NFC Championship Game Early Odds: 49ers vs Rams

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The first team to ever win a or even play in a Super Bowl in its home stadium was the Tampa Bay Bucs last year. Could it happen again in February? SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles hosts Super Bowl 56 and the Rams are now one win away from that game after upsetting the Bucs 30-27 in Tampa on Sunday. Los Angeles will host division rival San Francisco in the NFC title game next Sunday with the Rams opening as 3.5-point favorites. Let’s take a look at the following analysis for your NFL odds.

NFC Championship 49ers vs Rams

Sunday’s win over the Bucs shouldn’t have come down to the wire as it did with Matt Gay hitting the walkoff field goal – the Rams had been up 27-3 but kept turning the ball over. The Rams were the first team to win a playoff game after losing four or more fumbles since the 1975 Steelers in the AFC Championship against the Raiders (lost four fumbles in that game). The Steelers prevailed, 16-10, and won the Super Bowl two weeks later.

Cooper Kupp caught 9-of-11 targets for 183 yards and a touchdown to beat the Bucs. His 44-yard catch from Matthew Stafford set up Gay for a game-winning field goal. It was Kupp’s 12^th game this season with 100 yards receiving. That ties Hall of Famer Michael Irvin in 1995 for the most 100-yard receiving games in a season, including playoffs, in NFL history.

The Rams won without left tackle Andrew Whitworth, who might be able to return from injury vs. the Niners. Pro Football Focus has Whitworth graded as their top pass-blocking tackle on the year. He has allowed just one sack in 15 games.

Safety Taylor Rapp also missed the game. He missed the Wild-Card round win over Arizona with a concussion he suffered in the regular-season finale. Coach Sean McVay said he’s yet to clear the final stage of the NFL’s concussion protocol.

The Niners rallied for a 13-10 win in Green Bay on Saturday in bone-chilling cold. Green Bay’s offense looked to be having their way with San Francisco early in the first quarter. They opened up the game with a 10-play, 69-yard drive that culminated in an AJ Dillon rushing score. The drive didn’t feature a single third down with wideout Davante Adams hauling in three receptions, all resulting in first downs. However, the Packers did very little offensively after that.

Jimmy Garoppolo completed 11-of-19 passes for 131 yards and an interception in the win. He was sacked four times in 23 dropbacks. Rookie running back Elijah Mitchell rushed 17 times for 53 yards, adding three catches for 18 yards on four targets. Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams played through a right ankle injury. Not clear what his status for this game will be yet.

With a little less than five minutes remaining, the Packers had fourth-and-19 at their 12. Niners defensive end Jordan Willis burst through the middle and blocked Corey Bojorquez’s punt. The ball popped straight up in the air before landing near rookie safety Talanoa Hufanga, who scooped it up and raced six yards for the touchdown. Gould’s extra point tied the game at 10 with 4:41 to go. It was the first blocked punt return for a touchdown in 49ers playoff history and the second the Packers have given up in theirs.

“This team has been through a lot,” San Francisco tight end George Kittle said. “We’ve been through a lot of adversity. We’ve dealt with a lot. We’ve lost games by making mistakes. We’ve won games dirty. This is a gritty team. It’s a salty team, and we just keep bouncing back.”

San Francisco is on a six-game winning streak vs. the Rams. The played Week 18 in Los Angeles and the Niners rallied for a 27-24 OT victory to clinch a playoff berth. Robbie Gould hit a 24-yard field goal with 2:25 left in OT. Jauan Jennings caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Garoppolo with 26 seconds left in regulation for the 49ers.

Deebo Samuel rushed for a touchdown and threw a scoring pass to Jennings in regulation for the Niners, who made a 69-yard drive to open overtime. The Rams got the ball back, but rookie Ambry Thomas made his first career interception on Matthew Stafford’s long throw down the Rams’ sideline. Stafford passed for 238 yards and three touchdowns.