Matt Gay has kicked a 30-yard field goal with 1m 46s remaining and Los Angeles Rams are headed to the Super Bowl for the second time in four seasons, after notching a 20-17 victory over San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
Travin Howard recorded the game-clinching interception with 1m 09s left, as Los Angeles snapped a six-game losing streak against the 49ers. Cooper Kupp caught 11 passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns, and Matthew Stafford completed 31-of-45 passes for 337 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for the Rams.
Los Angeles will face Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl on February 14 (NZ time) in their home stadium at Inglewood, after the Bengals defeated Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game.
The Super Bowl appearance will be the fifth in franchise history for the Rams - two came when the franchise was located at St Louis.
Jimmy Garoppolo completed 16-of-30 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns for San Francisco, which blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. Deebo Samuel and George Kittle caught scoring passes, and Jimmie Ward had an interception.
Gay's game-winning boot was set up by Stafford's 25-yard completion to Kupp to the 49ers' 12-yard line.
After the score, San Francisco couldn't move the ball and Aaron Donald's pressure forced Garoppolo to make a desperate, underhanded toss that Howard picked off to seal the victory.
Odell Beckham Jr caught nine passes for 113 yards for Los Angeles, which outgained the 49ers in total yards 396-282 and had big edges in offensive plays (76-50) and first downs (25-16).
The 49ers led 17-7, after Garoppolo spotted a wide-open Kittle in the end zone and connected on a 16-yard scoring pass with 1m 59s remaining in the third quarter.
Los Angeles responded, with Stafford tossing an 11-yard scoring pass to Kupp to cut the deficit to three, with 13m 30s left in the game.
The Rams tied the score at 17 on their next possession, when Gay booted a 40-yard field goal with 6m 49s left in the game.
San Francisco led 10-7 at halftime, courtesy of Robbie Gould's 38-yard field goal as time expired. Gould has converted 21-of-21 field goals in the post-season during his career.
The Rams struck first, when Stafford hit Kupp for a 16-yard touchdown on third-and-13 with 8m 46s left in the half. The score capped an 18-play, 97-yard drive that took 9m 33s off the clock.
The 49ers knotted the score, when Samuel caught a receiver screen from Garoppolo and shed four tackles along the way to a 44-yard touchdown with 6m 10s remaining in the half.
Bengals comeback
Cincinnati Bengals are headed to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1989, but after playing in the two previous Super Bowls, Kansas City are headed home.
Rookie kicker Evan McPherson made a 31-yard field goal in overtime, capping an 18-point rally by the Bengals, en route to a 27-24 upset of the host Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
Cincinnati, which had the worst record in the NFL two seasons ago, overcame a 21-3 first-half deficit against Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City, holding the high-powered Chiefs to three points after halftime.
Joe Burrow threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns, and McPherson went 4-for-4 on field goals for the fourth-seeded Bengals.
"We've got a special team and we've overcome a lot of deficits this year," Bengals coach Zac Taylor says. "We always believe in all three of our phases.
"Everyone stepped up. We're not done yet."
Mahomes passed for 275 yards and three touchdowns, with two interceptions, for Kansas City. The second-seeded Chiefs, who got the ball first in overtime last weekend and drove for the winning touchdown against Buffalo in the divisional playoffs, again won the overtime coin toss.
But Mahomes was intercepted on the third play on a deep ball that was broken up by Jessie Bates III and intercepted by Vonn Bell. Burrow and Joe Mixon helped move the ball deep into Kansas City territory, and McPherson made his kick with 9m 22s left to stun the home crowd.
"Usually, when you lose a coin flip to those guys, you're going home," Burrow says. "But our defence really stepped up and made plays in the second half."
With the game tied 21-21, McPherson snuck a 52-yard field goal inside the left upright with 6m 04s to play in the fourth quarter, giving the Bengals their first lead of the game.
Of course, that left more than enough time for Mahomes, who drove the Chiefs inside the Cincinnati 10, with a chance to tie or win.
On the next-to-last play of regulation, Mahomes attempted to buy time deep in the pocket, before he was stripped of the ball by Cincinnati's Sam Hubbard. Kansas City recovered, but Harrison Butker had to attempt a 44-yard field goal, which he drilled as time expired to force overtime.
Mahomes threw first-half TD passes to Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce and Mecole Hardman, helping the hosts build a 21-3 cushion.
"When you're up 21-3 in a game, you can't lose it," Mahomes says, "I put that on myself."
The Bengals finally generated momentum in the final 65 seconds of the first half, beginning with Samaje Perine taking a screen pass 41 yards for a touchdown to get the visitors within 21-10. Then, after the Chiefs drove to the Cincinnati one, the Bengals tackled Hill inbounds on the final play of the half, causing the typically crisp Kansas City offence to leave points on the table.
"I was hoping we could get the ball in the end zone," Reid says. "I probably gave them the wrong play... I probably could've given them something better than that."
Cincinnati's defence also opened the second half strong. The Bengals forced punts on the first two Chiefs possessions and then got within 21-13 on a 31-yard McPherson field goal.
Two plays later, 144kg lineman BJ Hill tipped a Mahomes pass and intercepted it, leading to Burrow's TD strike to Ja'Marr Chase on third-and-goal from the two. The ensuing two-point conversion pass to a wide-open Trent Taylor tied the score at 21.
Even after Burrow was intercepted by L'Jarius Sneed, Cincinnati's defence forced another punt, sacking Mahomes on third down for the second consecutive drive.
"We gave up three touchdowns," Bates says. "We go into halftime, like, 'Hey, we gotta get it together, we know what we're about'.
"Defence wins championships and we did that today."
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