The Rams-49ers rivalry has leaned heavily in favor of San Francisco in recent years, but the games remain exciting to watch. Both teams usually have rosters full of NFL stars, even if the 49ers often come out on top.
This Sunday, both teams will be without several key players due to injuries, which puts a damper on the Rams’ home opener in Inglewood. The 49ers (1-1) will miss Christian McCaffrey (leg) and Deebo Samuel (calf), and tight end George Kittle (hamstring) may also not play or could be limited. The Rams (0-2) won’t have their top two receivers and key offensive players, Cooper Kupp (ankle) and Puka Nacua (knee).
However, quarterback Matthew Stafford and Brock Purdy are both healthy and will aim to perform despite the missing stars in this rivalry game.
“I think the biggest thing for me as a quarterback is (to) just go out there and trust,” said Stafford, who will be playing behind a new offensive line for the third time. “I trust those guys that they’re going to do their job,” he added.
“There’s some high-level stuff that guys that I’ve played with for five or six years that you can talk about and feel good about doing.
When you have new guys in different spots, some of that isn’t there. But you just go out there, trust that they’re going to be in the right spots, throw the ball and let them do their thing.”
The 49ers are still feeling the sting from their 23-17 loss to Minnesota last week, and their depth is being tested without their star running back and versatile receiver. Last season, McCaffrey and Samuel combined for 3,340 yards from scrimmage and 33 touchdowns.
“Hopefully they’ll be OK, but I’m not sad that they’re not playing against us,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “They are still as good as it gets offensively in this league.”
