San Francisco 49ers vs. LA Rams 2019: Prediction Against The Spread, Odds For Week 6 NFC West Game

The San Francisco 49ers have done all they can to prove that they are a contender. San Francisco is the only NFC team that enters Week 6 of the 2019 NFL season with a perfect record, leading the conference with a plus-70 point differential.

Are the 49ers the best team in the NFC West? That remains to be seen.

Sitting atop the division at 4-0, San Francisco has a chance to extend its first-place lead Sunday afternoon. The 49ers will visit the Los Angeles Rams, who have suffered two straight losses after getting off to a 3-0 start.

The defending NFC West champions are 3.5-point favorites at home against San Francisco, according to the latest betting line at OddsShark. The over/under of 50.5 is the highest Week 6 total.

It’s San Francisco’s first division game of the season. Los Angeles is coming off its first NFC West matchup, a 30-29 road loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Seattle moved ahead of Los Angeles in the standings with the victory. The Seahawks are 4-1 and a half-game behind the 49ers.

San Francisco hasn’t faced a four-win team yet. The 49ers haven’t even taken on a three-win team. They’ve catapulted to the top of the NFC West by taking advantage of a schedule that’s featured all losing teams.

To San Francisco’s credit, they’ve won most of their games handily. The 49ers followed up their 31-17 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1 with a second straight road victory, beating the Cincinnati Bengals 41-17 in Week 2. After narrowly avoiding a home upset to Mason Rudolph and the Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco absolutely dominated the Cleveland Browns on “Monday Night Football.”

Cleveland never stood a chance in San Francisco, losing 31-3 in Week 5. The 49ers held Baker Mayfield to 100 passing yards, picking him off twice and sacking him four times.

It was a road game, but the Rams barely beat the Browns in their matchup with Cleveland, squeaking out a 20-13 Week 3 win. Tampa Bay lost by two touchdowns at home to San Francisco, but Jameis Winston and Co. walked into L.A. and left with a two-touchdown victory of their own.

If the San Francisco defense can play the way it has over the first quarter of its schedule, the 49ers will beat the Rams.

No NFC defense has been better through five weeks. San Francisco leads the conference in total defense by 35 yards per game. The 49ers are second in the conference in both scoring defense and opponents’ yards per play.

Only the New England Patriots rank ahead of San Francisco in passing defense and opponents’ passer rating. The 49ers are tied for second in the NFL with seven interceptions. Their 13 sacks don’t accurately tell the story of how much pressure San Francisco has put on quarterbacks.

Of course, all those numbers came against bad teams. Despite some of their early-season struggles, the Rams remain a Super Bowl contender, having played in the championship game less than a year ago.

Jared Goff is better than any quarterback the 49ers have faced. He’s had an up-and-down start to the year, but it hasn’t stopped the Rams from having a good offense.

Los Angeles is sixth in points per game and ninth in yards per play, making them the best offense San Francisco has faced thus far. The Rams haven’t been held below 20 points this season. They’ve scored at least 27 points in four of five games. L.A. was last held to fewer than 23 points at home with Goff under center on Oct. 8, 2017.

Even as Goff made some poor throws and the Rams had trouble running the ball, they still scored 29 points in Seattle a week ago. Los Angeles was a missed field goal away from winning 32-30.

San Francisco’s defense might be in for a bit of a wakeup call. That could put Jimmy Garoppolo in a position he hasn’t been in all season long.

The 49ers lead the NFL with 200 rushing yards per game. Garoppolo hasn’t thrown for 300 yards since Dec. 10, 2017. Week 3 against the Steelers was the only contest in which San Francisco needed a late score.

Let’s see what Garoppolo and the 49ers can do against an offense that will put up points.

Los Angeles beat the New Orleans Saints 27-9 at home in Week 2. Sunday’s game could have a similar feel.

Just because San Francisco is a legitimate playoff contender, that doesn’t mean they’re beating the Rams on the road.

Prediction: Los Angeles over San Francisco, 26-17