A month ago, the San Francisco 49ers became the first team to clinch its division, shutting out the St. Louis Rams to win the NFC West. Beat them again in the finale, and there’s a nice bonus for the Niners: the No. 2 seed in the NFC and a first-round bye.

Sure, they’re in. There’s still plenty of incentive for a franchise that’s made a rapid rise to the top under rookie head coach Jim Harbaugh.

“Anytime you could lock up a bye, you’d take it,” quarterback Alex Smith said. “Great opportunity for us, we’ve just got to go seize it.”

They couldn’t have picked a more vulnerable opponent.

The bedraggled Rams (2-13) are in danger of a dubious honor — landing the No. 1 pick in the draft for the second time in three years. All it’ll take is dropping their seventh in a row and the Colts winning at Jacksonville and again they will be at the bottom of the barrel.

St. Louis, just 10-37 under third-year coach Steve Spagnuolo and 12-51 with fourth-year general manager Billy Devaney, could be on the verge of a housecleaning. That’s led to a lot of questions this week about trying to save Spags’ job.

“We don’t worry about things we can’t control,” middle linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “He’s that way, we’re that way. We’re just going to go out there and play our rear ends off.”

Owner Stan Kroenke has been silent on the subject of what comes next for the Rams, who had been viewed as a franchise on the rise after last year’s six-win improvement. Now they’re playing to a half-full stadium and reduced to muttering about injuries that have decimated the secondary and offensive line besides a persistent high left ankle sprain that almost assuredly will knock out quarterback Sam Bradford for a sixth game.

Attendance is likely to be more sparse than usual given the noon CST start coming off New Year’s Eve partying. The Rams asked Thursday for a 24-hour extension to meet NFL sellout requirements.

The 49ers (12-3) have already doubled their win total from a disappointing 2010 season, and even with a loss can get the No. 2 seed and bye if the Saints lose at home against the Panthers. If they can repeat the performance from the 26-0 whipping they handed out in San Francisco, Harbaugh would be just the fourth coach in NFL history to win 13 games in his first year. Two 49ers coaches have already done it, George Seifert going 14-2 in 1989 and Steve Mariucci at 13-3 in 1997.

San Francisco could also land its first 13-win season since ’97. A sixth road win would match their total from the previous three seasons, rewarding them for attention to detail.

“The biggest thing that I’d point to is a lot of little reasons that a lot of people think are the minutia that aren’t important that add up to make all the difference,” Harbaugh said. “And our guys continually do the little things, and they stack on each other and they build on each other. And lo and behold, you win games in high pressure situations, or find ways to do enough things right to win games and get better.

“Enough of those things lead to championships.”

The 49ers are stout on defense, on pace for a franchise record while allowing a league-low 13.5 points per game, and sound on offense behind come-back quarterback Alex Smith. They lead the NFL with a plus-26 turnover ratio, with the most takeaways (36) and the fewest turnovers (10) in the league.

Aldon Smith has 14 sacks, one shy of the NFL rookie record. Cornerback Carlos Rogers and free safety Dashon Goldson, two of the 49ers’ four Pro Bowl starters on defense, have six interceptions apiece.

Kicker David Akers, who has set an NFL record with 42 field goals, and punter Andy Lee are both Pro Bowlers, too.

They’ve stayed healthy, too, with 30 players appearing in every game and 12 making every start. That dwarfs the Rams’ totals of 14 and four. The 49ers have eight Pro Bowl representatives, the Rams none.

“They’ve put it together and you get on a roll,” Spagnuolo said. “It works both ways. You get on a roll winning, confidence and boom, boom, things are working and clicking.

“It happens the other way, too, where you can’t really find any continuity.”

The 49ers have won six of seven in a series knotted at 61-61-2, and Frank Gore always seems to get some of his best days against the Rams, totaling 832 yards and 11 touchdowns in 10 games. He’ll be facing a defense in danger of setting a franchise record for rushing yards allowed in a season.

The Rams have been giving up an NFL-worst 154.5 yards per game and if they surrender 159 yards it’ll break the previous franchise worst in 2008. The 49ers got 144 yards the first time around.

The 49ers’ biggest worry might be encountering an opponent trying anything and everything to finish with a good taste.

“They have nothing to lose, so they can come out with whatever,” linebacker Patrick Willis said. “For us, there’s a lot riding on this game. We have to come out and play like we have all season. We know what’s at stake.”

Most every week, the Rams stay in it for a while and then a key play or two goes the wrong way and it snowballs to the finish of another failure. That was the case in the first meeting when the 49ers were held to three field goals in the first half, then busted loose with a pair of big plays — pass plays of 52 and 56 yards to Michael Crabtree and Kyle Williams.

Special teams have sprung several leaks in recent weeks, and the offense is the NFL’s worst, averaging just 11 points with 15 touchdowns in 15 games. They’re coming off a 27-0 loss at Pittsburgh, the second time they’ve been shut out the last month.

It’s been a complete bust of a comeback season for new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

“No regrets, no regrets,” McDaniels said. “Every year is different, every year is a challenge in this league. You have to do everything you can to try to help the team win.”

More slogging lies ahead. The Rams totaled just 157 yards and were just 3 for 13 on third down in the first meeting against San Francisco.

Steven Jackson became the seventh player in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in seven straight seasons last week. Against the 49ers, he got just 19 yards on 10 carries.

“It was what we expected and they gave us exactly that,” Jackson said. “We’re going to have another tough time on Sunday but as long as you keep them balanced, and keep them out of what they want to do, we’ll be fine.”

Journeyman Kellen Clemens is expected to get his third straight start at quarterback. He passed for 91 yards last week in a 27-0 loss to the Steelers after throwing for 229 yards and a touchdown the previous week in a 20-13 loss to Cincinnati.

“If there’s a defense that’s better than Pittsburgh,” Clemens said, “we’re playing them this week.”

Read More: St. Louis Rams

In his column today, Sports Illustrated’s Peter King makes the argument that if the St. Louis Rams’ head coaching job opens up this off season, and King expects that it will, it will be the most attractive job to potential candidates, even more so than the opening in Miami or one potentially in San Diego. King’s reasoning is simple: the Rams have a young, franchise quarterback (or something close to it), prime position in this year’s draft, and a massive amount of cap room heading into the next few offseasons.

It remains to be seen whether or not King’s view is or will be shared across the league, but it is a compelling argument nonetheless, and he doesn’t even take into account that the Rams play in arguably the worst, or at least the most volatile, division in football. But those factors that he outlines— Bradford, a high pick this year that could be potentially flipped to a quarterback needy team for a bundle of picks, and tons of cap room— will certainly be central to any pitch made by the Rams to whichever head coaching candidates they zero in on.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For more in-depth coverage of the Rams, head over to Turf Show Times. And for more news and notes from around the league, check out SB Nation’s NFL news hub.

Read More: Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams

CBS Sports’ panel of five experts has released their picks for Week 15 in the NFL, and it should not come as a surprise that all five men have selected the Cincinnati Bengals to knock off the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. The Bengals have been strong against teams under .500 this year, and of course the Rams are sitting all the way down at 2-11. So it’s not good news for the Rams, but what about the rest of the NFC West?

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Rams be sure to visit Turf Show Times. For more on the Cincinnati Bengals, check out Cincy Jungle. Visit SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

Starting Left Tackle: Orlando Pace, “The Big O”

Pace will be our left tackle,and would guard the blind side of Kurt Warner.

He was one of the greatest left tackles of all time and will be a Hall of Fame candidate when his time arrives.

Pace earned seven trips to Hawaii via pro bowl berths and was a three-time all-pro selection.

The Big O will hold down and anchor the left tackle spot for our Ultimate 53.

Starting Left Guard: Harvey Dahl

We are sliding the mean and nasty Harvey Dahl over to left guard to ensure that Pace stays plugged in and fired up at all times.

Dahl is particularly stout in the run game and is known around the NFL as one of the league’s dirtiest players.

With all the talent and finesse our team possesses at the skill position, the tough and mean Dahl helps to balance the scales an ensure that we are never labeled a finesse team, as the Greatest Show on Turf often was.

Starting Center: Andy McCollum

One of the “donut brothers,” McCollum will start under center for St. Louis.

A solid and consistent performer, he would be a steadying force on the line and amongst the offense. 

Starting Right Guard: Adam Timmerman

TImmerman, McCollum’s fellow donut brother, played right guard throughout his tenure with the St. Louis Rams. 

The 2001 pro bowler will retain his comfortable spot at this position.

Timmerman was a terrific right guard for the Rams after coming to St. Louis as a free agent acquisition out of Green Bay in 1999.

Starting Right Tackle: Jackie Slater

It was impossible to leave legendary Jackie Slater out of the lineup.

One of the league’s all time tackles, the legendary Ram finished his career in 1995 with St. Louis.

The seven time pro bowler and 2001 Hall of Fame inductee anchors the right side of the line and gives our Ultimate 53 Hall of Fame bookends at tackle.

Backup Left Tackle: Rodger Saffold

Saffold had a terrific rookie campaign in 2010. 

In 2011, he battled injuries most of the year before falling to the injured reserve list.

Saffold would likely never see the field considering the durability of Pace. If he did, he showed enough in 2010 to have confidence that he could adequately fill the bill for a game or two.

Backup Guard: Richie Incognito

Incognito has played well in Miami. 

Considering the veteran presence of this team and that Richie seems to be maturing now, he will provide valuable versatility, depth, and quality off the bench.  Incognito can also provide depth at center, which was another consideration in his landing a roster spot.

Backup Center: Jason Brown

Brown’s play has been inconsistent in St. Louis, but would be exceptional as a backup and for depth.

In addition, recent high dollar Rams offensive line free agents like Brown (and Jacob Bell) have played worse than expected since arriving in St. Louis after playing well at previous stops.

We feel that Brown would play better football under the tutelage the Ultimate 53 offensive line coach, who will be introduced later.

Backup Right Tackle: Ryan Tucker

Tucker would be exceptional as a backup on this team.

Tucker played solid football at right tackle for St. Louis starting throughout two of the Rams best years, 2000 and 2001, before heading to Cleveland in free agency.

The Bengals have the No. 7-rated defense in pro football at 314.8 yards per game.  With that stat in mind, combined with the fact the Rams have one of the worst offenses in the league, the Rams cannot turn the ball over Sunday.

The Bengal defense has been called sort of a “no-name” group. It does not have a ferocious pass rush. It has a solid defense but no player is ranked in the top 20 in either sacks or tackles.

Simply, if the Rams don’t make huge mistakes on offense, they might be able to hang around in a low-scoring affair, as the Bengals only average 21.8 points per game.