The Rams and 49ers don’t like each other. It’s only natural, being division rivals. But Jimmie Ward really seems to dislike the Rams.
During an interview on NFL Network Sunday, Ward said the 49ers’ loss to the Rams in the NFC title game was heartbreaking, but he’s ready to play them again – and he has no love for the division rival.
“It was heartbreaking,” he said. “At the end of the day, they figured it out, they were the better team that day and they won, but other than that, I’m ready to play ‘em. I don’t got no love for ‘em.”
Ward explained his beef with the Rams, and it primarily stems from last season. He said after the 49ers beat the Rams twice in the regular season, Los Angeles’ players walked off the field without shaking hands. Then when the Rams won the NFC Championship Game, Ward says players then wanted to shake hands with the 49ers.
That didn’t jive well with the 49ers DB.
“The only reason I said that, I keep everything on the field but I just remember when we won both of those games last year, I was looking at some of their main players, I was gonna shake their hands and all that, but they walk off the field. But when you finally win a game, you wanna shake our hands? All right, I got something for you,” he said, leaving the interview on that note.
“I’m ready to play ‘em. I don’t got no love for ‘em.”#49ers DB Jimmie Ward had some thoughts on the #Rams (and more) when he joined @MJD and me on @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/HTiN6ccq7M
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 7, 2022
Ward had a couple of notable incidents against the Rams last season. After picking off Matthew Stafford in their November meeting, Odell Beckham Jr. laid a big hit on him – though, not a dirty hit. Ward said after the game that he had to “pay him back next time” and that he was “waiting a long time to hit him.”
Jimmie Ward making an impact early with that INT! 👏#LARvsSF on ESPN/49ers app pic.twitter.com/gRhfLo7ava
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) November 16, 2021
Ward got a chance to hit Beckham in the NFC Championship Game, and he put the crown of his helmet into Beckham’s facemask after a catch along the sideline.
Beckham wasn’t fined for his hit in November, but Ward was docked $20,000 for the helmet-to-helmet shot he laid on OBJ.
OBJ takes a hard helmet to helmet hit! https://t.co/DEJx8C1Dwc
#NFCChampionship pic.twitter.com/RmlrrYk4qI
— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) January 31, 2022
There’s clearly some bad blood between Ward and the Rams, and we only have to wait less than two months until those two teams square off again in Week 4.
