Lose, and oh boy.
The standings in the division flipped once again. Hopefully, that’s true after Week 4.
Los Angeles Rams: 2-1 @ 49ers (MNF), vs. Cowboys, vs. Panthers
After a public shellacking at the hands of the Buffalo Bills, the Rams have righted the ship a bit. Rust? Possibly, but it always helps to get a visit from the Falcons. The running back rotation hasn’t taken shape for the Rams, and Allen Robinson has had a slow start to his Rams career.
Monday night, the Rams find themselves back at Levi’s stadium. Sound familiar? Coming off a win and facing a 49er team off a bad loss? I’m betting the football world will be all over the Rams in this matchup. Speaking of the 49ers…
Seattle Seahawks 1-2: @ Lions, @ Saints, vs. Cardinals
Seattle fell to Atlanta at home, but Geno Smith performed well, throwing for 325 yards in the loss. The defense again surrendered 27 points. Tariq Woolen notched his first interception and is showing all the signs of being a great pick.
The Lions’ offense has been impressive to begin the season. The Saints’ defense will be a huge problem. Arizona is the better of the two teams. 1-5 is on the table for a team who will likely hold a high draft pick in the NFL draft.
Arizona Cardinals 1-2: @ Panthers, vs. Eagles, vs. Seahawks
A collapse from the Las Vegas Raiders (Houston is the only other winless team) gift-wrapped Arizona’s lone win. The Rams continued their dominance over Arizona with a 20-12 victory. This loss would have been far worse had Cooper Kupp hauled in a would-be touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford.
Let’s give Arizona some credit. You can’t collapse at the end of the season if you collapse early on. The offense feels disjointed and has struggled to get anything going on the ground.
The Cardinals should get right in Week 4 against Carolina, but the Eagles are the class of the NFC through three weeks. Back-to-back home games conclude with the Seahawks, so I’ll say they go 2-1 during this stretch. They better, or the season goes up in flames very quickly.
San Francisco 49ers: 1-2 vs. Rams (MNF), @ Panthers, @ Falcons
I know the sky is falling. Everyone panic and light everything on fire. Sunday night was one of the lowest points for a Shanahan-led 49ers team. The defense was stellar, but the offense was stagnant. Jimmy Garoppolo did not play well Sunday. That’s just a fact.
Here come the Rams for MNF, and everyone will write Garoppolo and this team off. This feels like a quintessential Garoppolo bounce-back spot. Just when you’re ready to write him and this team off, they find a way. Now, that’s no easy task, especially with Trent Williams not playing. Toss in an Azeez Al-Shaair injury, and this defense will be down two starters at minimum.
If the 49ers can manage to get a win Monday, the schedule opens up for two games against beatable opponents. The first question is which version of the offense will take the field. The bigger question is which version of Jimmy Garoppolo will take the field.