Brink’s Best Bets: 49ers at Rams and All NFL Week 12 Predictions

Season Record: 91-69

49ers Picks Record: 4-6

Best & Worst Picks of Week 11

My Best Pick: Titans 27- Ravens 19
Final Score: Titans 30 - Ravens 24

My Worst Pick: Patriots 16 - Texans 9
Final Score: Patriots 20 - Texans 27

Week 12 Picks

Houston Texans at Detroit Lions (+2.5) - Texans ride Watson to a road win Texans 24 - Lions 20

Washington Football Team at Dallas Cowboys (-2.5) - The legend of Alex Smith prevails again WFT 20 - Cowboys 17

Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers (-4) - Steelers suffer their first loss due to turnovers Ravens 27 - Steelers 16

Arizona Cardinals at New England Patriots (+2.5) - The Patriots keep their season alive by stumping Murray Patriots 33 - Cardinals 20

Carolina Panthers at Minnesota Vikings (-4.5) - Cousins can't keep this act up forever Panthers 27 - Vikings 13

Cleveland Browns at Jacksonville Jaguars (+6.5) - Another soft opponent for a deceiving Browns team to beat Browns 23 - Jaguars 15

Los Angeles Chargers at Buffalo Bills (-5.5) - Chargers can't quite seal the deal on this one Bills 27 - Chargers 24

Miami Dolphins at New York Jets (+6.5) - The march towards 0-16 continues Dolphins 37 - Jets 16

New York Giants at Cincinnati Bengals (+5.5) - Bengals can't win without Joey B Giants 20 - Bengals 17

Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts (-3.5) - Titans defense proves it's the best in the South Titans 19 - Colts 16

Las Vegas Raiders at Atlanta Falcons (+3) - Raiders run all over a hapless Falcons defense Raiders 34 - Falcons 14

New Orleans Saints at Denver Broncos (+5.5) - Broncos shouldn't even play this game, no QB no chance Saints 24 - Broncos 3

Kansas City Chiefs at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3) - Old man Brady can't keep up with the best QB in the game Chiefs 28 - Bucs 16

Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers (-7.5) - Rodgers is back to form against a fading Bears squad Packers 27 - Bears 12

Seattle Seahawks at Philadelphia Eagles (+5) - Tougher than it should be, the Seahawks pull out a close one Seahawks 23 - Eagles 19

San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams (-6.5)

Why SF Wins: The 49ers come into this matchup with some distinct advantages. They are coming off of a bye week, while the Rams played Monday night in a competitive game that went down to the wire. The 49ers hold one victory over the Rams already, a game in which Kyle Shanahan completely schooled the Rams defense with short passes and designed runs to WR Deebo Samuel. The 49ers' second year receiver has missed significant time this season, but it looks that he will return against LA on Sunday. He's not the only player set to return as the 49ers could be getting CB Richard Sherman and RB Raheem Mostert as well. A well-rested 49ers team, aided by the return of a few impact players, and with all the motivation in the world to keep its season alive, could pull off an upset on Sunday.

Why SF Loses: No matter how well-rested they are, their QB is still Nick Mullens. Last time the 49ers faced the Rams they had Jimmy Garoppolo under center. These Rams are clearly the more talented roster at this point, and it's often difficult to sweep a division rival. The Rams sit atop the NFC West standings, knowing if they lose this game they could lose ground to the Seahawks who play a weak Eagles team in Week 12. The Rams should be fired up, have the talent advantage and are looking to exact revenge on a 49ers team that physically dominated them in their last matchup, completely shutting down DT Aaron Donald on national television.

Prediction: The 49ers can run with the Rams, chalk it up to coaching or a matter of "styles make fights". They clearly are not the better team at this point, but DC Robert Saleh held these Rams to 16 points in their last matchup and play-caller Kyle Shanahan stumped their defense at every turn. This is a game the 49ers could win, but they just won't. The score will remain the same as their last contest, but the Rams will be the victor this time around. Rams 24 - 49ers 16

• Gilbert Brink
• Written by:
  Gilbert Brink
  49ers outsider, residing in the Hudson Valley, representing 30+ years of the 49ers experience
  @Brinkasaurus