In pressure-cooker situation vs. 49ers, Rams found a way to deliver by staying true to themselves

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Of all the teams playing on “Championship Sunday” and vying for a spot in Super Bowl 56, none found themselves in a more intense pressure-cooker situation than did the Los Angeles Rams during the days leading up to their big showdown with the San Francisco 49ers.

Sure, every member of the final four – the Rams, 49ers, Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs – badly craved a spot in the Super Bowl, which takes place in two weeks at SoFi Stadium.

But the circumstances just stacked up differently for the Rams.

They didn’t just have to get to the Super Bowl. Punching that ticket involved the tall task of snapping a six-game losing streak to the divisional rival 49ers, the team that has given the Rams the most trouble since 2017, when Sean McVay took over as head coach.

Swept by the 49ers in two meetings during this regular season, including Week 18 when San Francisco punched its playoff ticket with that victory, L.A.’s players and coaches found themselves engulfed in all kinds of pressure, both collectively and individually.

But Sunday night, the Rams managed vanquished a slew of demons as they rebounded from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat San Francisco 20-17. With the win, L.A. clinched the franchise’s first Super Bowl berth since that gutting loss to New England in 2019.

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In the words of the late, great Kobe Bryant, whose spirit still looms large over the city and served as a source of inspiration for the Rams on Sunday, “Job ain’t finished,” and the Rams are well aware of that fact.

But Sunday’s crucial step was made possible by McVay’s staff and players’ ability to compartmentalize,…