Late Jimmy Garoppolo turnover, poor play doom 49ers as Rams go to Super Bowl

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Three key moments from the Rams’ 20-17 win, including two the 49ers want back.

The 49ers’ defense was great for three quarters. What went wrong in the fourth?

The 49ers have bounced back quite well, mostly, from NFC Championship losses.

Jimmy Garoppolo’s era likely ended in fitting fashion.

Defense is the name of the 49ers’ game but San Francisco had key failures.

4th Quarter

Trailing 17-7 with 15 minutes left in the game, the Rams started the quarter with a first down in the 49ers’ red zone. On third and 1 from the 11-yard line, Matthew Stafford hit Cooper Kupp for a touchdown with 13:30 left to make the score 17-14.

After the 49ers’ offense sputtered, the Rams took over and marched deep into San Francisco territory. On third and 3, at the 18, Fred Warner made a critical tackle on a screen play to force the Rams to kick a field goal that tied the game at 17 with 6:49 remaining in the game. The 49ers got the ball back and promptly fell apart on offense, taking a delay of game penalty en route to running just three plays before punting.

The Rams charged into field-goal range, needing just five plays to cross midfield and get to the 49ers’ 37-yard line. Stafford hit Kupp again to get to the 49ers’ 12-yard line. But a 49ers sack forced the Rams back to the 20-yard line. Two plays later, the Rams kicked a 29-yard field goal to take a 20-17 lead with 1:46 to go. But Jimmy Garoppolo tossed an ill-advised pass while being sacked that was intercepted by the Rams, effectively ending the game with 1:30 remaining.

3rd Quarter

The second half started quietly, with the 49ers offense unable to capitalize on having the ball first. The Rams started at their own 11-yard line and started to move the ball downfield, reaching midfield before the 49ers defense stopped the drive at the San Francisco 43-yard line.

With time waning in the third quarter, the 49ers plowed deep into Rams territory, with a first and 10 at the Rams’ 15-yard line. On second and 11 from the 16, Jimmy Garoppolo hit George Kittle, who was wide open in the end zone, for a touchdown and a 17-7 lead with 1:59 left.

2nd Quarter

The Rams made it into the red zone for the second time of the game early in the second quarter. Nick Bosa sack on first down made it second and 15 at the 18. But on third down, quarterback Matt Stafford found Cooper Kupp in the back corner of the end zone as the Rams took a 7-0 lead with 8:46 left before halftime.

But the 49ers answered quickly, with Deebo Samuel taking a wide receiver screen and ran a tough 45 yards for a touchdown as San Francisco tied the game at 7 with 6:10 left.

After the Rams missed a long field goal try, the 49ers charged downfield to get as far as the L.A. 21-yard line before settling for a field goal and a 10-7 halftime lead.

First Quarter

The San Francisco 49ers won the coin toss and elected to defer, giving the Rams possession to start the game. Boxing announcer Michael Buffer fired up the crowd with his trademark “Let’s get ready to rumble” while 49ers kicker Robbie Gould hammered the opening kickoff into the end zone for a touchback.

On their first possessions, both teams failed to get a first down and punted, running less than three minutes off the clock.

But the Rams roamed down the field on their second possession, making it to the San Francisco 3-yard line where they faced a third and three. But a Matthew Stafford pass was tipped by K’Waun Williams and Jimmie Ward intercepted it to keep the game scoreless with less than seven minutes remaining in the quarter.

On their second possession, the 49ers moved past midfield but couldn’t push into scoring position and were forced to punt. And the Rams immediately went to work, showing their offense could chip away at the 49ers.

This story was originally published January 30, 2022 at 3:30 PM.