Rams only NFC West team Niners and Garoppolo can affect

SANTA CLARA, CA - NOVEMBER 26: Jimmy Garoppolo
SANTA CLARA, CA - NOVEMBER 26: Jimmy Garoppolo /
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The Los Angeles Rams are the only NFC West team remaining on the 49ers schedule against the division. They’ll meet in Week 17 with maybe a title on the line for LA.

The San Francisco 49ers have run through their entire NFC West schedule for the 2017 NFL season except for one team; the Los Angeles Rams.

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That’s news for one big reason, and his name is Jimmy Garoppolo.

The 49ers named Garoppolo the starter for Week 13 against the Chicago Bears, and it’s a pretty good bet he’ll be under center for the remainder of this season.

The Rams will be the only NFC West team San Francisco will face in December, having already played the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks twice, leaving only LA on their divisional schedule. That game is Week 17 on New Year’s Eve.

Garoppolo was acquired at the trade deadline from the New England Patriots, and until the closing moments of Sunday’s game against the Seahawks, had been on the bench behind C.J. Beathard.

To the Niners credit, they played the division tough, especially Seattle and the Rams in back to back weeks. In Week 2, they lost to the Seahawks 12-9 on the road, and took Los Angeles to the last two minutes of Week 3 41-39, before tackle Aaron Donald ended the Niners hopes with a sack to wrap-up an LA victory.

Next: 3 storylines for Rams at Cardinals in Week 13

Week 17, depending on how the next five weeks play out, especially LA’s games against the Cardinals this week, and Seattle in Week 15, could be decided when the 49ers and Rams play on the last day of the season. By that time, Garoppolo and the 49ers will have played five games together, and it’s very possible will be better than the the 1-10 they currently are.