NFL forecast: 49ers to continue domination of Rams

After a 3-5 start, the San Francisco 49ers have won and covered six of their past eight games and can clinch a playoff spot with a win Sunday over the Los Angeles Rams.

The Niners also could make the postseason if New Orleans loses at Atlanta as a 3½-point favorite.

For our purposes, we only need San Francisco to cover as a 4½-point road underdog in an NFC West rivalry that it has dominated for the past two decades.

The 49ers whipped the Rams 31-10 in Week 10 for their fifth straight win in the series, and San Francisco has won nine of the past 12 meetings and 23 of 33 dating to 2005.

The Niners, who have limited their past three opponents to an average of 13.3 points, have covered four of the past five meetings and are riding a 6-2 cover streak at Los Angeles.

San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is questionable after spraining a ligament in his thumb two weeks ago and missing last week’s win over Houston. But he returned to practice this week and appears likely to start.

Take the Niners.

Four more plays (home team in CAPS):

Chiefs (-10½) over BRONCOS: Kansas City can still claim the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a win over Denver on Saturday and a Titans’ loss to the Texans on Sunday. I’ll back a motivated Chiefs team after it blew a 14-point lead in last week’s 34-31 loss at Cincinnati that ended an eight-game win streak and 6-2 cover run. Quarterback Drew Lock will start for the Broncos after getting briefly knocked out of last week’s 34-13 loss to the Chargers with a shoulder injury. Denver has lost and failed to cover three straight and is on a 4-9 spread slide overall. Kansas City beat the Broncos 22-9 on Dec. 5.

Patriots (-6) over DOLPHINS: New England has clinched a playoff spot and still has outside shots at winning the AFC East and even the AFC’s No. 1 seed. But the Patriots mostly will be focused on staying on track after ending a two-game losing streak in last week’s 50-10 rout of the Jaguars. New England also can avenge its 17-16 season-opening home loss to Miami, which has been eliminated from the postseason.

BUCCANEERS (-8) over Panthers: Tampa Bay is banged up, but coach Bruce Arians said he’s not resting anybody and is playing to win, as the Bucs can earn the NFC’s No. 2 seed with a win and a loss by the Rams. Since joining Tampa, Tom Brady has won all three meetings with Carolina by an average of 21 points, including a 32-6 road win two weeks ago. The Panthers are on a six-game losing streak and have lost 11 of their past 13 games while going 2-11 ATS.

RAIDERS (+3) over Chargers: After losing seven of 10 games, the Raiders have rallied for three straight wins to put themselves in position to make the playoffs with a victory over their inconsistent AFC West rivals. The Chargers are 4-6 ATS as favorites, losing 41-29 to the Texans two weeks ago as 13-point chalk. The Raiders’ defense has held its past three foes to 15.6 points per game.

Last week: 4-1

Season: 47-38

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.