49ers have had Rams' number entering NFC title game

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — They spent their NFL apprenticeship alongside one another in Washington, with Mike Shanahan presiding over what would become invaluable training for their own head-coaching careers. Kyle Shanahan, a favorite son of the two-time Super Bowl-winning former Broncos coach, and Sean McVay, the energetic whirling dervish, were relentless in their work and singularly focused on their paths forward.

They wound up getting their opportunities the same year in the same division — McVay with the Rams as the youngest-ever head coach at age 30 and Shanahan with the 49ers after his run to the Super Bowl as offensive coordinator of the Falcons.

Their friendship remains intact, but their legacies now are intertwined in the crucible that is the NFC West.

On Sunday, they faced their Hunger Games moment at SoFi Stadium, with the winner of the NFC Championship Game moving on to Super Bowl LVI on Feb. 13 at this breathtaking architectural jewel.

They have matched wits in the division since 2017, with McVay owning the early edge but Shanahan dominating the last three years. The 49ers entered Sunday’s game having beaten the Rams six straight times, including a 27-24 overtime decision in Week 18 that clinched a playoff berth for San Francisco. The win gave Shanahan a 7-3 advantage in head-to-head matchups, prompting some to wonder if there is something he has figured out about his one-time coaching brother.

McVay was asked this past week if Shanahan’s recent domination meant the 49ers’ coach was in his head.

"No," McVay replied. "What I do have is respect for these guys. They’ve done a great job. You look at it, you’ve got to play well in that 3 ½-hour window that we’re allotted . . . This is a really good football team. We have a lot of respect for them, but we’re competing and preparing to the best of our ability to see if we can advance. But this is a really good team. Kyle’s an excellent coach."

Shanahan took umbrage at the notion that the six-game winning streak means he’s got some sort of tactical advantage over his former fellow assistant.

"I think that’s kind of silly," Shanahan said. "I think a question like that is giving Sean and myself way too much credit."

So what’s the reason behind the 49ers’ recent head-to-head dominance?

"Watch what’s going on out on that field and some of the players out there and the people that are competing," he said. "To think that it’s about Sean and I — I know he doesn’t feel that way and he knows I don’t feel that way."

Entering Sunday’s game, history was on the side of the 49ers as far as winning three games in a single season. Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, there were 22 seasons in which two teams faced one another three times — the third being the playoffs. In those matchups, teams that swept the series were a combined 14-8. From 1994-2021, teams that beat the same opponent twice in the regular season went on to win in the playoffs 10 of 14 times.

Both 49ers victories during the regular season loomed large for San Francisco. In a Monday night game in November in Santa Clara, the Niners came into the game at 3-5 and faced the prospect of falling hopelessly behind in the playoff race in an intensely competitive division. But the 49ers were dominant in a 31-10 win that featured a resurgence of the running game and wide receiver Deebo Samuel doubling as a running back for the first time this season.

"It got us into a rhythm, for sure," quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said of the running game. "That’s the way we want to do it. Just running the ball, converting on third down and then scoring at the end. I don’t want to say it took their soul away, but it definitely did something."

The 49ers needed a win in the regular-season finale to have a shot at the playoffs, and it looked grim as the Rams built a 17-0 lead in the first half. But the Niners rallied in the second half, tied it late in regulation to force overtime and won it in the extra session, 27-24.

"Getting off to a slow start and then coming back like we did, it took everything," Garoppolo said. "We say that a lot of weeks, but this one really did. I felt it after the game. It was one of those games you won’t forget anytime soon."

San Francisco then beat Dallas and Green Bay on the road to reach the NFC Championship Game. The Rams beat the Cardinals in the wild-card round and outlasted defending champion Tampa Bay in last week’s divisional round to set the stage for Sunday’s third 49ers-Rams showdown.

With the winner getting the chance to come back to SoFi Stadium in two weeks for the biggest prize of all.

By Bob Glauber

Special to NewsdayBobGlauber

Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”