Rams Enter Playoffs on Sour Note, Blowing 17-Point Lead to 49ers

The Rams fell to the 49ers 27-24 but still clinched the NFC West with the Cardinals losing to the Seahawks.

Nicholas Cothrel | Jan 9, 2022

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INGLEWOOD — The Rams were in complete control, holding a commanding 17-3 lead at halftime that leaned in their favor to defeat the 49ers for the first time since 2018. However, San Francisco's second-half efforts pushed the game into overtime and it was just enough to dethrone the Rams, as the 49ers pulled off a thriller at SoFi Stadium by the final score of 27-24.

The Rams blew a 17-point lead, marking the first time they've dropped a game when leading at halftime under the Sean McVay era. It also went on to extend the 49ers' win streak of six in a row against their in-state rival.

“Gotta finish,” McVay said during his post-game press conference. “Our guys came out ready to go. But you’ve got to play four quarters — or five quarters, in this instance.

“Fortunately this isn’t the end for us.”

Early on, Matthew Stafford looked to have drawn from his previous miscues from the Rams and 49ers' previous meeting this season in which he was intercepted twice by safety Jimmie Ward.

Stafford looked much different in this time out. He was in a sound rhythm early on, capping off a scoring drive on each of his first three possessions. He finished the first half completing 15-of-16 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns.

But then things took a turn for the worst in the second half for the Rams. The 49ers came out in the third quarter and orchestrated two touchdown drives that featured 70-plus yards on each possession, marching right through the Rams defense who looked confident through the first two quarters.

Meanwhile, the Rams went scoreless on their first three offensive possession following halftime, as momentum swung in favor of the 49ers.

It was gut-check time for Stafford and company, needing points to pull ahead with the fourth quarter trickling down. The offense responded in crunch time, capping off a nine-play, 93-yard drive that consumed 5:13 of clock to pull ahead by a touchdown with under three minutes remaining.

Unfortunately, for the Rams, just as the offense spiraled out of rhythm at times, the defense had its flaws down the stretch as well. A 55-yard pass from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, hitting Deebo Samuel in stride put the 49ers in business to tie things up and force overtime. Garoppolo would then finish the drive by finding wide receiver Jauan Jennings for the 14-yard catch and score.

As overtime rolled around, the 49ers won the toss and elected to receive, going 69 yards down the field on 12 plays before settling for a field goal.

Stafford and the offense were given one final shot to put the game to rest and on his fourth throw of the drive, 49ers cornerback Ambry Thomas stepped in front of an underthrown pass intended for Odell Beckham Jr., picking it off to seal the game for San Francisco.

Sunday's regular-season finale was a game in which the Rams looked like a Super Bowl heavyweight in the first half and a shell of themselves in the second half, allowing opportunity-after-opportunity for the 49ers and they took advantage of it.

While the Rams will enter the playoffs having to put a divisional loss out of sight and out of mind – Cooper Kupp capped off his spectacular season securing the receiving triple crown.

Kupp hauled in seven grabs for 118 yards and one touchdown in Week 18, giving him 145 receptions, 1,947 receiving yards and 16 receiving touchdowns on the year. Kupp became the first player since Steve Smith in 2005 to lead the NFL in the top three receiving categories.

Rams running back Cam Akers also made his miraculous return from a torn Achilles injury suffered in mid-July. His workload was fairly limited, seeing eight touches for 13 yards in his season debut.

While the Rams endured a gut-punching loss from their divisional rival, they still clinched the NFC West, thanks in part to the Seahawks beating the Cardinals. However, the Rams did fall from the No. 2 seed down to the No. 4 seed.

“In the moment right now, this is a tough feeling,” McVay said. “The guys did a good job of being able to navigate through the season to be able to still win the division. It’s a good accomplishment.

“But I don’t know that right now is the time to celebrate that.”

Moving ahead to the Wild Card round next week, the Rams will host the Cardinals for their third meeting of the season. The Rams split the series against Arizona this year, losing at home but winning at State Farm Stadium.

“It’s nice to get a home game,” Stafford said, referencing the Rams winning the division title. “But obviously we would have rather won the game today.”

Kickoff for the Rams and Cardinals Wild Card round showdown will kickoff at 5:15 p.m. PT on Monday Night Football.

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Nick Cothrel is the publisher of Ram Digest. Follow Nick and Ram Digest on Twitter @NickCothrel & @RamDigestSI for more Rams coverage.

Published Jan 9, 2022

NICHOLAS COTHREL

Nick Cothrel covers the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated.