Whether you like it or not, sports betting is a very important part of sports now. However, usually is for fans to try and earn some money watching the teams they love, not for teams to use it as motivation. After the San Francisco 49ers beat the Los Angeles Rams as nine-´point underdogs on Thursday Night Football, quarterback Mac Jones said the point spread was key for Kyle Shanahan to bring his A-game against Sean McVay.
When you think of motivational stuff for this game, you could think of the NFC West rivalry between 49ers and Rams, or the coaching rivalry between Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay. However, Mac Jones said what fuel his head coach was another thing.
“Kyle [Shanahan] came up to me and he was pissed about it [the point spread],” Jones said during the press conference. “So he’s like, ‘Dude, I can’t believe they moved us to underdogs again or more.’ I am like, ‘I don’t know what that means really, but yeah, let’s go kill them.’ He was pissed about it. I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m pissed too.’” Safe to say Shanahan is not a fan of the line movement.
Shanahan vs. McVay is pure cinema
The overall record between Shanahan and McVay is 11-7 in favor of the Niners’ coach. However, this win ends an 0-3 streak for Shanahan. This is one of the best coaching rivalries in the whole NFL.
Shanahan and McVay are rivals, not friends
While Shanahan is ahead, McVay won the most important NFL game between both, an NFC Conference Final where the Rams triumphed and ended up winning the Super Bowl in 2021. This game could’ve easily went to the Niners but safety Jaquiski Tartt dropped an easy interception that could’ve ended the game.
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Where the Rams fraud checked?
The reason the 49ers were that big of an underdog was simple: Mac Jones is a backup quarterback, and the Niners literally had only backups in the receiving corp. Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall, and tight end George Kittle are all injured. Hence, it was only natural to think the Rams, who had great momentum and are healthy, would beat the brakes off the 49ers.
However, self-inflicted wounds like a special teams’ malpractice, a goal-line fumble and ill-timed flags made the Rams lose this game. That, and the good game the 49ers played. However, this is not new. The Rams survived against the Colts and special teams also costed them the game vs. Eagles. It’s a team with lots of potential but with many holes on their game.
