Garoppolo’s heave sets up Gould’s winner

SANTA CLARA — Winning Saturday night’s warm-up act has the 49ers in prime position for next Sunday’s winner-take-all showdown in Seattle.

On their way to that battle for the NFC playoffs’ No. 1 seed, the 49ers rallied for a 34-31 victory and eliminated the Los Angeles Rams from contention.

Robbie Gould’s 33-yard field goal as time expired capped a see-saw affair, and setting up those points was a 46-yard, last-minute pass from Jimmy Garoppolo to Emmanuel Sanders on third-and-16 to the Rams’ 23-yard line.

The 49ers (12-3) retook sole possession of first place in the NFC West and overall NFC supremacy, at least for a day. The Seahawks (11-3) host the Arizona Cardinals (4-9-1) on Sunday before the 49ers visit CenturyLink Field next Sunday in a duel likely to shift from 1:25 p.m. into the primetime spot.

Other games with NFC weight: the New Orleans

Saints (11-3) at the Tennessee Titans (8-6) on Sunday, and the Green Bay Packers (11-3) at the Minnesota Vikings (10-4) on Monday night.

The 49ers’ win didn’t come easy, and it took a holy heave by Garoppolo — a 46-yard, last-minute completion to Emmanuel Sanders on third-and16 — to get them in position for their final points.

The Rams (8-7) had pulled into a tie on Greg Zuerlein’s 52-yard field goal with 2 { minutes to go, and the 49ers responded with a No. 1-seed saving drive, complete with a pair of third-and-16 conversions (the first being an 18-yard catch by Kendrick Bourne and the second being Sanders’ joy ride past Jalen Ramsey).

The 49ers’ came back throughout the evening, and they looked to have the win in hand once Garoppolo rolled right and found George Kittle for a 7-yard touchdown pass with 6:06 to go.

The Rams (8-7) raced out to a 21-10 lead before the 49ers erased their second-largest deficit this season, and they took a 24-21 lead into halftime once Fred Warner returned his first career interception 46 yards for a go-ahead touchdown.

Down 28-24 in the fourth quarter, Garoppolo went to his tight ends for inspiration — and yards, and the go-ahead points. A 36-yard catch-and-run by Kittle got the 49ers into Rams’ territory, then Garoppolo threaded a 25-yard completion to a triple-covered Ross Dwelley, who took a hard hit from Eric Weddle that drew a penalty and moved the 49ers to the 9. Three snaps later, Garoppolo rolled right, Kittle came back to the ball and caught the 7-yard scoring strike with 6:06 remaining.