NFL Mocks

● By Hunter Haas
For the majority of the NFC title game, it looked as though Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers were going to clinch a berth in the Biggest Game of Them All for a second time in the Kyle Shanahan era. Coming into the game, San Fran had six straight wins against Sean McVay and the Rams, dating all the way back to 2018. It is safe to say they did not feel like the underdogs. This carried over to Sunday, as the Niners came out of the gates swinging and entered halftime with a 10-7 advantage over their divisional rival. A Robbie Gould 38-yard field goal as time expired in the half served as the difference in the game. The 49ers added seven more points to their tally via a 16-yard connection from Garoppolo to Kittle. With 1:59 left in the penultimate quarter, they sat with a double-digit lead that followed them into the final frame. Those points late in the third quarter proved to be the last points of the Niners’ season, as Mathew Stafford and the Rams capitalized on a number of miscues San Fran had down the stretch. In the final quarter of the season, they were outscored 13-0. Being that close to another trip to the Super Bowl and losing in that fashion must have been demoralizing for the locker room and fans alike.