The Rams are probably already looking forward to next season as tomorrow is not a good match-up for them.  The Niners clobbered the Rams earlier this season in San Francisco 35-0 and there is little reason to think that tomorrow’s result will be much better.  The Rams are hoping that Steven Jackson will return tomorrow but even if he does the Niners are only allowing 97.7 yards rushing per game and 3.7 yards per carry this season.  Keith Null and Kyle Boller split reps in practice which leads me to think the Rams will try to start Boller who would give them the best chance to compete tomorrow.

The Rams would probably like to go all out to stop Frank Gore and dare Alex Smith to beat them.  Of course that could backfire with Vernon Davis, Josh Morgan and Michael Crabtree lining up against their secondary.  This just is not a good match-up for the Rams’ defense.

PREDICTION:  49ERS 27, RAMS 7

The Texans still have a chance to make the playoffs if they can run the table so they will likely be bringing their A-Game tomorrow against the Rams.  The Rams better hope that Steven Jackson is healthy enough to carry the load tomorrow as he is one of the many players suffering from the flu.  The Texans allow 114.5 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry so far this season so Jackson should be able to find some running room.  The Rams will probably start rookie QB Keith Null again this week and that’s bad news for the Rams as he threw five pickoffs in his NFL debut last weekend against the Titans.  The Texans are allowing 214.8 yards passing per game so there are plays that could be made downfield as long as Null relaxes in the pocket.

The Rams will have to blitz more than usual because if Matt Schaub has time to throw the ball they are in big, big trouble.  The Rams will be doubling Andre Johnson all day long but it might not matter as he is just that good.  The Texans are going with undrafted rookie Arian Foster as the starting RB so the Rams will likely have to focus on stopping the pass.

PREDICTION:  TEXANS 38, RAMS 3

The St. Louis Rams (1-11) are going up against a very good running team in Tennessee Titans (5-7), which is bad news for the Rams.  They are giving up 146 rushing yards per contest, and the Titans have this year’s best running back Chris Johnson.  Johnson has already rushed for over 1,500 yards this season and is averaging 6.2 yards per carry.  They also have to worry about the Titans’ quarterback Vince Young in both the passing and running game.  This game does not bode well for the Rams’ defense.

Kyle Boller will need to provide a lot more than what he has if the Rams want to come out victorious.  Steven Jackson has been one of the few bright spots for the Rams this year, so if Boller can get anything going in the passing game it will relieve the pressure off Jackson.  The Titans do not have a very good pass-defense, giving up 267 passing yards per game, so it is a possibility for Boller to have a good game.  It is not likely though, and with the Rams having such a weak run-defense the Titans will run away with this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Tennessee Titans 31, St. Louis Rams 14

The St. Louis Rams (1-10) are on the road against the Chicago Bears (4-7) Sunday.  The Bears have been playing awful as of late and have lost four straight games.  Unfortunately for the Rams, the Bears are still a better team than them.  However, if the Rams defense can rattle Jay Cutler like many other teams have done, they can get themselves a lot of turnovers.  The Bears offensive line is pretty weak, so they may have some opportunities to get to Cutler.  Also, the Bears running game has been nearly non-existent, so stopping Matt Forte may not be too difficult of a task.

The Rams offense will be relying heavily on Steven Jackson, who has been the only bright spot for them all year.  Jackson has a bad back though, so he may not be as effective as usual.  The Bears do give up 126 rushing yards per game, so Jackson will probably have a good day despite his back.  Still, this Rams team is not on the same level as most other NFL teams and the Bears will most likely win convincingly.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  St. Louis Rams 14, Chicago Bears 28

The Seahawks have won nine games in a row including a 28-0 beat-down in Seattle to open the season.  But, the Seahawks are 0-5 on the road this season and they have been outscored a combined 161-73!  Before Rams’ fans get too excited those games were against the Vikings, Colts, Cardinals, Cowboys and 49ers who are all superior teams to the Rams.  The Seahawks will likely try to jump the Rams early with the passing game in an attempt to get a quick lead which would force the Rams to throw more instead of handing the ball to Steven Jackson.  If Hasselbeck gets the time he needs to throw the ball he should be able to get it to WRs T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Nate Burleson and TE John Carlson.  Justin Forsett had a rough first game as the starting RB for the Seahawks against the Vikings but he should be able to find a lot more running room against the Rams who are allowing 146.4 yards rushing and 4.7 yards per carry this year. 

The Rams have really played pretty well the last three weeks winning one of them (vs. Lions) and losing 2 of them (vs. Saints and Cardinals).  The Rams will likely feed the ball to Steven Jackson as much as possible in this game as the Seahawks are allowing 110.5 yards rushing and 4.3 yards per carry.  The passing game might be of the deeper variety this week for the Rams as Kyle Boller will be starting for the injured Marc Bulger (broken leg).  The Seahawks are allowing 236.8 yards passing per game so far this season and opposing QBs have a 96.5 Rating against them so the Rams could have some success throwing the ball.

PREDICTION:  RAMS 27, SEAHAWKS 23