49ers at Rams
THE STORY: With the NFC West title long since secured, the San Francisco 49ers can lock up the No. 2 seed in the NFC and a first-round bye with a win at St. Louis on Sunday. San Francisco can also clinch the No. 2 seed with a tie and a New Orleans loss or tie or with a New Orleans loss. But the easiest route to a more convenient path to the Super Bowl would be a second win over the struggling Rams in less than a month. The 49ers won the first meeting 26-0 on Dec. 4 in San Francisco.
TV: FOX, 1 p.m. ET. LINE: 49ers -10.5, O/U 35.5
ABOUT THE 49ERS (12-3): San Francisco's resurgence has followed the same arc as QB Alex Smith's rise. Smith has won 13 of his past 16 starts dating to last season and needs only 69 passing yards for his first 3,000-yard season. But the 49ers have been anything but a one-dimensional team – they lead the NFL in scoring defense (13.5 points per game) and have one of the best kicking games in the league with K David Akers, who has made an NFL-record 42 field goals, and Pro Bowl punter Andy Lee, who leads the NFC with 50.5 yards per kick.
ABOUT THE RAMS (2-13): St. Louis has had a revolving door at quarterback this season with starter Sam Bradford battling various injuries. Bradford has missed the past two games with a high ankle sprain, and backup A.J. Feeley has been sidelined by a broken thumb, making Kellen Clemens the starter the past two games. Clemens struggled in last week's 27-0 loss at Pittsburgh with only 91 yards on 9-of-24 passing.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Smith is 5-1 in his past six starts against St. Louis and had a 142.3 rating in the most recent meeting. The 49ers are 10-0 when Smith starts and has a rating over 100.
2. Rams RB Steven Jackson has rushed for 1,069 yards, his team-record seventh consecutive season over 1,000.
3. San Francisco DE Aldon Smith leads NFL rookies with 14 sacks and needs one for the most ever by a rookie.