Thread by @LAist

Hi folks! Welcome to another LAist cartoon takeover for today's NFC Championship game! Stay with us for live visuals from the ever-talented @AlborzK and occasionally novel observations from @SamBensonSmith. But first, some stadium history from @KPCCsharon laist.com/news/los-angel…

As @TroyAikman just said, it all comes down to the quarterbacks. Take a peek at these photorealistic renderings of Matt Stafford and Jimmy Garoppolo ahead of kickoff.

Matt Stafford:
The Good: 4 TDs, 0 INT, 131.5 passer rating, 74.5% completion percentage in 2022 playoffs.
The Bad: 0.400 playoff winning percentage (should not be a QB stat but we needed something negative)
The Ugly: Enjoys "stealing [people's] soul[s]" ()

Jimmy Garoppolo:
The Good: 0.800 career playoff winning percentage (once again, this should not be a QB stat but we had to find something positive)
The Bad: 0 TDs, 2 INTs, 63.0 passer rating in the 2022 playoffs.
The Ugly: He cannot whistle. (

https://twitter.com/JimmyG_10/status/284741504663187456?s=20&t=NEX5dfiwK4uaHZjG6zNhcg

)

What are the stakes of this game? The chance for another LA championship? Sure, but who cares. The *real* story is a friendly bet between us and our Bay Area counterpart, @KQED

Welp. All good things must come to an end. Matt Stafford tosses his first interception of the postseason on a tip drill in the endzone. Jimmie Ward nabs the ball, returning it to the SF 23.

Ward now has intercepted Stafford 3 times this season, adding to his 2-pick total from Week 10.

We are scoreless after quarter 1. As a wise scholar once said, "Boooooooooooo."

Not a fumble, nice try!

Who's hungry?

laist.com/news/food/best…

Get outta here, Matt Damon. It's still Staples Center to us.

COOPER KUPP OPENS UP SCORING AND WE ARE NOT EVEN REMOTELY SURPRISED

PAT nailed by Matt Gay. Held by Johnny Hekker. Trying to hold back the overflowing joy. 7-0 Rams.

Well, we aren't pumped about it. But this doodle is too good not to share. Deebo Samuel with the TD. Game is all square again, 7-7 with 6:10 to play in the first half.

Live look at @SamBensonSmith assessing his cartoon inventory from @AlborzK with most of the game left to play.

3,898,747 people in Los Angeles just uttered "gotta catch that"

Well, at least the new Batman movie looks good, right? We're not afraid to say we are pro-Robert Pattinson renaissance.

Pretty sure that throw to OBJ was in the air for 15 minutes.

WIDE RIGHT. @RamsNFL looking like the @BuffaloBills . Matt Gay = Scott Norwood for a hot second. The score remains tied 7-7 with less than 2 minutes to play in the 2nd quarter.

Translation: the Rams missed that field goal.

San Francisco pulls ahead as time ticks down in the half. 10-7 49ers. We're not sad, we're just disappointed.

(1/2) We've racked our brains, analyzed the numbers, and reviewed the footage. Here's some in-depth analysis from the first half of the NFC Championship game between the Rams and 49ers. #SFvsLAR

Data point no. 2 for the first half of the NFC Championship game. #SFvsLAR

This guy seems to really like our coverage...

Circling back on the note of rooting for career renaissances — we are also very pro-OBJ returning to his former glory.