The San Francisco 49ers battle the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship with a chance to advance to the Super Bowl. San Francisco moved to the title game with victories over Dallas, and Green Bay and Los Angeles picked up wins over Arizona and Tampa Bay. These two NFC West foes met twice during the regular season, with the Niners downing the Rams in both contests.
Sunday’s kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. EST inside SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. Los Angeles is a 3.5-point favorite over the Niners, with the over-under total at 45.5 points.
What to Know – San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco is back in the conference championship for the first time since 2019 when the Niners would advance to the Super Bowl. The Niners are 7-9 in conference title games and have an all-time playoff record of 35-22.
During the postseason, San Francisco averages 25.1 points per game and engineering 388.4 yards of total offense. The Niners’ defense holds opponents to 13.5 points and 319.5 yards of offense per game.
San Francisco didn’t score in the first half of last week’s clash with the Green Bay Packers, but that didn’t matter. The Niners’ defense prevailed, holding Aaron Rodgers and the Packers to just ten points. Veteran kicker Robbie Gould connected on a 45-yard field goal as time expired to give San Francisco one of the many walk-off victories over the weekend.
San Francisco is 11-8 against the spread this year with a 7-4 mark ATS away from home. The Niners are 6-1 ATS over their last seven games and 5-1 ATS over their previous six contests against Los Angeles.
What to Know – Los Angeles Rams
The Rams are back here after a Super Bowl appearance in 2018. Los Angeles has an all-time playoff record of 24-27 and 4-6 in conference championships.
Los Angeles is scoring 27.1 points per game in the postseason, thanks to an average of 386.8 yards per game. The Rams’ defense limits foes to 19.0 points and 289.0 yards of offense.
Los Angeles looked to be in cruise control building a 20-3 lead at the break against the defending Super Bowl champion Bucs. Tom Brady mounted a second-half comeback, tying the game with under a minute left in the final quarter. Those forty-two seconds were too much for Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp, who linked together on a pair of deep passes to give Matt Gay a 30-yard game-winning kick.
The Rams own a 10-9 record ATS this season and a 5-4 record at home. Los Angeles is 5-1 ATS over their last six games when facing opponents from the NFC.
The Pick is In
Sunday’s showdown is the third meeting between the two rivals this season, so these two know each other well. Both defenses have been solid this postseason, and the game will come down to who can protect the ball and sustain drives.
It is hard to beat a team three times in a row, and Sunday, the Rams offense paired with a critical San Francisco turnover sends the Rams back to the Super Bowl that’ll be played inside their home stadium.
Betting Pick: Los Angeles Rams -3.5
