Steelers Great Jerome Bettis Backs Rams as NFC West Favorite Over 49ers

Jerome Bettis addresses Steelers fans (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

While most associate Jerome Bettis with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Hall of Fame running back actually began his career with the Los Angeles Rams. The 53-year-old running back spent three seasons with the Rams franchise (1993–1995), winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and earning the first two of his six Pro Bowl bids.

The Rams were never contenders during Bettis’s tenure there, but they are now, during the Matthew Stafford/Sean McVay era. Los Angeles is just three years removed from winning the Super Bowl but features a completely reloaded roster, with just eight players remaining from the Super Bowl LVI team. They just moved on from Cooper Kupp, and Bettis explained earlier this year to RG why the Rams should have traded him a year ago before his release. 

Los Angeles gave the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles their stiffest competition during the playoffs, narrowly losing in Philadelphia, 28–23.

“When you look at the Rams, they are a dark horse,” Bettis says in a one-on-one interview with RG of his former team. 

The Rams advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs after a rough start to the season. Los Angeles started the year 1–4 but then went 9–2 in their next 11 games.

Because they have a “great” quarterback in Stafford, Bettis says the Rams always have a chance. However, he says they’re a cornerback—or an impact player in the secondary—away from being really special. Los Angeles also has budding star running back Kyren Williams, who continues to improve. 

“Whenever you’ve got a quarterback, you’ve got a chance,” says Bettis. 

“They have a great quarterback. They’ve got some really, really outstanding receivers. The running game is going to be solid. They’re maybe a cornerback away, an impact secondary guy away from being really, really special. When you’ve got a really good coach and a good quarterback, you’re going to be in the conversation. So yes, the Rams will be a really good football team this year.”

Although Bettis acknowledges the San Francisco 49ers will be a good team this season—they were decimated by injuries last year and went 6–11—he says the Rams are the favorites in the NFC West.

He also says they have a “chance” to beat the Eagles if they can slow down their running game, led by Saquon Barkley. 

Barkley is coming off one of the greatest single seasons by a running back in NFL history, rushing for over 2,000 yards while winning Offensive Player of the Year.

Jerome Bettis Says Rams Are The Favorites – Not The 49ers

“In their division, they are the favorites,” says Bettis of the Rams. “I think the Niners are going to be good, but not great. The Rams definitely have an advantage on that side. I think the team they’re going to have to beat is going to be the Eagles. They’re going to be right back at it again. They’re built to beat the Eagles, and if they can slow down the running game, they’ve got a chance.”

Bettis once again hammers home the need for a defensive playmaker to step up if the Rams are to emerge as a true Super Bowl contender. Los Angeles features young defensive playmakers in the front seven with Jared Verse and Braden Fiske, but they’re lacking playmakers in the defensive backfield.

“If they can find a way to get that playmaker on defense to really stand out,” says Bettis. “They’ve got a lot of really good players… but they need some big plays, right? Who’s going to manufacture those? That becomes the big question. We’ll see. Do they have the playmakers defensively to change the tide? That’s the question.”