In week 18 I felt the best matchup in the championship round would be with the Niners. Jimmy is a good QB but not great. He's mobile but not a running QB. If the Rams can get on top early and if Morris simply stays aggressive the entire game, the Rams can win this game.
Much will depend upon the OL which has proved this year that they are a good unit but not a great unit. They need upgrades at both OGs this offseason. That said they are good enough to beat the Niners if Stafford doesn't hold the ball for 5 seconds like he's often done. McVay needs to give him check-down options. Be it RB or TE it needs to be there early. Stafford has to understand if he's unsure of what he's seeing that he needs to simply throw it away. A punt is better than a turnover.
McVay needs to start Michel and give him the bulk of the snaps. Akers is rusty and it showed with his turnovers. Sean gets infatuated with shiny new toys. Michel got them this far, McVay needs to get the HR visions out of his head and come down to earth. That's why Shanny beats him. Shanny knows, Sean always wants the big play and isn't patient, hence he plays Akers the take it to the house threat over the guy that got him there.
If McVay tempers his instincts and is patient, and if Morris simply plays the D aggressively all game, the Rams win. Again this is about the Rams playing a clean game. They play clean they are the more talented team and that will carry them to the win. Both McVay and Morris need to play to the strength of their offense and defense respectively.
So I see the Rams winning this game. I see the Bengals beating the Chiefs. The Rams are built to beat teams like the Bengals more so than KC. Mahomes is like Wilson used to be, and unlike Wilson, he's still got a lot of rabbits in his hat.
If the Rams play the Bengals they win unless they completely meltdown. Against KC it's a toss-up. KC is primarily one-dimensional, but Mahomes can beat you in many ways. The Rams would have to play the perfect game on both sides of the ball and on STs to beat KC in the Super Bowl. So yeah I'm pulling for the Bengals and praying for the Rams simply to play clean.
