Andrew Whitworth and Taylor Rapp Expected to Play in NFC Championship

This past weekend, the Los Angeles Rams put forth dominant efforts on both sides of the ball against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That’s a scary thought considering they were missing a pair of key contributors on offense and defense.

Now, the San Francisco 49ers will have to compete with a nearly fully healthy Rams team, as Taylor Rapp and Andrew Whitworth are expected back in the lineup on Sunday.

Whitworth incurred a knee injury on the opening snap of the Rams Wild Card win over the Arizona Cardinals. While Rapp suffered a concussion in the final week of the regular season after starting all 17 games and playing 100% of snaps in all but six games.

Joseph Noteboom started at left tackle, withstanding the Bucs vaunted pass rush. Noteboom moves to the bench with Whitworth back, although he may have earned a few more snaps in the NFC Championship after last week’s performance.

Terrell Burgess and Eric Weddle have covered for Taylor Rapp. Both players will move into reserve roles with the Rams starting safety back in the mix.

The Rams enter the NFC Championship game as -3 favorites against the division rivals. The total is set at 46.5, per the line info from FanDuel Sportsbook.