This Sunday’s Rams-Niners game will be meaningless for the Niners, which is why we’re going to see Carson Wentz battle Sam Darnold. No, we haven’t time-traveled back to 2019! With these teams potentially lined up to see each other in the playoffs, don’t expect either coaching staff to show their cards, so to speak. In other words, vanilla offensive play calling is likely.

That said, LA has more to play for on Sunday. The Niners have already locked up the top seed in the NFC and the Rams want to avoid falling to the seventh seed, which would likely pit them against the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round. With Christian McCaffrey and a slew of other 49ers starters sitting out, Los Angeles has the upper hand. SF’s conservative approach will lead to a Rams win.

I expect there to be more scoring than others anticipate in Sunday’s Rams-Niners game. While not the most attractive matchup, Wentz vs. Darnold pits two experienced ex-starting quarterbacks eager to prove they can still sling the pigskin. While the play-calling will be vanilla, these former first-round draft picks will give it their all.

Darnold should have enough success against the Rams’ pass defense (24th in passing yards allowed) to keep the score close. San Francisco doesn’t have its full arsenal of playmakers available for Sunday’s California clash, but Los Angeles is still making Puka Nacua available to play with two rookie receiving records within his grasp. No, this won’t be an offensive clinic, but I expect both starting QBs to take care of the football. Wentz and Darnold have been through the wringer, so they will aim to please, but they won’t be super overeager, either. If anything, expect both to play loose and have some fun out there.