Rams Punch Their Ticket to Super Bowl LVI With Fourth Quarter Rally Past 49ers

The Rams will face the Bengals at Super Bowl LVI inside SoFi Stadium.

Nicholas Cothrel | Jan 31, 2022

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INGLEWOOD – 49ers safety Jaquiski Tartt had the opportunity to nearly put the game on ice. All he had to do is hang onto a Matthew Stafford pass that hit him in the chest halfway through the fourth quarter.

The dropped interception occurred while the 49ers held a 17-14 lead, as Stafford uncorked a pass into harms way intended for Van Jefferson downfield but overshot his target.

"No excuses," Tartt wrote after the game via his Twitter account. "I deserve all the criticism my way. Opportunity I dream of I came up short. Let my brothers down. It still won't define me as a person/player. Only will get stronger and better."

The aftermath of San Francisco's missed opportunity featured the Rams overcoming a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit in which they capped off a nine-play, 63-yard drive for a touchdown followed by a 10-play, 49-yard drive to cash in on a 30-yard field goal to put them ahead and ultimately come away with the 20-17 win over their division rival to advance to Super Bowl LVI.

The Rams, who went all-in on this season – trading two first-round picks, a third-round pick and Jared Goff – to get their ideal quarterback of the future in Stafford, have shown the franchise's aggressive nature has paid monumental dividends.

L.A.'s ambitions when they pulled off the blockbuster deal this offseason to acquire Stafford wasn't just to reach the playoffs, but rather it was to get through the playoffs and perhaps win a Super Bowl. That opportunity now awaits two weeks from tonight when L.A. hosts the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Feb. 13 inside SoFi Stadium.

The Rams will become just the second team in NFL history to host a Super Bowl in their home stadium, joining last year's champion, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"It took everything we had," McVay said after his team's come from behind win. "I'm just so proud of our group. So proud of our players, our coaches. Just proud to be associated with these guys. There's so many special men in that locker room. We got one more but today was a great sign of the resilience. That's one of the things that has embodied this group.

"You go down 17-7, it doesn't look good but the guys just stayed in the moment. One play at a time. And then defense, to be able to close it out, especially after the last time we played them in the way that went, there was just so many great plays today by great players. Just happy to be associated with these guys. We got one more."

Stafford put together another convincing outing, finishing the night 31 of 45 for 337 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Stafford's turnover occurred after 49ers cornerback K’Waun Williams deflected the pass, forcing it to shoot up in the air and land in the hands of safety Jimmie Ward for the interception.

Stafford said after the game he had a few throws that he would like back, but nonetheless, when it was crunch-time, he did what mattered most – putting his team in a position to capitalize and score.

After finishing the regular season tied for the league-lead in interceptions, Stafford has thrown just one across the three playoff games he's played in a Rams uniform.

Stafford often looked in the direction of his top playmakers, Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham Jr. The Rams' receiving duo tallied 20 catches for 255 yards and two touchdowns. The paring finished just 27 yards shy of the 49ers' total yards for the game.

"I'm so proud of this group," Stafford said after the game. "We've had high expectations all year. We've done nothing but do everything in our power to try and meet those. It's a proven group we have in there. This game wasn't perfect, it wasn't easy in some spots but we found a way to win the game. That's what it's all about."

After the Rams' last six meetings against the 49ers resulted in losses, they did something Sunday night that they fundamentally haven’t done in the past — limiting San Francisco’s running game.

The Rams’ defense held the 49ers to 50 rushing yards on the night — an extraordinary less figure relative to how the two head-to-head matchups have gone earlier this season.

San Francisco has averaged 146 rushing yards per game against the Rams this season. However, with L.A. stopping the run, it forced the 49ers to shift out of their typical gameplan and turn to the passing game as not much was working with their rushing attack.

49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo completed just 53% of his throws for 232 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Ultimately, Garoppolo was subpar and with the Rams conducting methodical scoring drives late in the fourth quarter, there was no second life for San Francisco.

One aspect that did favor the 49ers Sunday night was the crowd environment. There were more 49ers fans than those for the Rams, similar to the Week 18 showing. However, Rams players said after the game that the L.A. fans did help provide a boost to the home field advantage when San Francisco was on offense.

"Our fans did an unbelievable job tonight," Stafford said. "You know, making it a tough environment. (It was) nice to send some of those red jerseys home."

The Rams are just one win away from hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, an achievement they haven’t reached since the 1999 season.

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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 31, 2022

NICHOLAS COTHREL

Nick Cothrel covers the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated.