See the Rams’ Cooper Kupp fly past the defense. Watch the 49ers’ Deebo Samuel smash into the defense.

The NFC Championship game matchup Sunday serves as a study in the importance of finding a go-to receiver — a position that is continually gaining ground on edge rusher and offensive tackle among a franchise’s must-haves other than quarterback. But it also highlighted there is more than one way to dominate because neither Kupp nor Samuel is the traditional perimeter receiver running a decades-old route tree.

The star-studded Rams might have been remembered for an all-time choke job if not for Kupp’s 44-yard reception to set up the game-winning field goal and erase the memory of a squandered 24-point second-half lead last week against the Buccaneers. The 49ers might have ended the Aaron Rodgers-Packers era last week on the strength of Samuel’s 9-yard run on third-and-7 to set up the game-winning kick.

“They’re great football players that are complete receivers,” Rams coach Sean McVay said leading up to the game. “They’re obviously both really dynamic with the ball in their hands. Some of the things that Deebo does when he is lined up as a running back is really special stuff. He can separate, he can line up anywhere on the formation. Cooper is very similar.”

A receiver who bulldozes linebackers and a receiver who registered some of the fastest speeds in the NFL, including topping 20 miles per hour, are very similar? Maybe not at first glance, but opponents who hope to compete at the top of the NFC with the Rams and 49ers in the near future better find a way to acquire versatile slot defensive backs plus their own offensive answer to these elite yards-after-the-catch playmakers.

Colts running back Jonathan Taylor led the NFL in yards from scrimmage (2,171) — a statistic usually flooded by running backs. Tell that to Kupp (1,965) and Samuel (1,770), who ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Add in the damage done in two playoff games apiece and Kupp and Samuel had the most combined yards from scrimmage by opposing players at any position in a playoff game since 2001, according to NFL.com.

“I can’t believe we’re not talking about Deebo and Cooper [as] more highly regarded for MVP candidates,” Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris said. “I know this is a quarterback-driven league, but these two players have absolutely defied some of the things that are out there.”

The 49ers use Samuel as a hybrid weapon who entered Sunday’s game with almost as many carries (79) as receptions (84).

“It was abnormal how physical he was, even when there was nowhere to go,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said about scouting Samuel in college. “Guys run hard, but when he had nowhere to go, he looked for someone to impose his will on before he finished. And that’s a guy who’s not doing it just because he was asked, that’s a guy doing it because he’s probably been doing it since he was 5 when his dad gave him the nickname.”

The Rams use Kupp to take the top off of defenses, using him in the slot on 60 percent of snaps. He was named 2021 Offensive Player of the Year by the Pro Football Writers Association after leading the NFL in catches (145), receiving yards (1,947) and receiving touchdowns (16).

“Everyone knows how smart he is, how talented he is,” Shanahan said. “He’s a guy that as long as his skills aren’t diminishing — and they’re not — he’s only going to get better. It’s his mind and how he prepares, and he’s got a natural feel for the game. Usually, the great ones are like that.”

Kupp was the seventh receiver drafted as a third-rounder in 2017. Samuel was the third drafted as a second-rounder in 2019.

Kupp studies Samuel: “He’s really a very special player. I’ve watched a lot of Deebo Samuel.”

Samuel does not study Kupp: “There’s not another receiver that plays like me and does the things that I do. I don’t see the need to watch anybody that doesn’t do the things I do.”

Dozens of general managers, head coaches and scouts sat home Sunday wondering how their team’s offense might look different with one of those two weapons. Then they went back to work Monday trying to find the next one.