Week five of the 2025 National Football League season is set to begin on Thursday, and there are two games where both teams are above .500. The first is on Thursday night as the Los Angeles Rams host the San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium in southern California. The second is on Sunday as the Seattle Seahawks are hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Pacific Northwest.
San Francisco 49ers @ Los Angeles Rams
These are two teams with a record of three wins and one loss in the NFC West. The 49ers are actually coming off their first loss of the season in a game where they were a 3.5 point favourite, but lost 26-21 to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The 49ers were one of three favourites entering the week which lost. The other two were the Baltimore Ravens and Las Vegas Raiders.
It is actually amazing that the 49ers are at 3-1 with all of the injuries they have had. San Francisco will not have quarterback Brock Purdy (toe), tight end George Kittle (hamstring), defensive lineman Nick Bosa (torn anterior cruciate ligament), and wide receivers Jauan Jennings (ribs and ankle), Jordan Watkins (calf), Ricky Pearsall (knee), and Brandon Aiyuk (knee). With Purdy out, the 49ers will rely on Mac Jones at the quarterback position and even more from star running back Christian McCaffrey.
The Rams are coming off a dramatic 27-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts. This game was highlighted by an 88 yard touchdown pass from Matt Stafford to Tutu Atwell. It was in fact the longest touchdown pass in Stafford’s career. It is impressive that Stafford is still quarterbacking the Rams at a high level at age 37.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks and Buccaneers are both at three wins and one loss as well. One difference is that in the NFC South, the Buccaneers are the only team at 3-1, while in the NFC West, the Seahawks are tied with the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams.
The Buccaneers have had great quarterbacking this season from Baker Mayfield, but is questionable on Sunday with injuries to his knee and biceps. The injuries do not appear to be too serious and it will be interesting to see if he practices the next two days after not practicing on Wednesday.
The Seahawks have now won three straight games after losing their opener to San Francisco. The fact they have 10 days off prior to facing the Bucs could help them.
