Getty Kyle Juszczyk (middle) celebrates his touchdown with 49ers teammates against the Falcons on Sunday, December 19.
The San Francisco 49ers may stay out west after all if they clinch a spot in the NFC playoffs in one of these last two games.
For the month of December, NFL playoff projections plugged the 49ers heading to Tampa Bay to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers as the No. 6 seed.
ALL the latest 49ers news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on 49ers newsletter here!
But following the shakeup across the NFL playoff landscape on Sunday, December 26 which included the Minnesota Vikings falling to the Los Angeles Rams and the Washington Football Team getting ran out of Dallas on Sunday Night Football, there’s a new possible matchup that could take place.
This battle involving the 49ers not only involves a rematch of two previous regular season battles, but only the second-ever playoff battle between these longtime rivals…with their last playoff meeting dating back to January 14, 1990.
Third Meeting With the Rams a new Possibility
Following the Cowboys’ 56-14 drubbing of Washington at AT&T Stadium, the NBC Sunday Night Football Twitter account posted its revised NFC playoff picture. The new changes made? The No. 3 representative.
The NFC playoff picture is WILD!
A whole lot can change in these last couple weeks. #NFL
The Rams slid into the third spot by virtue of two elements: Beating the Vikings 30-23 but also using that same score to win in Arizona on December 13, giving L.A. the tiebreaker advantage. What also helps the Rams move into No. 3? The Cardinals losing to the Indianapolis Colts 22-16 on Christmas day.
Despite the 49ers losing to the Tennessee Titans 20-17 on Thursday, December 23, the ‘Niners received Sunday help courtesy of their longtime division rival in Minneapolis. The Rams beating the Vikes got the 49ers to gain a further lead in the race for the sixth wildcard spot.
The Rams have already locked away a playoff spot and are now one of five teams in the NFC heading into the postseason field. And now, the 49ers could end up with two consecutive trips to Inglewood if both the Rams and 49ers end up as the third and sixth seed, respectively.
Last 49ers/Rams Playoff Meeting was During S.F. Dynasty Years
If any 49er fans recall, that January NFC title game in 1990 started off slow before the 49ers exploded in the second quarter.
Once trailing 3-0, the 49ers turned to the right arm of Joe Montana who threw two touchdown passes in that quarter to Brent Jones on a 20-yarder and John Taylor on an 18-yard connection. In between those touchdowns was a Roger Craig one-yard rushing touchdown. The 49ers went on to settle for Mike Cofer’s leg the rest of the afternoon but rolled to the 30-3 rout of the Rams.
Montana finished with an astronomical 125.3 passer rating that day — as “Joe Cool” went 26-of-30 for 262 yards. Craig finished with 94 yards. The 49er defense also snatched three interceptions. And that NFC title win propelled the 49ers into the 55-10 romp of the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl — their last Vince Lombardi Trophy winning moment with Montana at quarterback.
49ers/Rams Pairing Would Also Bring This Rare Moment
Not only would a 49ers versus Rams wildcard meeting become only the second playoff meeting between the franchises if it were to happen, but it also brings this rare moment in the NFL: A matchup involving the same teams at the same location who met in the season finale. Since 1993, that has happened four times. Here’s an overview:
1993-94 season: The then-Los Angeles Raiders ended the year beating the Broncos 33-30 at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, only to turn around and trounce them 42-24 in the first round at the same venue.
2000 season: The New Orleans Saints lost to the then-St. Louis Rams 26-21 in the Superdome to close the regular season. But the following week, the Saints won 31-28 and eliminated the defending Super Bowl champs in Louisiana.
2001-2002: The New York Jets defeated the then-Oakland Raiders 24-22 to end the regular season, but the Raiders rolled to the 38-24 win in the wildcard meeting in the Bay Area.
2008-2009: The Green Bay Packers trounced the Cardinals 33-7 in the season finale, but lost 51-45 in overtime with both games in Glendale.
While the Rams versus 49ers at SoFi Stadium is now looking like a possibility, there’s this reminder: The 49ers still have the Saints to deal with before that NFC West pairing does indeed happen.
