Los Angeles Rams rally to beat rival San Francisco 49ers, make hometown Super Bowl LVI a reality

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Los Angeles Rams and their roster full of stars are headed to Super Bowl LVI, where they'll try to win a world championship on their home field.

And it was three of their biggest stars that helped get them there.

Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp connected for a pair of touchdowns during a back-and-forth NFC Championship Game against the division rival San Francisco 49ers Sunday at SoFi Stadium. After Matt Gay gave the Rams a lead in the final two minutes with a 30-yard field goal, Aaron Donald and the defense slammed the door shut, with Donald pressuring 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo into an errant throw that was intercepted by linebacker Travin Howard to seal a 20-17 win.

The Rams now face the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium on Feb. 13. The outcome that owner Stan Kroenke had in mind when he built the $5 billion venue — and the outcome the Rams aggressively pursued by loading up their roster with one big name after another — is one step closer to reality. Even if the road to get there was more stressful than they may have preferred.

A week after holding off a furious comeback bid by Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Rams rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter against a 49ers team that had beaten them six consecutive times. Before Sunday, the Rams had been 0-14 under coach Sean McVay when trailing by 10 or more points entering the fourth quarter, including playoffs. That included 0-4 this season.

Gay's 30-yard game winner was the same distance he hit from as time expired to lift the Rams to a win over Brady and the defending world champions in last week's divisional round.

Stafford now becomes the seventh quarterback to start a Super Bowl in his first