The Rams had not defeated the 49ers in the regular season since 2018.
With both Los Angeles and San Francisco resting various players in preparation for the postseason, Rams backup quarterback Carson Wentz came through in crunch time to give L.A. a 21-20 victory.
The win also gave the Rams the NFC’s No. 6 seed. With the rest of Sunday afternoon’s results, that means Los Angeles will head to Detroit to play the Lions in the wild card round next weekend.
Making his first start for the Rams, Wentz used his legs to help power the club to a win. He rushed 17 times for 56 yards, including a 12-yard run with 4:56 left in the fourth quarter tout L.A. behind 20-19. The Rams went for two and Wentz faked a run look before finding Tutu Atwell in the end zone for a successful conversion.
San Francisco had two more late chances, including a possession starting at its own 22 with 55 seconds left. But quarterback Sam Darnold — playing for a resting Brock Purdy — was strip-sacked by defensive end Desjuan Johnson. Outside linebacker Byron Young recovered the loose ball to seal the L.A. victory.
Wentz finished 17-of-24 passing for 163 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Puka Nacua set single-season rookie records for receptions (105) and receiving yards (1,486) with his four catches for 41 yards with a touchdown.
On the other side, Darnold was 16-of-26 for 189 yards with a touchdown. Elijah Mitchell led with 52 yards on 14 carries.
After ending last season 5-12, the Rams end the 2023 season 10-7 with a playoff berth. They’ll now wait to find out what time slot they’ll have for next weekend’s game against Detroit.
As the NFC’s No. 1 seed, the 12-5 49ers will await the lowest-remaining seed in the conference for the divisional round.
