RAMS OFFENSE: OVERALL (7), RUSH (10), PASS (8), SCORING (8) RAMS DEFENSE: OVERALL (19), RUSH (12), PASS (24), SCORING (19) 49ERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (2), RUSH (3), PASS (2), SCORING (3) 49ERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (7), RUSH (3), PASS (15), SCORING (2) TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Rams minus-4; 49ers plus-10. RAMS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Carson Wentz. Los Angeles is giving starter Matthew Stafford the week off, clearing the way for Wentz to make his first start for the Rams.
The toughest decisions in Week 18 for San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan will come well before the game when he decides whether any of his star players will get the week off to rest up for the postseason. The 49ers are in that enviable position after beating Washington 27-10 on Sunday and then watching Arizona upset Philadelphia, clinching the No. 1 seed for San Francisco.
The Chiefs (9-6) have now lost five of eight and will likely have to play their first road playoff game with Mahomes if they even survived the wild-card round. An offense that has sputtered throughout the season couldn't do much against the Raiders and was unable to overcome the costly mistakes. I thought defense played a good game, just two mistakes that gave them two touchdowns there when you're backed up in their red zone so you just can't do that,” Mahomes said.
The Ravens will find out soon enough what it's like to go up against Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers. It's the start of a major test for a Baltimore defense that has been outstanding all season. After the trip to San Francisco comes a home game against Miami — those are the top two teams in the league in total offense.
Christian McCaffrey scored three touchdowns, Charvarius Ward had two interceptions — including a pick-6 — and the San Francisco 49ers clinched the NFC West title by pushing their winning streak to six games with a 45-29 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. San Francisco's Brock Purdy — making his first NFL start at State Farm Stadium, which is about 45 miles from where he grew up — completed 16 of 25 passes for 242 yards and tied a career high with four touchdowns.