'Damn Good Team': Sean McVay Talks Rams-Niners Rivalry
In the storied history of their respective franchises, the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers have faced each other more than they’ve faced any other team.
In fact, it doesn’t really come close. With 144 all-time meetings, the Rams and Niners have solidified themselves as a rivalry that dates back to the days of the creation of the NFL Coastal Division in 1967, which featured LA, San Francisco, the Baltimore Colts, and the Atlanta Falcons.
But to put into perspective the familiarity these two franchises have with one another, the next closest on the list is the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears, who have both faced the Rams franchise 94 times in their history.
The Niners have a slight 74-67 edge in the all-time series vs the Niners, something that didn't gain traction until recent seasons. With so many meetings, there's been a handful of memorable moments.
Rams coach Sean McVay, who got off to a 3-1 start in his career against the Niners before dropping six straight from Dec. 2019 to Jan. 2022, talked about the nature of competing in close games. Five of the last seven meetings have ended within one score.
"As a competitor, any loss just jabs you to no end. But I think one of the things that I think is minimized in this ... is they're a damn good team," McVay said on The Volume's Open Mike podcast Saturday. "There's been a couple games where they've done a great job and another couple of those games where it comes down to the wire and it's two good teams going at it and you just come out on the short end."
The respect runs deep for a team that is more than familiar with one another than almost any in the league. Niners coach Kyle Shanahan even coached alongside McVay when the two were offensive assistants on the same Washington staff from 2010-13.
"What I really believe is that we got tremendous respect for them," McVay said. "They got great coaches, great players. They have always been a good team and I don't care what their record is, they're always gonna be a tough out no matter when you play them in the season."
This was certainly the case in January when the two teams played one another in the postseason for the first time since 1990. In that season, the great Joe Montana and the Niners defeated the St. Louis Rams 30-3 in the NFC title game to advance to their second-straight Super Bowl.
Though the 60-ish-year-old bodies of Montana and legendary receiver Jerry Rice weren't trotting out on the field, similar results nearly caused LA to come up just short once again. But history chose to rewrite itself.
"It was 17-7 and it didn't look good after (George) Kittle catches the touchdown, but I never felt any sort of flinch, any sort of blink on our sideline," McVay said. "It's one thing to say it, it's another thing to feel it."
It was the complete opposite just a few weeks prior when San Francisco secured its sixth-straight win over the Rams to punch a ticket to the playoffs.
"We jump out to a 17-0 lead against them in Week 18 and they come storming back," McVay said. "There was a lot of reasons that we didn't finish that game the way we wanted to. But you also got to give credit where credit is due."
Finally besting the Niners in a game that held as much weight as an NFC Championship, the Rams surely excised their demons, right? Not quite. McVay knows it'll continue to be a tall task in the seasons to come.
"Holy hell was it a real challenge," McVay said. "Guys had to make miraculous plays. I think our guys knew from the Week 18 game that 'man, it's a good team, a tough team.' They found a way. But it's not even like redemption, but if we play our best in that three-and-a-half-hour window, we like our chances without minimizing what a damn good team the Niners are with Kyle Shanahan leading the way."
The Rams travel to San Francisco for the team's first meeting on Oct. 3 before the Niners head to SoFi Stadium for a matchup on Oct. 30.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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