49ers – Rams rivalry The rivalry between San Francisco 49ers and the St . Louis Rams of the National Football League began in 1950 . The rivalry became one of the most intense in the NFL in the 1970s as the two California based teams ( the Rams then played their home games in Southern California ) regularly competed for the NFL ' s NFC West Division title . After the Rams move to St . Louis in 1995 the rivalry lost its geographical lore , though games are still intense no matter what the standings indicate . The cultural differences between the West Coast ( where the 49ers are based ) and the Midwest ( the home base for the Rams ) also added to the intensity of the rivalry . " Sports Illustrated " considers their rivalry the 8th best of all time in the National Football League . History . 1950s . In 1950 the National Football League merged with the All - America Football Conference thus gaining three new teams . One of these teams was the San Francisco 49ers making them the second team in the NFL from the west coast , the first being the Los Angeles Rams . The NFL placed both of them within the National Conference guaranteeing that they would play each other twice during the regular season . The first meeting between the teams took place on October 1 , 1950 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco . The Rams were alternating starting quarterbacks between Bob Waterfield and Norm Van Brocklin during the 1950 season . Waterfield was the starter for the game , but during the second quarter San Francisco ' s Pete Wissman landed a hard tackle on the Los Angeles quarterback . Van Brocklin filled in for Waterfield , and the Rams went on to win the game 35 to 14 . The two teams played each other again on November 5 , 1950 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles . After beating the Baltimore Colts 70 - 21 and the Detroit Lions 65 - 24 , the Rams were favored to beat the 49ers by 20 points . Yet , the 49ers played a very physical game and only lost by a touchdown holding the Rams offensive powerhouse to only 28 points . The 49ers got their first win against the Rams on October 28 , 1951 . The 49er secondary was able to pick off Van Brocklin six times , more than half of the interceptions that he throw all season . The 49ers held the Rams to just 17 points , the lowest they put up all season and were able to capitalize on the turnovers en route to a 44 - 17 victory . 1970s . The 49ers Rams rivalry was at its pinnacle during the 1970s . From 1970 - 1979 one of the two teams won the NFC ' s West Division . The decade also featured a ten and eight game win streak by the Rams ( the eight game streak was the latter of the two and stretched into the early 1980s ) . The 49ers were the NFC West ' s top team in the beginning of the decade winning the first three post merger division crowns . The Rams answered right back winning seven straight division crowns from 1973 – 1979 , culminating with Super Bowl XIV loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers . 1980s . On January 2 , 1983 , a 1 - 7 Rams team met the 3 - 5 defending Super Bowl champion 49ers in San Francisco for the last game of the 1982 season ( a players ' strike shortened the season to 9 games ) , with the 49ers needing a win to make the playoffs . The Rams led late in the 4th quarter by 1 point until 49er quarterback Joe Montana led one of his patented two - minute drives , putting the 49ers in position for a short field goal . But Ivory Sully blocked Ray Wersching ' s kick to preserve a 21 - 20 win and knock the 49ers out of the playoffs . On January 14 , 1990 the two teams met in the 1989 NFC Championship game . The Rams were heavy underdogs but had already pulled off two upsets on the road in the playoffs ( over the Eagles and Giants ) . The Rams took a 3 - 0 early lead and were driving again , but Rams quarterback Jim Everett noticed a wide open Flipper Anderson a second too late and the pass was knocked away by 49er safety Ronnie Lott . Instead of a 10 - 0 Rams lead , Montana led the 49ers on a touchdown drive and San Francisco took the lead 7 - 3 . The 49ers would go on to win the game 30 - 3 . 1990s . The 49ers dominated the rivalry during the 1990s winning seventeen straight games against the Rams . After nearly forty years , it seemed like the rivalry was coming to an end when the Rams relocated to St . Louis , Missouri . Yet , some players did not believe so . Roger Craig stated in " Tales from the San Francisco 49ers Sideline " that " the Rams will always be the 49ers ' biggest rival . It doesn ' t matter if they no longer play in Los Angeles . If the Rams played their home games on Mars , it would still be a rivalry . " 2000s . The Rams and their " Greatest Show on Turf " offense had the upper hand in the early part of the decade . But both teams fell into decline and neither team was a playoff contender as the decade wore on . The 49ers had the upper hand during the latter part of the decade , going 8 - 2 from the 2005 season to the end of the decade .