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NFC Championship Game — Sports world reacts as Matt Stafford, OBJ and Los Angeles Rams earn spot in Super Bowl

January 31, 2022
James Robinson
10:36 PM ET

  • Tory BarronESPN Editor

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      Tory Barron is a Bristol-based writer and editor for ESPN.com. After retiring from playing lacrosse at UConn, the DC native decided to try her hand at writing about people playing sports.

The Los Angeles Rams went all in this season. Now, Matthew Stafford, Odell Beckham Jr. & Co. find themselves on the brink of a Super Bowl ring after defeating Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 in the NFC title game.

The Niners presented a daunting obstacle, considering the Rams had lost to them six straight times prior to Sunday’s game. But in the renewed rivals’ third meeting of the season, the Rams would not be thwarted.

For only the second time ever, two former No. 1 overall picks will face off in the Super Bowl (Peyton Manning and Cam Newton in 2016) as Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals travel to L.A.

The sports world reacted to the “Rams to the Super Bowl” news accordingly:

Here’s how the Rams secured the NFC title and the one remaining spot in the Super Bowl:

Game-sealing interception? Game-sealing interception. The Rams are headed to the Super Bowl (well, they’re not actually going anywhere), after pressure from Aaron Donald on Garoppolo eventually resulted in a Travin Howard pick.

Two Matt Gay field goals later and the Rams secured a three-point lead with less than two minutes to play in regulation.

And just like that we have ourselves a three-point game in the fourth quarter with the NFC title on the line. Stafford found Kupp (who else?) in the end zone for 11 yards and the TD.

The Niners extended their lead with a 16-yard TD on a Jimmy G-George Kittle connection. Because when a trip to the Super Bowl is on the line, you play the hits.

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Robbie Gould made the field goal. The 39-year-old stays perfect in the postseason with a 38-yard FG to give San Francisco the 10-7 edge at the half.

Of equal importance is this video of Gould remaining unbothered by potential obstacles in the way of his practice kicks.

Hey, he’s got a job to do.

Eleven touchdowns in the past eleven games? Deebo Samuel knows a thing or two about consistency. The Niners’ star answered back with a 44-yard TD of his own to even things up at 7-7.

If you guessed Stafford would find Cooper Kupp in the end zone to start the NFC title game scoring, you’ve clearly been paying attention this season … and you were right. Including the playoffs, Kupp now has 14 games with a receiving TD this season. That ties Randy Moss in 2007 for third most games with a receiving TD in a season all-time.