–Their records are similar, but much has changed since the 49ers and Los Angeles Rams met in Week 17 a year ago.
The Rams were 11-4 entering the 2017 regular-season finale, had clinched the NFC West title and had no chance to earn a first-round bye. So they rested many key players, including quarterback Jared Goff and running back Todd Gurley II.
The 49ers, meanwhile, were 5-10 and were jockeying with Indianapolis, Houston, Denver, the New York Jets, Tampa Bay and Chicago for draft position. Despite the incentive to lose, they took advantage of the disinterested Rams to win 34-13, and in the process cost themselves four draft positions (fifth to ninth).
Fast-forward 364 days and the Rams enter this week’s action 12-3, but not with a lack of motivation. They need a win, or a Bears loss at Minnesota, to clinch the No. 2 seed in the NFC and earn a first-round bye.
So the 49ers are expecting to see Gurley.
Meanwhile, San Francisco will take a 4-11 record into the finale, in which a loss would ensure the No. 2 draft position. A win probably would cost them at least two draft positions, possibly more.
–The 49ers will duel the high-powered Rams without two of their most productive offensive players — running back Matt Breida and wideout Dante Pettis — in the regular-season finale.
Breida, who leads the 49ers in rushing this season despite having been in and out of the lineup with ankle injuries, will finish the season with 814 rushing yards. He currently is tied for the team lead in total touchdowns with five.
“Matt’s had a very impressive season,” Shanahan reported. “Matt stepped in right away (for injured Jerick McKinnon) and played like a No. 1 back. I think he was up there for a while close to leading the league in rushing. Got a ton of explosives. Had a good yards-per-carry.
“He got hurt early on. He’s battled every week to get in there and play for us. He’s ended up hurting it every week, also. So, it’s lingered all year. Just a credit to him to still be effective when he’s been out there. It shows you the type of guy he is that he can still take it to a whole other level the healthier he gets for next year.”
Pettis, meanwhile, came on strong late in the season, catching Breida for the team lead in touchdowns with four in his last five games.
He sprained his MCL in the Week 16 loss to the Bears, ending his season with 27 receptions for 467 yards, a 17.3-yard average.
“You don’t have to pencil him in at one (wideout) position; he’s got the ability to do all three,” Shanahan praised of the second-round pick. “Whatever the rest of our roster looked like, where he got to and how, just the way you can put the best three guys out there together. Whether it’s three guys together, usually on third down, whether there’s two guys on first and second down.”
BY THE NUMBERS: 8 — The 49ers’ franchise record for fewest interceptions in a season. So far this season: 2.
