Stafford and Defense Breaks 49ers Streak

Defense for both teams battled back-and-forth in a scoreless first quarter, but offense for the teams stepped up and both scored in the second quarter.  The 49ers were ahead going to halftime, yet the Rams made an assertive comeback in the fourth quarter and won the NFC Championship game.

“Today was a great sign of the resilience,” said Rams Head Coach Sean McVay in the press conference after the game.  “That’s one thing that embodies this group. You go down 17-7.  It doesn’t look good, but the guys just stayed in the moment.”

San Francisco kicked off to the Rams to start the game but their defense got the ball back quickly when they prevented Los Angeles from making a first down as quarterback Matthew Stafford missed wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. The Rams defense were just as intense. Donald and defensive end A’Shawn Robinson made stops on the 49ers as quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo over threw a pass to tight end George Kittle getting Stafford back on the field.

Niners linebacker Dre Greenlaw tackled Stafford early, but he converted the first down with his next pass to wide receiver Cooper Kupp. Rams tight end Tyler Higbee and Beckham made their catches and running back Cam Akers had a solid run but all efforts seemed in vain when Niners cornerback K’Waun Williams blocked a pass by Stafford and caused the ball to deflect as it was picked off by defensive back Jimmie Ward. The 49ers failed to take advantage of the moment and both teams remained scoreless the remainder of the first quarter and almost half way through the second quarter.

With 8:46 minutes on the clock in the second quarter, Stafford passed to Kupp in the corner of the end zone and scored the first touchdown of the game. The Matt Gay converting the extra point..

The 49ers were fired up. Garoppolo answered with a pass to wide receiver Deebo Samuel who ran to the end zone for their first touchdown of the game. Robbie Gould adding the extra point. 6:10 minutes remained in the quarter and the Rams were unable to get close enough to score. 49ers followed up with a successful field goal by Gould as they went to halftime ahead 10-7.

That score remained until the end of the third quarter when Garoppolo found Kittle in the end zone for a touchdown. LA was unable to score within the two remaining minutes in the quarter.

The Rams quickly worked their way up the field to start the fourth quarter. Stafford passed to Kupp in the end zone for a touchdown with 13:33 minutes remaining in the game. Gay kicked a field goal as the Rams trailed 17-14. The Rams kept fighting and tied the score at 17 with another field goal by Gay with 6:49 remaining in the game. Los Angeles had the ball again with 1:49 minutes left in the game. A field goal by Gay pushed them ahead 20-17.

San Francisco had their final possession with 1:20 minutes on the clock. Garoppolo was unable to make a successful pass when Donald closed in and tackled him. Linebacker Travin Howard caught the thwarted pass. The Rams took a knee to end the game

“I’m just happy and proud to be a part of this group, and we’ve got some work left to do,” said Stafford in the after the game.

Stafford, the number 1 overall pick in 2009 was draft by the Detroit LIons and traded to the Rams January 2021. He completed 31 of 45 attempted passes for 337-yards and threw one interception. Garoppolo completed 16 of 30 attempted passes for 232-yards and threw two interceptions.

The 49ers had won the previous 6 games, including 2 this season against the Rams.

The Rams become the second team to host the Super Bowl in their home stadium. Last year, Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers became the first team to do that when they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs.