Drama: 49ers vs. Rams games over the years includes premature toasts, phantom sacks
The teams first met in 1950, well before stadiums had big-time sponsor names such as Levi or SoFi.
The Rams beat the 49ers 35-14 in Kezar Stadium in San Francisco in a meeting of the first two pro football franchises on the West Coast, when Harry S. Truman was in the White House and one could hit the freeway for 27 cents a gallon at the gas pump. The teams have played 145 times now. The 49ers entered Sunday’s NFC Championship tilt at SoFi with a 75-67-3 series lead. The 49ers have scored 3,277 points in those games, the Rams 3,089, including only three in the only other playoff meeting between the rivals, a 30-3 49ers victory in the NFC Championship following the 1989 season.
The Rams ran away with the series from 1967-80, going 23-3-1, and the 49ers owned the Rams with a 17-game winning streak, starting in 1990.
Here’s a peek at nine memorable games, with anticipation that Sunday’s game would make the Top 10.
1979: Rolling Rams
In beating the moribund 49ers 26-20 in Week 13, the surging Rams finished the last four games of the season 3-1 and bounded into the playoffs with a first Super Bowl trip in sight. It happened, but it ended with a 31-19 loss to the famed Pittsburgh Steelers. Sid Justin blocked a field goal and returned the goods 80 yards for a score for the Rams in the 49ers game, and Vince Feragamo hit Wendell Tyler for a 71-yard touchdown pass. The 49ers finished 2-14 in coach Bill Walsh’s first season.
1981: Turning the tide
The Rams came into this season having won 19 of the previous 21 games against the 49ers, but the 49ers took a 14-0 lead early at Candlestick Park on two Joe Montana touchdown passes, and it was 20-10 after two Ray Wersching field goals before the 49ers won 20-17. That moved the 49ers to 6-2 on the season, and they moved to 9-3 after beating the Rams 33-31 later that season, and the good times continued, punctuated with their first Super Bowl victory.
1983: Strike Season Hangover
To cap the strike-shortened 1982 season, this January season-ender pitted the 3-5 49ers against the 1-7 Rams. A late Ray Wersching field goal was blocked and the Rams ran out the clock to bounce the 49ers from any playoff hopes.
1984: History at hand
In the regular-season finale at Candlestick Park, the 49ers quest to become the first team in NFL history to sport a 15-1 record resulted in a 19-16 victory as Montana and the defense cruised. Eric Dickerson had 98 yards rushing for the Rams to add to his NFL single-season record (finishing with 2,105). The Rams lost to the Giants in a playoff opener and the 49ers beat Miami in the Super Bowl to cap an 18-1 season.
1990: Joe Cool and Phantom Sack
In the NFC Championship game that followed the 1989 season at Candlestick Park, Montana sparkled with three touchdown passes to key a 30-3 effort; the Rams buckled. This included Rams quarterback Jim Everett taking a dive, hitting the turf in anticipation of a pass rush that wasn’t near him, signaling a surrender. The 49ers then rolled in the Super Bowl. Everett? He never played in another playoff game his final eight seasons. He told the L.A. Times years later, “I made a mistake and there was no reason why I had to take a dive. I thought I was going to get drilled. I took a dive. Damn. I wish I could be perfect, but I’m not.”
1989: Cheers, Georgia, and then jeers
On a December “Monday Night Football” stage in Los Angeles, the Rams stormed to a 17-3 lead just before halftime. The half the image of Rams owner Georgia Frontiere raising a glass of wine to toast a giddy bunch of fans irked the 49ers and coach George Seifert. The 49ers charged back to win 30-27 and rolled right onto a Super Bowl repeat.
2001: Feel good return
In their first game after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the St. Louis Rams led 30-16 behind Kurt Warner before Jeff Garcia countered, though the Rams held on for a 30-26 victory. The Rams did not repeat as Super Bowl champions, falling to the Patriots 20-17. The 49ers went 12-4 and lost to Green Bay in the playoffs.
2012: My oh my, a tie
When Alex Smith was knocked out of the game with a concussion, the Colin Kaepernick quarterback era started under coach Jim Harbaugh. Both teams missed field goals in overtime, resulting in the first tie between the rivals since 1968. Smith didn’t get his job back, and Kaepernick led the 49ers to a Super Bowl loss to Baltimore.
2022: Crowd noise on every play
In the regular-season finale just weeks ago, the 49ers needed a victory to remain in the playoff chase, and got it with a spirited rally that led to a 27-24 overtime conquest. A sea of 49ers fans made the Rams’ home digs in SoFi Stadium sound like the home turf for both. The Rams led 17-0 before Jimmy Garoppolo led the comeback.