49ers history versus Rams, their 2022 NFC Championship opponent

The 49ers square off against the Rams for the 2022 NFC Championship game, and Niner Noise looks back at this NFC West rivalry.

For the third time this season, the San Francisco 49ers will face off against the Los Angeles Rams.

This time, though, it’s for the rights to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LVI.

Sunday’s upcoming contest marks only the second time these two NFC West rivals have faced off against each other in the postseason, which is somewhat surprising given how many quality teams both franchises have fielded over their elongated histories.

Perhaps it’s just that neither team has been truly dominant at the same time as the other.

There are plenty of connections between the two teams, too, especially now with Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan and Rams head coach Sean McVay coming from the same coaching tree and having worked together when they were both assistants under former Washington Football Team head coach Mike Shanahan, Kyle’s father.

While San Francisco has a slight edge over Los Angeles in the all-time series, the 49ers have owned the Rams in more recent history.

A history the Niners are looking to repeat.

49ers all-time record vs. Rams

Not including Sunday’s NFC Championship game, yet to be determined, San Francisco owns a 75-67-3 record against Los Angeles with the opening bout between these two teams going in favor of the Rams back in October of 1950.

In fact, the Rams started off hot against the 49ers early in the rivalry, winning five out of six games between 1950 and 1952. And from 1977 through 1980, Los Angeles swept the season series for four years in a row. However, the Niners returned the favor and then some between 1991 and 1998, beating the Rams 16 consecutive times and sweeping the season series in each of those years.

And speaking of that one NFL playoffs matchup between San Francisco and LA?

Well, it took place in the 1990 NFC Championship game where the 49ers pummeled Los Angeles by a score of 30-3 en route to Super Bowl XXIV, where the Niners also dominated the Denver Broncos and won 55-10.

Read More: 5 all-time best games in 49ers franchise history

49ers have dominated the Rams in recent years

The NFC West might be summed up by the following tweet:

While San Francisco fans may not take comfort in the Seattle Seahawks’ recent ownage of the 49ers, the Niners aren’t playing Seattle in the NFC Championship game this weekend.

Instead, Shanahan will look to continue his dominance over McVay in what’ll be the penultimate showdown in advance of Super Bowl LVI.

San Francisco swept the 2021 season series between these two teams, winning in dominating fashion back in Week 10 by a score of 31-10 before pulling off an overtime thriller in a must-win Week 18 game at SoFI Stadium.

That win marked the sixth consecutive victory the 49ers have had over the Rams, dating back to the start of the 2019 season.

And while McVay swept the season series in 2018, it’s important to note his LA team has gone 3-7 against the Niners since both coaches took over their duties in 2017.

Advantage: San Francisco.

Nevertheless, a new chapter will be written within this storied rivalry when both teams square off in the 2022 NFC Championship game at SoFI Stadium, a game that’s more important than any of the others since the last time the 49ers beat Los Angeles to advance to the Super Bowl.