3 NFC Teams that can prevent LA Rams from returning to the SB

San Francisco 49ers +700

I’m going with the San Francisco 49ers from the LA Rams’ own NFC West Division here as another potential threat to the LA Rams.  I have my concerns with this team but before we go there, let’s look at what makes them dangerous.

For starters their head coach, Kyle Shanahan has proven over the last several seasons he can coach in this league. Despite roster challenges with injuries, he has proven that he can be creative with his offense.

The argument that Coach Shanahan did more with an average quarterback in quarterback Jimmy Garappolo is up for debate.  At the end of the day, Shanahan seemed to get the most out of his quarterback. They seemed to be a perfect blend of providing what the other needed.

Shanahan designed the offense to attack the middle of the defense and keep them off-balanced. Jimmy Garoppolo threw a highly accurate pass over the middle.  We’ll just have to wait and see if he can survive as a starting quarterback without Shanahan but that’s for someone else to write about.

Can Trey Lance lead this team?

This is where I insert young quarterback Trey Lance into this discussion. Depending on who you ask, he’s either the next (Buffalo Bills star quarterback) Josh Allen or he’s a first-round bust.  I tend to lean somewhere in between.  While I think Lance will be a quality starting quarterback, I don’t think he’s ready to take up the team on his back and carry them past the LA Rams.

That said, this San Francisco 49ers roster is very good, with lots of talent, and probably one of the more talented rosters in the NFC.  The wide receiver duo of Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk can be a very good one. Throw in the fact that WR Jauan Jennings is coming into his second year in the league and has shown some capabilities as well.  The tight end position is set with one of the best, if not the best in the game, George Kittle, and certainly the best the NFC has to offer.

We can’t forget their running backs either, as this is the bread and butter of what Shanahan does on the offensive side of the ball.  Elijah Mitchel was a pleasant surprise last season and returns in the lead role, but should he go down to injury again, backup RBs Jeff Wilson Jr. and Trey Sermon will be ready.

The defense is solid too. They certainly helped carry the team through the playoffs a year ago.

It all comes down to what Lance can do as the starting quarterback.  I know he’s not a rookie anymore, but he has only played ten quarters in all of last season, so we’ll have to wait and see how good he can be in his first season as the starter.  If he is what the 49ers faithful hope he is, this could be a very dangerous team and be the one to trip up the LA Rams as they pursue back-to-back Super Bowls in 2022.