34
NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
R AMS 20, 49ERS 17
TIMELY
HITTING
DOWN IN THE FOURTH QUARTER AGAINST
SAN FRANCISCO, THE RAMS ROARED BACK,
URGED ON BY THEIR DEFENSIVE LEADER
T
HE RAMS’ GUT-CHECK win over
the Niners, giving L.A. its second NFC
title in four years, will be remembered
in a few different ways. It will be
remembered as Matthew Stafford’s
redemption game, after a dozen years
spent without so much as a single playoff win in Detroit.
It will be remembered as the night Sean McVay broke
his Kyle Shanahan hex, snapping a six-game losing
streak against his old colleague from the Washington
coaching staff.
But perhaps the 20–17 win should be remembered
most as the night when an all-time great asserted him-
self in a new way.
By the time 49ers tight end George Kittle hauled in
a 16-yard touchdown pass from Jimmy Garoppolo to
put San Francisco up 17–7 with 1:59 to go in the third
quarter, Aaron Donald had had it. The three-time NFL
Defensive Player of the Year had seen enough of the
Niners’ playing more physically than the Rams, bully-
ing them around the field, and he wasn’t going to let
it happen again.BY
ALBERT BREER2022 SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONSL.A. HEAT
Donald’s pressure forced
Garoppolo into a wild
throw that resulted in a
game-sealing interception.Adapted from SI.com
January 31, 2022Photograph by Kohjiro Kinno