SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) 鈥� The Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers came to similar conclusions in the offseason: It was time to upgrade over the quarterbacks who helped both franchises reach the Super Bowl in recent years.
The Rams then went ahead and dealt Jared Goff and a pair of first-round selections for Matthew Stafford and the Niners traded away three first-round picks to take Trey Lance as Jimmy Garoppolo's heir apparent.
The early returns halfway through the first season after those trades couldn't be more different headed into the first meeting of the season between the NFC West rivals on Monday night.
Stafford has super-charged the offense for the Rams (7-2), who are tied for the second-best record in the NFL and are making a big push for a Super Bowl title.
Lance has barely seen the field for the 49ers (3-5), who mired in a another rough campaign after coming into the year with expectations of being a contender.
After beating the Rams all four times the past two seasons and limiting them to 187.8 yards passing per game with Goff at quarterback, the Niners see a much more difficult challenge with Stafford at the helm.
鈥淗e鈥檚 playing lights out right now,鈥� linebacker Fred Warner said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 brought a lot of juice to that offense with the ability to stretch the field and get those throws in so many different ways, manipulating defenses. They鈥檙e still running a similar scheme, adding a couple of wrinkles. But Stafford is for sure a great addition.鈥�
Stafford has opened up the Rams offense with his big arm and ability to run coach Sean McVay's system the way it was meant to be. He has already completed 18 deep passes (20 or more yards downfield) in the first nine games, exceeding last year's total for the Rams by two and matching the 2019 mark.
The Rams have had one of the most productive passing attacks this season led by Stafford and receiver Cooper Kupp. Now they just added Odell Beckham Jr. to the mix and he could make his Los Angeles debut on Monday night after Robert Woods went down with a season-ending knee injury.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a very talented player, a Pro Bowl receiver and it鈥檚 on me to give him the ball when he has the opportunities, our guys to scheme him up and get chances for him,鈥� Stafford said. "I鈥檓 just excited that he鈥檚 part of our team. As far as what defenses do, I haven鈥檛 played a whole lot of defense in my life, but I imagine the more number of receivers we can get out on the field and run down the field, the scarier it鈥檚 going to be.鈥�
The Niners haven't been able to scare opponents much the past two seasons as they have been unable to get back to the level that carried them to the Super Bowl in the 2019 season.
Injuries to Garoppolo and several other key players derailed last season. San Francisco came into this season with aspirations to get back to the Super Bowl and groom Lance along the way.
But this season has mostly been frustrating for coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers, who are mired at the bottom of the division for a second straight season.
McVay, who worked with Shanahan on Mike Shanahan's staff in Washington, understands the frustration.
鈥淲e鈥檒l talk before the game, but this is a natural thing that we go through,鈥� McVay said. "鈥楾ough times don鈥檛 last, tough people do.鈥� That鈥檚 what his dad always used to say. I know Kyle鈥檚 wired the right way and he鈥檚 a great coach. He鈥檚 done an outstanding job. I sure have learned a lot from him, and we know it鈥檚 going be a great challenge this week.鈥�
The Rams figure to be dealing with Garoppolo not Lance, who hasn't even gotten onto the field the past two games in a situational role despite being active.
Lance played six quarters when Garoppolo was out with a calf injury and showed some flashes, but also struggled with consistency and accuracy. He has played only seven snaps in the other six games as the talk of him being used to complement Garoppolo hasn't come to fruition yet.
Shanahan said he has packages for Lance each week, but he hasn't gotten to use those much as the offense struggles to get into a rhythm.
As for when Lance takes over from Garoppolo for good, that remains to be seen although the clock could be sped up if the team keeps losing and starts looking to the future.
鈥淲hen he鈥檚 ready, when our team鈥檚 ready,鈥� Shanahan said about when Lance will take over as starter. "Obviously, (if) there鈥檚 nothing to play for, you make that decision for a lot of guys trying to prepare guys for the next year and stuff like that.鈥�
___
AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham in Los Angeles contributed to this report
___
More AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
Josh Dubow, The Associated Press
