The San Francisco 49ers travel to Los Angeles Thursday to take on the Rams in what could be the biggest game of the season in the NFC
On Thursday, the San Francisco 49ers take on the Los Angeles Rams in an NFC West showdown in a game that could seal the Niners’ playoff hopes.
A 49ers win wouldn’t significantly increase their playoff odds, but a loss would drop their percentage to under one percent. If San Francisco comes away victorious, we will discuss the best-case scenarios for Week 15 on Sunday.
My issue is the schedule and how it affects the players. I asked Kyle Shanahan how he feels about Thursday Night football. The biggest game to date this year involves two teams that have been atop the NFC since Shanahan and Sean McVay have had time to revamp the rosters, and they shouldn’t have played 72 hours after the previous game.
In my question, I told Shanahan that I don’t feel sorry for him or his buddy Sean. Still, I do feel for questionable players like Isaac Guerendo, Dre Greenlaw, or even the athletes on the other side who have battled injuries, like Cooper Kupp and Puka Nuka.
But Shanahan believes there’s a place for Thursday night, NFL greed aside:
“I think there’s good things and negative things to it. I think that’s why the players all kind of like it. It’s also when you’re hurting from the Sunday game, sometimes, it’s why guys can’t go on the Thursday game where they could go on Sunday. It just kind of depends on how the day went before and how they’re going.”
Guerendo, Greenlaw, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa, Yetur Gross-Matos, Dee Winters, and Malik Mustapha were all either limited or didn’t practice Tuesday due to an injury and will likely be questionable for Thursday. Those aren’t just starters. Those are key contributors whose status is in jeopardy more than any other week with the game being played on a Thursday.
While a quick turnaround may not be the best for players battling injury ahead of Thursday, the benefit comes from the mini-bye after, says Shanahan:
“But I think when you are feeling good and you’re able to pull it off, I do think the guys really appreciate the three-day Bye Week. You don’t get many breaks in this league, with you only getting one Bye Week and one Bye Week in 17 weeks isn’t enough. So I think sometimes it’s crucial to have these Thursday night games because it is great for the mental and for the health physically for guys to get away for these three days. But it is always such a huge challenge when guys are banged up that they’re just not ready to go on four days’ rest where they could be on seven. So, it’s got its pluses and minuses to it.”
The 49ers’ spirits will be sky-high off a win against a divisional rival. From there, They’d get ten days off before traveling to Miami and taking on the Dolphins in a game they’d be favored to win, before getting an extra day of rest before battling the big bad Detroit Lions. There are pluses to Thursday night…if you win.