49ers-Rams: Pure Hollywood — uh, Inglewood

Perfect stuff for Hollywood, well, Inglewood, 11.8 miles away, where the game will be played Sunday: Two teams from California coached by two guys who as assistants were on the same staff and now will face each other again, for a chance to get to the Super Bowl.

Niners vs. Rams: Once more into the breach.

So much history. And now, with the NFC Championship to the winner, so much of a possibility.

They each won an NFC divisional title over the weekend on a field goal, the Rams beating Tampa Bay 30-27 on Matt Gay’s 30-yarder as time expired Sunday.

That came less than 24 hours after the 49ers beat the Packers 13-10, in the snow of Green Bay, on Robbie Gould’s 45-yarder as time expired Saturday night.

The Niners post-game celebration was notably raucous. Maybe because they weren’t supposed to win, underdogs on the road.

Maybe because Jimmy Garoppolo would remain as quarterback for at least one last game.

Maybe because they trailed from the start, unable even to record a single first down or pass completion until the middle of the second quarter.

The Niners won their two regular season games against the Rams, and the rule of thumb in the NFL is that it’s rare to beat a team three times in one season. Then again, the 49ers have defeated the Rams six in a row.

“We’ve got an opportunity,” said Niners coach Kyle Shanahan.

They also would seem to have an advantage over the Rams, coached by Sean McVay, who not that long ago worked alongside Shanahan when they were assistants with Washington.

Shanahan was visibly excited about the victory over the Packers in what some would label Packers weather, 14 degrees at kickoff and dropping to a wind chill of zero. Brrr? Big deal.

San Francisco was 2-4 back in October, and there were people wondering if Kyle could handle the job — even if the Niners were in the Super Bowl a couple years earlier.

He could handle it. Check recent scores.

“Since week eight, our backs have been against the wall,” Shanahan said, ignoring any suggestion or not his neck could be on the chopping block.

As opposed to the blocks the Niner defense produced, becoming only the third team in the Super Bowl era, meaning from 1967, to block both a punt and a field goal in a playoff game.

“We stayed together,” he said. ”We worked hard.”

Garoppolo was efficient, playing with the sore right thumb that wasn’t disclosed until after the win in the previous game over the Cowboys. He did throw an interception, but a beautifully thrown pass to George Kittle that might have become a touchdown was dropped.

“Jimmy made some really good plays,” confirmed Shanahan.  

There’s a football saying that a quarterback’s performance should be judged by the final score. Does he bring the team home, especially in difficult conditions? Jimmy G. met that requirement.

The Niner defense was particularly responsible for this victory, not only with the two blocks, one by defensive end Jordan Willis blocking Corey Bojorquez’s punt with the 49ers trailing 10-3. That was turned into the tying touchdown with some five minutes left.

The Niners were out of it, or so we believed, and then they were all over it.

Defense is the side that makes the Niners go by keeping the other team stopped. End Nick Bosa was permitted to return from concussion protocol just before game time. He had two sacks. Fred Warner and Dontae Johnson each were involved in six tackles.

Niner fans can be as relentless in support of the team as the athletes are in their attempt to win, as Rams management effectively told everyone Sunday.  

For the conference championship at SoFi Stadium, it will not sell tickets to people who attempt to use credit cards registered outside the greater Los Angeles area.

Would you call that sound defense? Or defense against sounds?