5 X-factors that determine if 49ers beat Rams to make Super Bowl
By Peter Panacy
Fox. 2-0. 51. Rams -3.5. 2-0. 42. Sunday, Jan. 30. 6:40 p.m. ET
The 49ers look to make it 3-0 against the Rams this season, the third matchup providing the final obstacle ahead of Super Bowl LVI.
It’s not often a team faces another team three times during any one single season, and it always has to include an NFL playoffs matchup.
Precisely what the San Francisco 49ers have in the 2022 NFC Championship game against the Los Angeles Rams this Sunday.
The Niners, of course, have swept the season series with wins in Weeks 10 and 18 and have also pulled off six consecutive victories over their NFC West rivals. And for those thinking it’s awfully tough for a team to win three games in a single season over another, the team that swept the season series has gone onto win the third game are 14-8 in the modern football era, a win percentage of 63.6.
Sunday’s game will be more than just historical percentages, though. There are plenty of other factors and X-factors working their way into the equation.
Let’s look at those, as San Francisco will look to get beyond Los Angeles and advance to Super Bowl LVI in February.
X-Factor No. 5: 49ers need Jimmy Garoppolo to play a clean game
Entering Week 18, the 49ers went 1-6 in games where quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo threw an interception.
Garoppolo tossed two interceptions that game, yet the Niners somewhat bucked the trend and ended up winning in overtime. Additionally, Garoppolo has thrown picks in each of San Francisco’s two playoff games, and San Francisco obviously won those, too.
Regardless, the NFC Championship game might not be the opportunity to risk those turnovers again, especially in light of the Rams being plus-2 in the regular-season turnover-differential department, whereas the 49ers were minus-4.
Victories over the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card and divisional rounds, respectively, have shown the Niners can ultimately win even if Garoppolo throws an interception.
Yet both games were narrow victories, and San Francisco would much prefer not to be in those kinds of situations.
Simply put, a massive X-factor will be if Garoppolo can protect the ball.