49ERS CLINCH PLAYOFF BERTH
Despite 6th straight loss to rival, Rams take NFC West title
INGLEWOOD
When the Los Angeles took an early 17-0 lead on the San Francisco 49ers, George Kittle had several Rams chirping their excitement in his ear about a shift in this one-sided rivalry.
“I was like, ‘A lot of time up on that clock, boys,’ ” the 49ers’ star tight end said.
No matter what jams the Niners got into this season, they were resourceful enough to get their season back on a playoff path. And once again, their winning route went right over the Rams.
The 49ers clinched a postseason berth with a 2724 overtime victory over the NFC West champion Rams on Sunday, thanks to Robbie Gould’s 24-yard field goal with 2:45 left in overtime and a game-ending interception by rookie Ambry Thomas.
“Getting off to a slow start and then coming back like we did, it took everything,” said quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who passed for 316 yards. “We say that a lot of weeks, but this one really did. I felt it after the game. I know a lot of guys in that locker room did. It was worth it, though. It was one of those games you won’t forget any time soon.”
Jauan Jennings caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Garoppolo with 26 seconds left in regulation for the 49ers (10-7), who are playoffbound for only the second time in eight years after beating the Rams for the sixth consecutive time.
San Francisco roared to a 7-2 finish to the regular season bookended by two wins over the Rams (12-5). L.A. won an anticlimactic division title anyway, thanks to Seattle’s simultaneous victory over Arizona.
Sixth-seeded San Francisco will play at Dallas next week, while the fourthseeded Rams will host the Cardinals in the first playoff game in SoFi Stadium history.
“Our guys are so resilient,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I’m very proud of them, and I’m just glad that we get to go into the tournament and be a part of it.”
Deebo Samuel rushed for a touchdown and threw a scoring pass to Jennings in regulation for the Niners, who made a deliberate 69yard drive to open overtime. The Rams got the ball back, but Thomas made his first career interception on Matthew Stafford’s long throw down the Rams’ sideline.
San Francisco celebrated wildly on the field after extending its longest winning streak in this California rivalry since the 1990s. The Niners also won after falling behind by 17 points for the first time since the 2012 NFC championship game.
Cooper Kupp caught a go-ahead TD pass from Stafford with 2:26 to play for the Rams, whose five-game winning streak ended. The loss cost Los Angeles the No. 2 NFC seed and the strong chance to host at least two playoff games.
“This is a tough feeling,” coach Sean McVay said. “Our guys did a good job being able to navigate through the season. To be able to still win the division is a good accomplishment, but I don’t know that right now is the time to celebrate that.”