5 lessons 49ers can learn from Super Bowl champion Rams
By Peter Panacy
49ers Super Bowl lesson No. 3: Playmakers make plays
It sounds awfully cliche, but the full truth of any postseason game is to let your team’s best playmakers make the kind of impact plays needed to advance.
Or in this case, win a Super Bowl.
Case in point, the Rams relied on wide receiver Cooper Kupp to make the plays necessary in the fourth quarter, including that go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter, which culminated in his eight-catch, 92-yard performance with two touchdowns.
The Niners probably wish they understood this lesson a bit clearer in the NFC Championship game when, at a crucial point and facing a 2nd-and-1 in need of a first down to continue winding down the clock with a second-half lead, wide receiver Deebo Samuel didn’t touch the ball despite three additional chances to reach the first-down marker.
Instead, San Francisco elected to punt after failing to convert.
Samuel, the 49ers’ biggest offensive game-changer from 2021, should have been called upon in that situation.
Los Angeles afforded its playmakers the opportunity to make game-changing plays at the biggest moments needed.