Sunday's regular-season finale between the 49ers and Los Angeles Rams is chock full of playoff implications.
The 49ers need a win or a New Orleans Saints loss to clinch a playoff berth. For the Rams, a win would lock up the NFC West title and the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs.
Working in the 49ers' favor is the fact that San Francisco has won five straight games in the rivalry, including a 31-10 win at Levi's Stadium on Nov. 15.
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However, that trend doesn't worry Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
"They don't have mind control over us or anything like that," Ramsey told reporters Thursday. "We're going out there confident on Sunday."
The 49ers haven't lost to the Rams since a 48-32 defeat in their final matchup of the 2018 regular season.
During Kyle Shanahan's run of success against Sean McVay, the 49ers have dominated Los Angeles on both sides of the ball. The Rams' vaunted defense led by Ramsey and Aaron Donald has had no answers for the 49ers' rushing attack, while San Francisco's defense has forced McVay's offense into several costly mistakes.
San Francisco 49ers
In their first matchup this season, the 49ers intercepted quarterback Matthew Stafford twice, including a pick-six by safety Jimmie Ward.
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While Shanahan gets a lot of credit for his current ownership stake in the Rams, the 49ers' head coach doesn't see a through-line from all five wins.
“I think it's two teams that respect each other a lot," Shanahan told reporters Wednesday. "We go hard. I would guess we've won the turnover battle the majority of the times, but each one is kind of its own game. And so I never really tied those together when we went into it and especially being this one right now, it really has no bearing on what's happened in the past. It's all about these four quarters.”
The 49ers' quarterback scenario for Sunday remains up in the air.
Jimmy Garoppolo, who missed the 49ers' Week 17 win over the Houston Texans due to a thumb injury, was a limited participant in practice Wednesday and was seen throwing passes during the warm-up session. Garoppolo suffered a Grade 3 sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb during the 49ers' Week 16 loss to the Tennessee Titans.
Rookie quarterback Trey Lance started vs. the Texans, and Shanahan has said he will likely take most of the first-team reps this week.
Shanahan has said he won't announce his starter until game time to maintain a competitive advantage.
For Garoppolo, the veteran quarterback will do everything he can to take the field Sunday at SoFi Stadium with a playoff berth on the line.
“It's definitely a fine line. It is," Garoppolo said Wednesday about wanting to play versus being honest with himself about the injury. "A lot of just thinking during the day, at night, about everything that really has gone into this whole season to get us to this point. It's just a long season. A lot of things happen, a lot of different players play, the ups and downs and you go through all that stuff just to get an opportunity that we have this Sunday.
"So, I mean, that's all you could ask for. As far as playing, I'm going to do everything I can to be out there with the guys. It's a big one and so whatever I can do to be out there, I'm going to be out there. But, at the same time, you’ve got to be smart and think about what's going to be best for the team to win. And so you’ve just got to be smart with all the decisions you make.”
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