Kurtenbach: My 49ers-Rams prediction — let chaos reign

When you watch a battle between the San Francisco ers and the Los Angeles Rams you can t help but feel like you re authentically watching a particularly strange episode of the Twilight Zone We re not talking about a rivalry here folks No a rivalry is Cal and Stanford Giants and Dodgers Clean hatred clear lines This This is something a shrink demands to untangle Psychologists do have a name for this relationship between the Rams and ers the Chameleon Effect Kyle Shanahan and Rams head coach Sean McVay nonconsciously I think mimic each other postures mannerisms assistant coaches players and plays Everything These two even have the same team-building model Yes the NFL is a copycat league but this is on a whole other level And unsurprisingly when the Rams and ers get together things get weird Doppelganger weird Going into this Week matchup at Levi s Stadium everything points to the banged-up just-trying-to-survive ers getting their teeth kicked in by a Rams group that has kicked into hyperdrive in the last three weeks outscoring opponents by a margin of to But you know what Logic finds no quarter when these two teams face off against each other Related Articles ers sat out NFL exchange deadline Fans will eventually thank them Kurtenbach The ers need more than they can afford at the NFL exchange deadline Kurtenbach The urgent ers passed a key test against the N Y Giants with ruthless execution ers Studs and Duds Mac Jones bruised and bleeding shows total control in win over Giants For weeks the ers have fended off the inevitable It arrived in Houston This matchup effectively a far-too-early elimination event for the NFC West title has stakes that are much much higher Forget the standings This is the biannual ahem manhood-measuring contest for Shanahan and McVay It s a mix of chess poker and Chutes-and-Ladders a dizzying circular showdown of the two sharpest minds in the event They re close friends archenemies and they deploy their -man encounter day rosters as proxies in their never-ending battle of I know that you know that I know So yes the Rams have the better this time around No one but the most of ardent homers has picked the Niners and even they seemed hesitant And I m not saying the Niners are going to win But amid all the takes and analysis I have seen a multitude of fail to factor in the all-important Shanahan Factor He consistently keeps his the greater part unexpected most of devastating wrinkles reserved just for McVay He might treat these games like just another NFL contest with the media but deep down he relishes them and treats them with just a bit more reverence We saw it back in Week when the ers a crew already resembling a MASH unit went down to L A on a short week and stole a success through sheer trickery and confusion The Rams didn t expect Mac Jones and Kendrick Bourne to drive the ers offense up and down the field with slant and over routes And they certainly didn t see the Niners ripping off the Rams Cover defense for the week and conceding the outside zone run in an effort to sell out to stop McVay s favorite run play an interior run called Duo It caught the Rams off guard their entire battle plan was thrown off until they made chosen late first-half adjustments That adjustment Relentlessly attacking rookie safety Marques Sigle with deep passes It proved not to be enough the Niners snuck out of the Southland with a win Shanahan and his defensive coordinator Robert Saleh have magician-deep sleeves this season We re only in Week just past the season s halfway point but it s fair to wonder if there s another trick up hiding in there But if there is it s coming out on Sunday Shanahan doesn t hold back against McVay If there isn t the Niners chances of winning the NFC West will likely go up in smoke Related Articles Tom Brady recalls having his own cheering section at Levi s Stadium ers keys to beating Rams sweeping NFC West rival How to watch the ers vs the Rams on Sunday ers injury assessment vs Rams Mac Jones to start again Ricky Pearsall remains out A wasteland no more ers special teams upgrade will be on display vs Rams The Rams and Seahawks are playing at a Super Bowl level right now The Niners are clearly not at that caliber and might not reach it at all thanks to the unit s ever-growing injury record But a win over the Rams keeps the NFC West dream alive for the Niners Not only would a season sweep give them a tiebreaker over L A and a - start in the division it would also jump the Niners over the Rams in the standings The Seahawks will have to wait until Week if the Niners can survive long enough to make that tournament relevant for the division Does it make any sense to suggest that this Niners group can still win this encounter or this division Not at all But this is the enduring beautiful absurdity of this matchup What does sense have to do with ers-Rams anyway My brain says the Rams win in an onslaught - but here s my real prediction and it s the easiest one I ll make all season Let chaos reign