Since Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay arrived in the NFC West, the 49ers have been a riddle the Los Angeles Rams haven't been able to solve.
The 49ers have beaten the Rams six consecutive times, and Shanahan is 7-3 against McVay. Given how lopsided the rivalry has been and the nature in which the Rams turtled while blowing a 17-point lead to the 49ers in Week 18, it's fair to wonder if Shanahan and the 49ers are in McVay's head.
"No," McVay told reporters Wednesday when asked if Shanahan was in his head. "What I do have is respect for these guys. They've done a great job. You look at it, you got to play well in that three-and-a-half-hour window that we're allotted. You look at the last time that we played them, (we) didn't finish the game. This is a really good football team. We have a lot of respect for them. We're competing and preparing to the best of our ability to go out and see if we can advance. But this is a really good team. Kyle is an excellent coach. They (have) great players, great coaches, good schemes. It's why they're in the NFC Championship."
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SIGN UP HERE With McVay as their head coach, the Rams are 18-4 against the rest of the NFC West. But the 49ers have bullied them during the six-game winning streak, something they will undoubtedly look to do again when the two teams meet in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.
"I think it's about execution," McVay said. "I think the key things that are always instrumental in the outcomes of games are going to be vital -- tackling well, trying to break tackles, efficiency on early downs, staying connected on blocks, being able to finish those turnovers, and then the situational football. Whether you're talking about red zone, third downs, two-minute end of the half (and) end of the game -- those are the things it's going to be about. Good, clean, sharp execution. And I agree. I think both teams are very familiar. There's good schemes, there's great players. It's why we're in this position. Let's go roll it out and see who plays the best in that three-and-a-half-hour window and gives themselves the chance to advance."
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During their six-game winning streak against the Rams, the 49ers have won in a multitude of ways. They have won with Jimmy Garoppolo under center and Nick Mullens. They have run over the Rams' defense and turned the offense over. No matter what the Rams do, they can't seem to figure out how to kill a 49ers team that always seems to have the right answers against them.
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"We've just got to execute better at the end of the day," Rams star receiver Cooper Kupp said Wednesday. "That's really what it comes down to. It's not like there's some crazy formula we've got to draw up or anything like that. I think we've just got to execute, do our jobs, play a complete game. and trust that if we do that, we feel confident in how the game's going to end up."
After going up 17-0 in Week 18, McVay and the Rams were celebrating what they thought was a surefire victory that would earn them the No. 2 seed in the NFC and knock the 49ers out of the playoffs.
But they couldn't finish the job, and now they will have to vanquish their boogeyman to reach the Super Bowl.
It's a matchup the No. 6-seeded 49ers, fresh off upsets of the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers, certainly are looking forward to at SoFi Stadium.
“We go down 17-0. And I had five guys chirping at me in my ear, saying, ‘Hey, guys are putting you [in a] body bag, Kittle,'" George Kittle said after the 49ers' Week 18 win. "I was like, ‘A lot of time up on that clock, boys.’ And hopefully, I can see them again because that was a fun body-bag game.”
Sunday at 3:30 p.m., Kittle will get his wish with a trip to Super Bowl LVI on the line.