The first-place Los Angeles Rams will try to stay in that position when they travel a few hours up the Pacific Coast to face the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday Night Football. You can tune in at 8:25 p.m. ET on NFL Network/NBC in local markets (live stream).

This marks the 135th time these two teams will meet, but one of the few where viewers are cursed blessed with Color Rush jerseys. There are quite a few question marks heading into this rivalry, especially with two first-time head coaches at the helm.

Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan may be new to their top positions, but the pair goes way back to their Washington coaching days. Respect between the two is a given, but that doesn’t mean McVay was excited about having to go against Shanahan twice a year.

"Kyle is a guy who’s had a tremendous influence on some of the things I believe in offensively," McVay said, according to ESPN. "He’s a great coach, and I wish him nothing but the best for 14 games — except for those two next year.”

The Niners are 0-2 to start the year and are looking for their first addition to the win column. They do have history on their side, though, having earned their only two wins of the season in 2016 against the Rams. On the other hand, San Francisco’s 28-0 shutout on Monday Night Football to open last season could have the Rams thirsty for revenge — and slightly more apt to get it.

Time, TV channel, and streaming info

• Time: 8:25 p.m. ET
• Location: Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.
• TV: NFL Network (NBC in local markets)
• Streaming: NFL Game Pass
• Odds: Rams are favored by 3 points

Rams vs. 49ers news:

• Both teams had some injury news this week, with the Rams losing key offensive players and the Niners potentially without three different safeties.
• Rams receiver Sammy Watkins only saw two targets last week against Washington, but head coach Sean McVay said that wasn’t exactly the plan going into the game.

So, it was a product of a couple different things, but I think when you don’t have that many shots at it, you want to try to still have some balance and some of the coverages that dictate the ball going elsewhere. That kind of is how that results in him not getting as many targets as you’d like.

• The Rams have CB Troy Hill back after his two-game suspension.
• Shanahan spoke about his coaching history with McVay and why the latter is doing a good job in Los Angeles.

Sean's a real good guy. He works hard. He's been around football his whole life. I loved coaching with Sean. You know, we started out, he was my quality control for a year and then we made him my tight end coach. He was my tight end coach for three years.

Rams vs. 49ers predictions:

Both teams have been heavily reliant on their rushing games the past two weeks, but the Rams have a better chance of using a passing game with Jared Goff at QB. With head coaches familiar with the other’s play-calling, this is hard-fought 60-minute game with the Rams ultimately getting their revenge from last season. Seven of our eight experts agreed in their Week 3 picks, as did OddsShark’s computer.

The biggest rival for every NFC West team