It wasn’t pretty, but the Los Angeles Rams came back to beat the San Francisco 49ers, 20-17, in the NFC Championship Game to punch their ticket to Super Bowl LVI against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Going into the game, there was a lot made of the Rams and 49ers’ rivalry as the latter has beaten L.A. six straight times, including twice this season. And for a while, this game looked like it was gonna have the same result.
The Rams spent much of the game shooting themselves in the foot, whether it be a red zone interception, dropped passes, inexplicable challenges by Sean McVay or missed tackles. And the result of that was a 10-point deficit early in the third quarter.
As has been the case all season though, Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp came up big for the Rams time and time again, as did Odell Beckham Jr. The Rams eventually took the lead on a Matt Gay field goal with less than two minutes remaining, needing one more stop from their defense to close it out.
Aaron Donald, who the team has been vocal about wanting to get a championship for his legacy, was quiet for most of the day. He came up big when his team needed it though, putting pressure on Jimmy Garapolo to force an ill-advised tipped pass that led to an interception by Travin Howard to seal the 20-17 victory.
Super Bowl LVI is at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 13, so the Rams will get to stay home for the next two weeks before welcoming the Bengals for the biggest game of the year.
Cincinnati came up with a big comeback of their own in the AFC Championship Game, erasing a double-digit deficit against the Kansas City Chiefs on the road.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor was the Rams’ quarterback coach the last time they played in the Super Bowl before being hired by the Bengals one day after they lost to the New England Patriots and will now face his former team and good friend in McVay.
It should be a good game with both coaches and teams having plenty of time to prepare for each other. Not only will be a great game, but the halftime show should be exceptional as well with Dr. Dre being joined by Snoop Dawg, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige and Eminem,
