Two teams that played nearly ten quarters of football in 2012 are facing off again tonight. The Rams and Niners will attempt to keep pace in the NFC West tonight on Thursday Night Football!

(1-2) San Francisco 49ers at
(1-2) St. Louis Rams

There should be a certain amount of desperation inside the Niners locker room, as a 1-3 start (0-2 in the division) will put this team in an early hole. Pass rusher Aldon Smith won’t be on the field, as he entered a rehab facility earlier this week. Michael Crabtree and Mario Manningham are still on the PUP list, leaving Kaepernick with Anquan Boldin as his lone reliable receiver, and one that can’t get away from press coverage. Vernon Davis is questionable, which means the Niners have even fewer ways to get the ball down the field. They have to run, run, and run the ball some more. It’s that easy. This will be a Frank Gore-kind of game, which means it might be particularly boring.

Also contributing to the snooze-fest: these two offenses have really struggled in recent weeks. While the Niners were being beaten up be the Colts of all teams, the Rams were putting up a mere seven points versus the Cowboys. Daryl Richardson has been utterly pedestrian this season in his effort to replace Steven Jackson. Aside from tight end Jared Cook, the Rams have a few decent receiving threats in rookie Tavon Austin and Austin Pettis, but no one game-breaking yet. Sam Bradford is going to struggle to move the ball consistently against the Niners.

In case you haven’t noticed, I’m prepping you for what could be a boring, awful, shoddy NFL game tonight. But I’ll still be entertained when I watch it off my DVR! Defensive struggles FTW. There won’t be any tweets from me during the game, as I’ll be out celebrating a civil union! Suck it straight marriage.

Enjoy the Thursday night action!