Ranking each potential 49ers NFC playoff opponent from weakest to strongest

Los Angeles Rams

I've written an article about this, and I'll reiterate it here: The Niners do not want to face the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs, even if they only made it as the No. 6 seed.

The reason why is pretty simple, as I laid out:

"To begin with, the Rams have been on a huge streak to end the season. They started the season poorly due to injuries to key personnel like quarterback Matt Stafford and running back Kyren Williams, but the offense is healthy now. As a result, they've gone 7-1 since their bye week and scored over 28 points a game.

The single loss was overtime to the Baltimore Ravens, who most have as the best team in the NFL.

And, yes, Week 18 doesn't count in the greater picture since both the Rams and the 49ers played vanilla schemes with backups, but it doesn't take anything away from their performance in the second half of the season.

Please don't confuse the Rams as some team who got on a lucky late streak, as they rank seventh in the league in net EPA, or Expected Points Added."

- Jeremy Wohlfart, Niner Noise

Coupled with the NFC Championship a few years ago, and the 49ers general dominance over the Rams can't be taken for granted.

For these reasons, the Rams are the team the Niners should be hoping to avoid the most for the playoffs.