing damage report.
However a win over the Rams retains the NFC West dream alive for the Niners. Not solely would a season sweep give them a tiebreaker over L.A. — and a 4-0 begin within the division — it will additionally soar the Niners over the Rams within the standings.
The Seahawks should wait till Week 18, if the Niners can survive lengthy sufficient to make that sport related for the division.
Does it make any sense to recommend that this Niners staff can nonetheless win this sport or this division? By no means.
However that is the enduring, lovely absurdity of this matchup: What does sense need to do with 49ers-Rams, anyway?
My mind says the Rams win in an onslaught, 33-21, however right here’s my actual prediction, and it’s the simplest one I’ll make all season: Let chaos reign.
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