Culver City Observer -

The NFL is getting interesting, especially for the Chargers and the Rams. Both teams are in third place in their divisions but the problem is there are only four teams in their division. The Chargers are having trouble on offense and the Rams are having misfortunes on defense.

There are 16 weeks in the regular NFL season and every week is an important game for teams trying to make the playoffs. This week the 3-2 Rams play the unbeaten San Francisco 49ers at the Coliseum at 1 p.m. on Sunday and the 2-3 Chargers face the 1-4 Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at 5:15 p.m. on the campus of Cal State Dominquez.

Between the two teams the Chargers appear to have more problems than the Rams. They were beaten at home by the winless Denver Broncos last Sunday 20-13 when the offense failed to score a touchdown. "If we play like that, we won't beat anybody," said a frustrated Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn after the game on Sunday. "The Broncos came in here more desperate for a win. They played harder and out coached us. We have a resilient group, I think. We will see how we respond next week."

The Rams lost to the Seahawks last week 30-29 on a last second field goal miss. The problem with the Rams right now is they have given up 84 points in their last two games and they are playing catch up to the undefeated 49ers (4-0) and the 4-1 Seahawks in their division. From the outside looking in the Rams defensive backfield appears to be a step slow. With the 49ers coming to town they need to find a remedy soon.

There may be a quarterback controversy in Westwood after Austin Burton threw for 236 yards and one touchdown during Bruins lost to Oregon State at the Rose Bowl last Saturday. Burton also ran for a touchdown and threw no interceptions and he protected the ball after replacing injured starter Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

"I thought AB for his first start did a really nice job," said Bruin head coach Chip Kelly after the Oregon State game. "I thought he made some really big throws and he extended some plays with his feet. With this being his first start I was happy about what he did tonight."

The USC Trojans play a big game on Saturday against Notre Dame at 4:30 p.m. on Channel 4. The Trojans play one of the toughest schedules in the nation but a win over the fighting Irish will make a lot of Trojan fans very happy.

The Sparks of the WNBA fired longtime player and general manager Penny Toler last week for using vulgar language in the in the locker room after a loss in the playoffs. Her firing should be a wakeup call to everyone in all walks of life, not just sports. Your words can come back to haunt you.