Thursday Night Football: San Francisco at St. Louis

The odds for the first tie on a Thursday night went up with the matchup between the Rams and 49ers. Last year, these teams did tie one of the games, and the other came down to the final minutes of overtime before the Rams won it with a field goal.

Both teams come into this game with the offenses scuffling. The Rams went to Dallas and managed only a touchdown. In a quintessential Bradford performance, he threw a whopping 49 times, but managed only 240 yards passing. As a result his yards per attempt for the season is down to 6.3, which exactly matches his career numbers. With all the talk of how bad his supporting cast has been in the past, this is a key game for Bradford. Jared Cook gives him the best tight end he has played with, and Tavon Austin gives him the playmaker in short spaces. He has speed on the outside with Chris Givens, and Austin Pettis has emerged.

The 49ers offense has been a disaster for two straight weeks, and Colin Kaepernick has felt the pressure. With Vernon Davis out, Boldin is his only reliable target. These teams come in to the game having scored a combined 14 points last week. The only prediction I can offer is this: people will complain about the quality of football in Thursday Night Games.

[photo via USA Today Sports Images]