By Sunday night, the matchup for Super Bowl 56 will be set.
After the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game, the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams are set to meet for the NFC crown. The NFC West rivals both surprised many by making it this far, as the Rams were the No. 4 seed and needed to unseat Tom Brady and the defending-champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers to make it this far, while the 49ers toppled the Dallas Cowboys in the wild-card round before stunning the top-seeded Green Bay Packers last weekend.
While the Rams are favored, the 49ers have won the last six meetings, sparking questions on whether Sean McVay can beat out close friend Kyle Shanahan.
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49ers-Rams score: San Francisco up 17-14 with 13:30 left in fourth quarter
Cooper Kupp delivered again in the Rams’ moment of need.
Facing a third-and-1 from the 49ers’ 11-yard line, Kupp beat K’Waun Williams for his second touchdown of the day to cut San Francisco’s lead to three.
Kupp’s earlier touchdown also came on a third down. Kupp leads all receivers with eight catches for 93 yards and two scores.
– Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
49ers-Rams score: San Francisco up 17-7 with 1:59 left in third quarter
The 49ers are giving themselves some breathing room as the fourth quarter approaches.
San Francisco mounted a 10-play, 58-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 16-yard scoring strike to George Kittle.
The reception was just Kittle’s second of the day.
– Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
49ers hold firm on fourth down
The 49ers came up with a crucial stop on fourth down.
Matthew Stafford moved the Rams downfield with a series of passes, including two to Odell Beckham Jr., but his incompletion on third down past midfield left Los Angeles with a difficult decision.
Sean McVay opted to go for the quarterback sneak on fourth-and-1, but Stafford was stopped short, a ruling that was upheld upon review.
– Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
49ers-Rams halftime stats
Los Angeles and San Francisco both had relatively modest offensive outputs in the first half.
Matthew Stafford completed 14 of 24 passes for 130 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Jimmy Garoppolo, meanwhile, notched 137 yards and a touchdown on 8-of-12 passing.
Cooper Kupp led all receivers with 64 yards on five catches along with a touchdown score, while Brandon Aiyuk paced the 49ers with three catches and 56 yards.
The 49ers averaged 7.8 yards per play to the Rams’ 4.7, but Los Angeles ran 22 more plays (42 to 20).
49ers-Rams score: San Francisco up 10-7 at halftime
Robbie Gould is still perfect in the postseason.
The 49ers kicker nailed a 38-yard field goal to give his team a 10-7 lead heading into halftime. Gould and Jalen Ramsey got in one another’s faces after the kick but were later separated.
San Francisco went 36 yards in eight plays but couldn’t reach the end zone as time wound down. The 49ers also appeared to avoid a serious injury to star receiver Deebo Samuel, who took a big hit from Nick Scott but returned to the game after a brief exit.
– Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
Rams’ errors prove costly
The Rams squandered several opportunities to recapture the lead on the 49ers.
Cooper Kupp had a rare drop on a pass that looked poised to go for a long gain, if not a touchdown. Later in the drive, Matthew Stafford’s deep heave bounced off of a wide-open Ben Skowronek’s hands in the end zone.
Los Angeles settled for a field goal attempt, but Matt Gay’s 54-yard kick was no good.
– Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
49ers-Rams score: Tied at 7-7 with 6:10 left in second quarter
Deebo Samuel’s incredible season continues.
The multi-talented All-Pro took a screen pass 44 yards for a touchdown, knifing through the Los Angeles defense to even the score.
Samuel now has 11 touchdowns in his last 11 games.
– Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
49ers-Rams score: Los Angeles 7-0 with 8:46 left in second quarter
The Rams got on the scoreboard first on Sunday with a 97-yard drive.
Marching down field over the course of 18 plays in nine minutes and 33 seconds, Los Angeles capped its scoring series when Matthew Stafford threaded the needle to Cooper Kupp.
– Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
Tyler Higbee injured
The Rams’ offense might have taken a hit.
Tight end Tyler Higbee suffered a knee injury and was listed as questionable to return.
Higbee ranked third on the Rams with 560 receiving yards in the regular season. While Los Angeles was looking to emphasize the short-to-intermediate passing game, Higbee faced a tough matchup with Fred Warner and the rest of the 49ers’ defense.
Running back Cam Akers also went to the locker room with a shoulder injury but later returned.
– Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
49ers come up short
Jimmy Garoppolo threw for two first downs after Jimmie Ward’s interception, but he was denied on a key third down.
Garoppolo looked for Brandon Aiyuk on third-and-6 from the Rams’ 40-yard line, but Troy Reeder and Darious Williams converged to break up the pass.
Trent Sherfield helped keep Mitch Wishnowsky’s punt out of the end zone, and San Francisco then downed it at the Rams’ 3-yard line.
– Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
49ers get an interception off tipped pass
The first big play of the NFC title game was an interception.
Matthew Stafford targeted Cooper Kupp on third-and-goal from the 3-yard line, but K’Waun Williams tipped the pass at the front of the end zone. Jimmie Ward then came down with the interception and returned it to the 23-yard line.
Stafford took a shot from Fred Warner after the interception and complained to officials.
– Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
Rams, 49ers go three-and-out on opening possession
Los Angeles and San Francisco’s offenses stumbled out of the gates.
After Matthew Stafford completed short passes to Odell Beckham Jr. and Van Jefferson, he threw behind Beckham on third down for an incompletion.
Johnny Hekker’s punt, however, put San Francisco all the way back at their own 20. On the 49ers’ ensuing possession, Jimmy Garoppolo missed George Kittle deep down the middle on third down.
– Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
49ers-Rams winner will face Bengals in Super Bowl
Well, the NFC title game has a lot to live up to.
The Cincinnati Bengals put on a thrilling show in rallying from 18 points down to beat the two-time defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs and book their first Super Bowl trip in 33 years.
The 49ers edged the Bengals in a 26-23 overtime win in Week 14, while Cincinnati did not face Los Angeles this season. Sean McVay, however, has plenty of familiarity with Zac Taylor after Taylor served on his staff from 2017-18 before getting the Bengals’ head coaching job.
49ers fans invade SoFi Stadium again
You likely will see a sea of scarlet in the stands at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.
49ers fans once again showed up
According to USA TODAY Sports’ Josh Peter, who is on the scene in Los Angeles: “Vivid Tickets has estimated 65 percent of the crowd here will be 49ers fans, according to the Los Angeles Times, and StubHub told USA TODAY Sports that it thinks that projection will be close.”
Read more here about the 49ers’ takeover.
– Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
Rams, 49ers inactives
Trent Williams and Andrew Whitworth are both a go for the NFC title game.
The two standout left tackles were not among their teams’ inactives despite nursing ankle injuries this week.
The 49ers’ inactives are WR Mohamed Sanu Sr., QB Nate Sudfeld, RB Jeff Wilson Jr., LB Marcell Harris, DB Deommodore Lenoir, OL Aaron Banks and DL Maurice Hurst.
The Rams’ inactives are QB Bryce Perkins, S Taylor Rapp, OLB Chris Garrett, OLB Terrell Lewis, OL Joe Noteboom, OL Tremayne Anchrum Jr. and TE Brycen Hopkins.
– Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
How the Rams got here
Los Angeles was seen as a Super Bowl contender from the offseason, when they acquired Matthew Stafford. But the Rams reinforced their title-caliber credentials in the playoffs.
Sean McVay’s crew made quick work of the struggling Arizona Cardinals in the wild-card round. Then, the Rams endured a comeback push by Tom Brady to eliminate the defending-champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
And with the rest of the NFC’s division winners vanquished, Los Angeles got the rare opportunity to host the title game before potentially playing in a home Super Bowl.
– Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
How the 49ers got here
Did anyone besides the 49ers envision San Francisco making it this far?
Kyle Shanahan’s crew was the last NFC team to seal a playoff berth, wrapping up the No. 6 seed with an overtime victory over the Rams in regular-season finale. San Francisco was then the lone road team to win in the wild-card round with their victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
But the real stunner was their triumph against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Capitalizing on Green Bay’s special teams meltdown, the 49ers managed to surprise everyone … except themselves.
– Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
SoFi Stadium in spotlight
Two weeks before it hosts the last game of the 2021-22 NFL season, SoFi Stadium will again be in the spotlight as it hosts the penultimate matchup of the campaign.
The $5 billion stadium is flush with amenities. But Sunday might not feel like a home game for the Rams.
Coach Sean McVay implored fans not to sell their tickets, and 49ers fans are looking to turn the stadium into “Levi’s South.”
– Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 49ers vs. Rams score, highlights, updates, NFC title game analysis