49ers-Rams preview: Niners face NFC’s top offense, led by Todd Gurley and Jared Goff

The San Francisco 49ers host the NFL’s last undefeated team, the Los Angeles Rams, in Week 7 of the 2018 NFL regular season. Niner Noise previews the matchup, including key stats, players to watch, X-factors, injury news and how to watch the game live.

After suffering a last-second defeat to the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football, the San Francisco 49ers travel back to Levi’s Stadium on Sunday, as the Niners look to hand the Los Angeles Rams their first loss of the 2018 season.

Check out Niner Noise’s game recap and position grades and analysis for a breakdown of last week’s matchup with the Packers, including a summary and analysis of the game, as well as full position grades.

When the 2018 NFL schedule was first released, the 49ers knew they would face a tough road over the first half of the season. Week 7 marks the unofficial end of the difficult portion of the Niners’ schedule, as San Francisco won’t play a team that currently holds a winning record until Week 16.

But first, the 49ers face one of their toughest challenges to date: a showdown with the undefeated high-flying Los Angeles Rams, owners of one of the NFL’s top offenses, led by running back Todd Gurley and quarterback Jared Goff.

At 6-0, the Rams are in control of the NFC West, as they remain the NFL’s lone undefeated team — but their perfect record is unlikely to last for long. Los Angeles faces a number of difficult opponents in the coming weeks, including the aforementioned Packers and the NFL’s two one-loss teams, the New Orleans Saints and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Could this be a “trap game” for Los Angeles, as the team looks ahead toward the difficult matchups that will likely determine who will receive a prized bye for the first week of the NFC playoffs? Las Vegas doesn’t think so, as the Rams are currently favored by 9.5 points, although the line has moved in San Francisco’s direction over the course of the week, after Los Angeles opened as 11-point favorites.

Last week, we learned that the 49ers are capable of hanging tough against a playoff contender; this week, we’ll see if the Niners are able to hold their own against perhaps the best team in the NFL.

Let’s break down some important statistics for the San Francisco 49ers’ seventh opponent of the 2018 NFL regular season: