The Los Angeles Rams took the NFC championship Sunday evening by defeating the San Francisco 49ers and will face the Cincinnati Bengals at home in the Super Bowl on Feb. 13.
The Rams beat the 49ers 20-17 in front of a hometown crowd after Cincinnati beat the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 in overtime to take the AFC championship
The Rams had previously lost six in a row to the 49ers. But linebacker Travin Howard's interception with 1:09 to play saw the Rams rally from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take the game.
Rams kicker Matt Gay tied the game with a field goal and then put them ahead 20-17 with another, both within seven minutes of the end of the game.
That last kick was made possible in part by a dropped ball that could have reversed fortunes.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford threw a long pass on 1st and 10 with less than 10 minutes left in the game. It seemed to float into the chest of San Francisco safety Jaquiski Tartt, but he didn't trap it.
Tartt later took responsibility for the lost opportunity, tweeting: "No excuses!! I deserve all the criticism my way! Opportunity I dream of I came up short!!! Let my brothers down!! It Still won't define me as a person/player. Only will get stronger and better... #Believdat."
Howard's subsequent grab sealed the win for Los Angeles as Cincinnati was out of options and out of time.
"Go down 17-7, doesn't look good," Rams coach Sean McVay said. "But the guys just stayed in the moment, one play at a time, did a great job."
Earlier, the Bengals beat Kansas City in overtime at Arrowhead Stadium when Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw an interception that the Bengals used to gain 42 yards. The advance set up a game-winning overtime field goal.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said in CBS postgame coverage on the field: "Everyone stepped up, man. We're not done yet."
The Super Bowl will feature two of the youngest head coaches the game has known.
McVay, who turned 36 days ago, was the youngest head coach ever to guide a team to the Super Bowl when the Rams capped the 2018 season by winning the NFC.
When the Bengals hired Taylor, now 38, to helm the team three years ago, he was the second-youngest coach in the NFL. Only McVay was younger.
The Bengals will reach the Super Bowl for the first time since 1988. In the 2019 Super Bowl, the Rams lost to the New England Patriots 13-3.
The Super Bowl will be broadcast on NBC in English and on Telemundo in Spanish, and it will be available to stream for premium users of Peacock and through NBC Sports' platforms.
Information about international broadcasts can be found here. Kickoff for the Feb. 13 matchup was scheduled for 3:30 p.m. PT, 6:30 p.m. ET.
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