With 9:55 remaining in Sunday’s NFC championship game, the Rams trailed the Niners 17–14 and had the ball 1st and 10 at their own 15-yard line.
Matt Stafford dropped back in play-action and threw a deep pass down the middle. It was so underthrown that it looked like a punt, with Niners safety Jaquiski Tartt standing underneath it at the San Francisco 35-yard line.
The would-be interception was textbook easy.
Tartt dropped it.
That’s where the game felt like it turned.
The Rams ended up tying the game with a 40-yard field goal from Matt Gay later in the drive. The Niners went three-and-out on the next drive before another field goal gave the Rams the 20–17 lead with less than two minutes to play.
Niners quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo threw an ugly interception to end it and the Rams celebrated on their home field, where they will play in the Super Bowl two weeks from Sunday against the Bengals.
There is plenty of blame to go around for the Niners’ fourth quarter collapse, but Tartt took to Twitter after the game to express remorse for the critical lapse on the would-be interception in the fourth quarter.
Tartt and the Niners will learn from the defeat, as a golden opportunity to reach the Super Bowl slipped through their fingertips in the fourth quarter.
But for now, it’s the Rams’ time, as they advance to the Super Bowl with their division rival watching from the sidelines.
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