The Rams can take control of NFC West with a win in San Francisco

Sep 27, 2022 - 8:05 PM

Los Angeles Rams defeat the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 during a NFC championship football game at SoFi Stadium." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/PjjvL2L0r-SIcmUZXa7Kdy7aUgw=/0x278:2645x1766/1920x1080/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71422932/1238091079.0.jpg" />

When it comes to the Rams and the 49ers, there is no question that there is legitimate hatred between the teams, the fan bases, and the entire cities themselves. Hell, Aaron Donald expressed his hate for the Niners openly, and 49ers safety Jimmie Ward feels the same about the Rams. The L.A. and San Francisco rivalry is one of the best in sports, however the rivalry in football has been pretty lopsided as of late.

In the past six regular season games the 49ers have gotten the best of the Rams, a ridiculous statistic for both sides of the coin. Los Angeles finally broke that losing streak on the biggest stage the rivalry has been set on in years, as the Rams finally defeated the dreaded 49ers in the NFC Championship game last season to advance to the Super Bowl (the Niners can keep the six regular season wins in a row, we got a Super Bowl baby). Nevertheless, the dominance that San Francisco has experienced in the series over the past three seasons has been otherworldly, something the Rams have to be fed up with at this point and have to be chopping at the bit to change.

Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Monday night presents an opportunity to do just that against a San Francisco team that is dealing with glaring issues with a young offensive line, injuries at running back, and a quarterback that was not their first choice at the beginning of the season. For a Los Angeles defense that just put up their best performance last week against Arizona, this is a chance to crush a hated opponent in their house in front of the entire nation in primetime.

If the losing streak in the regular season is not enough motivation, the fact that the Rams are 2-1 while the rest of the West sits at 1-2 should be. With a win, Los Angeles can become the clear front-runner to win the division, a chance to get a leg up and potentially run away with what has been one of the toughest divisions to win in recent years.

However, there is no secret that the 49ers will most likely play their best game of the season thus far (as they always do against the Rams), as well as look for revenge against the squad that ended their season in comeback fashion last year. In one of the best rivalries in sports, I fully expect the Rams and Niners to put on a show for us this upcoming Monday night, with our beloved Rams finally breaking the regular season curse against San Francisco in what will be remembered as a momentous win in their ‘Run It Back’ campaign.