Rams hoping third time is charm
The 49ers are hoping their recent regular-season dominance over the Los Angeles Rams extends to the playoffs.
The Niners have swept the season series against the Rams the past three seasons and take a six-game winning streak in the series into the NFC title game Sunday.
A look at past history suggests that it’s no sure thing regular-season dominance carries over into the playoffs.
This will be the 24th time in the Super Bowl era that division rivals will meet in the postseason following a regular-season sweep. The team that won the two regularseason games is 14-9 in the playoff rematch.
The Rams-49ers matchup is the fourth time a team came into the playoff matchup on a winning streak of at least six games in the series. The streaking team won one of those previous three matchups.
Sunday’s game is also the seventh time division rivals will vie for a spot in the Super Bowl following a regular-season sweep; four of the previous six sweeping teams won again to reach the Super Bowl.
GM HIRES >> Ryan Poles was hired as Chicago’s new general manager, almost 15 years after he signed with the team as an undrafted free agent and then failed to make the final roster.
Poles spent the previous 13 seasons in the Chiefs’ front office, the past year as executive director of player personnel. He was the team’s director of college scouting in 2017 when Kansas City drafted Patrick Mahomes with the No. 10 overall pick — after Chicago took Mitchell Trubisky at No. 2.
The Bears fired GM Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy after a 6-11 season, hoping new leadership will lift a struggling franchise.
• The Vikings hired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as their general manager, taking an innovative turn by bringing in an analytics expert from Cleveland’s front office who once worked on Wall Street.
Adofo-Mensah was the vice president of football operations for the Browns for the past two years.
With Poles and AdofoMensah, who are both Black, filling vacancies this cycle there are now seven minority general managers in the NFL. The other five are Andrew Berry (Cleveland), Jerry Fontenot (Atlanta), Chris Grier (Miami), Brad Holmes (Detroit) and Martin Mayhew (Washington). CALLING IT QUITS >> Eagles right guard Brandon Brooks announced his retirement after 10 seasons in the NFL.
The 32-year-old Brooks, a three-time Pro Bowl pick, became one of the NFL’s best guards after the Eagles signed him in free agency in 2016. He helped Philadelphia win a Super Bowl four years ago.
• Anthony Levine announced his retirement after a decade with the Baltimore Ravens. The team said Levine will transition into a scouting and coaching role for the Ravens in 2022. RAIDER PLEADS GUILTY >> Las Vegas cornerback Nate Hobbs pleaded guilty to a reduced traffic charge stemming from his arrest early this month on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
The 22-year-old rookie was arrested before dawn Jan. 3 after he was found asleep inside a vehicle stopped on an exit ramp of a Las Vegas Strip casino parking garage.
A Las Vegas justice of the peace accepted the plea, imposed a $685 fine and 20 hours of community service, and ordered Hobbs to stay out of trouble.