Clemson Tigers in NFL Playoffs: Can Rams get Anchrum to Super Bowl LVI?
Clemson is guaranteed to have at least one former Tiger playing in Super Bowl LVI in a few weeks.
Cincinnati and Kansas City will have four former Clemson players involved in the AFC Championship Game, which will guarantee a spot for Clemson to be represented in football’s biggest game. The Bengals have three Tigers on its roster (DT D.J. Reader, WR Tee Higgins and OG Jackson Carman), while the Chiefs have one (LB Dorian O’Daniel).
However, there is just one former Tiger with an opportunity to be a part of a Super Bowl team in the NFC Championship Game. That right belongs to Tremayne Anchrum, who was a part of two national championship teams during his time at Clemson.
Though he is on the Los Angeles Rams’ active roster, the former Clemson offensive lineman will likely not play in Sunday’s 6:30 p.m. kick against the San Francisco 49ers.
As for the game itself, Sunday will mark the third time these two NFC West rivals have met this season. The 49ers won both of the regular-season matchups, including a 31-24 overtime victory in Week 18 to conclude the regular season.
San Francisco, who is vying for its second Super Bowl appearance in the last three years, has won the last six overall against the Rams. In the most recent meeting, the 49ers rallied from a 17-0 halftime deficit to win at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, the site of Sunday’s game and Super Bowl LVI.
Now the question is, can Jim Garoppolo and the 49ers do it for a third time this season over Matthew Stafford and the Rams? It will not be easy.
This will mark the fourth time since the NFL realigned in 2002 that divisional rivals have met in a conference championship game. However, only once has a team defeated its divisional rival for a third time in the same season in a conference title game. That of course was done by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008, who beat the Baltimore Ravens in all three meetings, including the 2009 AFC Championship Game.
The Steelers went on to win the Super Bowl that year.
Since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, there have been 22 opportunities for a team to defeat its divisional rival for a third time in the playoffs. The team who swept the regular season is 14-8 in those 22 games. Since 2000, those teams are 6-3.
The adage “you cannot beat a team three times in the same season,” just is not accurate. It should instead be, “it is likely a team can beat one team three times in the same season.”
When: Sunday at 6:30 p.m. (FOX)
Betting line: Rams -3.5, total 45.5, according to FanDuel Sportsbook
How they got here
The sixth-seeded 49ers (10-7): The 49ers advanced to the NFC Championship Game by first taking down the Dallas Cowboys in the Wildcard Round two weeks ago, and then went to Green Bay last week and knocked off Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
Robbie Gould made a 45-yard field goal as time expired to lift the 49ers to a 13-10 victory in the snow.
Gould has made all 20 of his career playoff field-goal attempts. His latest helped the 49ers complete an improbable comeback by scoring 10 unanswered points in the last five minutes of the game.
This marks the 17th conference championship appearance for the 49ers, the most by any team since conferences were formed due to the 1970 merger. The 49ers had been tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have played in 16 AFC Championship Games.
The fourth-seeded Rams (12-5): The Rams jumped out to a 27-3 lead to start the third quarter against Tampa Bay last week, but then had to hold off Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in the final seconds to advance to the NFC Championship Game.
After Brady and the Bucs roared back to tie the game with 42 seconds to play, Stafford found Cooper Kupp 44 yards down the middle of the field to set up Matt Gay’s 30-yard game-winning field goal as time expired for a 30-27 victory in Tampa.
Stafford threw for 366 yards and two touchdowns, including a 70-yard scoring pass to Kupp in the second quarter, which gave the Rams a 17-3 lead at the time. The previous week, Stafford completed 28 of 38 passes without an interception in a rout of the Arizona Cardinals.
Kupp finished the Tampa game with nine catches on 11 targets for 183 yards. He averaged 20.3 yards per catch.
The Rams are looking for their first Super Bowl appearance since losing to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII in 2019 (2018 season).
Former Clemson players
Tremayne Anchrum (Guard): The former Clemson offensive lineman has not played in any games for the Rams this season after playing in 11 games for Los Angeles last season, with no starts. Anchrum was picked in the seventh round (250 overall) by the Rams in the 2020 NFL Draft.
The former All-ACC lineman played in the Rams’ three preseason games in 2021, getting a start in each one. He injured his ankle in the preseason and was put on injured reserve prior to the start of the season. He was taken off the IR on Oct. 12 and has been on the team’s active roster.
The Rams placed Anchrum on injured reserve on Sept. 3 after he suffered an ankle injury during the second preseason game. It was reported he avoided a major injury. Nonetheless, the Rams were being cautious and delayed his return.
