Another chance to beat L.A.: 49ers to face Rams with Super Bowl berth on line
Quick Take
The Rams’ victory Sunday over defending champion Tampa Bay means they’ll host the 49ers next Sunday, with the winner heading to Super Bowl LVI, set for Feb. 13 in Los Angeles.
The San Francisco 49ers will face the NFC West division rival Los Angeles Rams in next weekend’s NFC Championship Game after the Rams avoided a fourth-quarter meltdown and knocked out the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-27 on Sunday.
The sixth-seeded 49ers will be playing for a second trip to the Super Bowl in three seasons after upsetting the No. 1 seed Green Bay Packers 13-10 on Saturday night in Wisconsin.
Next Sunday’s NFC title game — at 3:40 p.m. on Fox — will be at the fourth-seeded Rams’ home at SoFi Stadium, which is also slated to host Super Bowl LVI on Sunday, Feb. 13.
The 49ers (10-7 in the regular season, plus playoff victories on the road over the Dallas Cowboys and Packers) will be going for their third win over the Rams this season after a 31-10 victory in Santa Clara on Nov. 15 and a 27-24 overtime victory in Los Angeles two weeks ago to cap off the regular season.
The Rams (12-5 in the regular season, with playoff wins at home over the Arizona Cardinals and on the road against Tampa Bay) are trying to make their second Super Bowl in four seasons, having lost to the New England Patriots 13-3 in Super Bowl LII after the 2018 season.
The 49ers most recently played in the Super Bowl after the 2019 season, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 31-20 in Miami. They also lost in the NFL’s title game after the 2012 season, with the Niners and then-coach Jim Harbaugh falling to the Baltimore Ravens, coached by Harbaugh’s elder brother, John.
San Francisco’s most recent Super Bowl victory came Jan. 29, 1995, a 49-26 pounding of the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX in Miami. The 49ers have won five Super Bowls in seven appearances, one victory short of the six each won by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Patriots.