49ers host Matthew Stafford and the Rams in a key NFC West clash

Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco

lord's day, 4:25 p.m. EST, charles james fox

BetMGM NFL betting odds: Rams by 4

Against the overspread: Rams 6-2, 49ers 5-4

serial publication record: 49ers lead 79-71-3.

Last meeting: 49ers beat Rams 26-23, OT, in Inglewood, Calif. On Oct. 2.

Last week: Rams beat Saints 34-10; 49ers beat Giants 34-24.

Rams offense: overall , rush , pass , scoring .

Rams defense: overall , rush , pass , scoring .

49ers offense: overall , rush , pass , scoring .

49ers defense: overall , rush , pass , scoring .

Turnover differential: Rams plus-5; 49ers minus-6.

At 37 years old, QB Matthew Stafford is playing perhaps the best football of his career. Stafford threw for 281 yards and four touchdowns to rout the Saints on Sunday, giving him 16 touchdowns and no interceptions over his past five games. When the NFC West rivals met in early October, Stafford had a season-high 389 yards passing with three touchdowns but uncharacteristically missed some important throws in the fourth quarter and overtime.

DE Bryce Huff. The Niners are expecting to get a key pass rusher back after Huff missed the past two games with a hamstring injury. Huff leads San Francisco with four sacks, equal to the total for the rest of the players who will be active Sunday.

Rams pass coverage vs. 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey. The Niners exploited the middle of the field in the first matchup with McCaffrey catching eight passes on nine targets for 82 yards and a TD. McCaffrey had four catches against LBs Nate Landman and Troy Reeder and three more when guarded by safeties Quentin Lake and Jaylen McCollough.

Rams: WR Puka Nacua got hurt late in the win over New Orleans, but is cleared to play following clean imaging. … CB Darious Williams also should return this week after not being available against the Saints. … Reserve WR Jordan Whittington is dealing with a back injury and is questionable.

49ers: QB Brock Purdy is still dealing with a toe injury that will force him to miss a sixth straight start. He could be available as a backup to Mac Jones. ... WR Ricky Pearsall also will miss his sixth straight game. ... LG Ben Bartch is expected to return for the first time since getting hurt in Week 2, but might not start ahead of Spencer Burford. ... LB Dee Winters , LB Tatum Bethune , DL Keion White , DT Alfred Collins and DT Kalia Davis are questionable. ... DE Mykel Williams tore his ACL last week and is out for the season.

The 49ers snapped a three-game losing streak to the Rams with the short week win in October. … Los Angeles has scored 12 points or fewer in three of its past four visits to Santa Clara, California. … The Rams have won their past two road games in the series after having dropped the previous four.

The Rams have allowed 20 points combined in their past three games. The defense has held the opposition to 10 points or fewer in eight of its past 14 games including the playoffs. … Stafford has never gone six straight games without an interception. … WR Davante Adams has five touchdown receptions in his past two games, matching the best two-game stretch of his 12-year career. He also had five scores in Weeks 7-8 of the 2020 season for Green Bay. … The Rams made extensive use of three tight-end sets in the win over the Saints, with Davis Allen, Tyler Higbee and rookie Terrance Ferguson combining for eight receptions, 104 yards and a touchdown. … DL Braden Fiske got his first sack and first tackle for loss of the season against New Orleans. He had 8 1/2 sacks and 10 tackles for loss as a rookie. … RB Kyren Williams had 25 carries for 114 yards in the win over the Saints, setting season highs in both categories. ... The 49ers scored a season-high 34 points last week after averaging only 20 in their first eight games. ... The Niners are the only team in the NFL without a run for at least 20 yards and have had 269 consecutive carries without a run that long. ... McCaffrey's 1,222 yards from scrimmage are the most for any player in the first nine games of a season since 2019 when McCaffrey had 1,385 for Panthers and Dalvin Cook had 1,232 for Vikings. ... McCaffrey had his 16th career game with a TD run and a TD catch last week, passing Marshall Faulk for most in NFL history. ... The Niners have benefitted from six missed FGs by opponents this season — including one by Rams' Joshua Karty in Week 5 — for second most for any team this season. ... San Francisco K Eddy Pineiro is 19 for 19 on FGs this season. His six makes from at least 50 yards are one shy of the single-season franchise record set by David Akers in 2011. ... Jones is 5-2 as starting QB for the 49ers and is averaging 261.7 yards passing per game.

Nacua has 36 receptions for 370 yards and two touchdowns in four career games versus San Francisco. He had 10 catches for 85 yards and a TD in the first meeting this season and should get plenty of chances thanks to a weak Niners pass rush.

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