#RAMS 49ERS PLAY BY PLAY SERIES#

1989 San Francisco 49ers: Running back Roger Craig #33 of the San Francisco 49ers finds room to run against the Los Angeles Rams during the 1989 NFC Championship at Candlestick Park on Januin San Francisco, California. Several starters on each team sat the game out because of either injury concerns or contract disputes, though Joe Montana played and received the lion’s share of cheers, even if he only was 8-for-13 for 81 yards. On-the-ground reports at the time highlighted that even Japanese media focused on the game being George Seifert’s first in charge of the 49ers, taking over after Bill Walsh retired as a Super Bowl champion. After three years of a single NFL game in London, which saw both the Rams (1987 against Denver) and the 49ers (1988 versus Miami) play once, the league played two in 1989 and sent the two NFC West rivals to the Far East.

#RAMS 49ERS PLAY BY PLAY SERIES#

But in 1986, the league formally started a series titled the American Bowl, sending its first preseason game of the year off.

The NFL had dabbled in international games throughout its history, sending exhibition games overseas periodically up until 1983 - including a 1976 game in Tokyo. 6, 1989: Rams 16, 49ers 13 in the American Bowl in Tokyo, Japan And that brings us to the 1989 preseason - and a trip outside of California for both teams.Īug. The 49ers’ ascension made the Rams play second fiddle frequently in the rest of the 1980s.Īnd after decades of playoff appearances without a Super Bowl crown, Rams fans watched Joe Montana lead a 49ers fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Bengals 20-16 and win their third Super Bowl in eight years. But the Rams never could finish the season with the ultimate prize, losing four NFC title games before finally breaking through to the Super Bowl in 1979, only to fall 31-19 to the Steelers.īut after losing the division by one game to the Falcons in 1980, the 49ers finally broke through against the Rams in 1981, sweeping the two games against Los Angeles for the first time since 1965 en route to their first Super Bowl. Los Angeles went 17-3 against the 49ers in the decade, including winning every game played in San Francisco. The Rams had ruled the NFC West in the 1970s, winning the division for seven straight years from 1973-79 and destroying their neighbors to the north in the process. But even with 144 regular-season showdowns between two teams who have combined for 38 division titles and 14 (soon to be 15) conference championships, they’ve only faced off once in the playoffs before this week.Īhead of this year’s NFC-deciding matchup, we’ll look back at 1989, when the 49ers and Rams played their one other playoff game against each other and the three - yes, three - matchups in that season that preceded the NFC Championship game.

It’ll be the third matchup of the 2021 season between the two longtime division rivals, who have played each other twice a year ever since the 49ers left the All-America Football Conference to join the NFL in 1950. It’s another All-NFC West showdown in the NFC Championship Game for the 49ers, who this time will travel south to face the Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

Rams 49ers play by play